What is Spirituality to you?
What is Spirituality to you?
Spirituality is defined in many different ways. Some may think of religious beliefs and some may shudder at the word because they immediately think of yoga or some foo-foo type of meditation practice that sounds a little far-fetched for us men. Am I right?
The need for spirituality is deep within us by nature, but the way spirituality unfolds is unique to each of us. There are many spiritualities, and what is spiritual to you may be different from what is spiritual to another. Spirituality usually involves believing in a higher form of intelligence or consciousness running the universe, as well as life after death. It’s what gives us that wonder for meaning, peace, mystery and truth.
For me, spirituality has been something on the “back burner.” I was living a pretty self-serving life until I had my daughter. That’s not to say I was a totally selfish person, or willing to help or listen to others, but for the most part, I was wrapped up in what was going on in my own life. I find it funny that having a child really uncovered what selfish tendencies I had, even though I didn’t realize it. I could no longer come home from work and do whatever I wanted with my time, I had gained a new responsibility, and just like that, my wants and needs were no longer at the forefront.
With that being said, one thing I have learned recently is the idea of taking care of yourself so that you can better take care of you family and others. If you are not working on yourself, then it is difficulty to show up 100% for others. It’s just like when you board and airplane and they tell you to put your oxygen mask on before assisting others.
Spirituality for me really hit hard when I was in the middle of the 75 Hard program by Andy Frisella. I had never worked on myself more than in those 75 days. I was reading, listening to podcasts, exercising twice a day and eating a relatively clean diet. If you’re interested, you can ready my blog post on my 75 Hard Journey here on 4lodads.com. Long story short, through that inward reflection and strive to a better man, ultimately this mission was formed. It started out designed to encourage every human to be better than they were yesterday, and I branded it “The Neat Lifestyle.” That really didn’t make a difference because I was not focused on any audience other than “everyone.” Once I talked to a few others, just a few weeks ago, I was encouraged to narrow down my target audience, hints the 4Lo Dads project. Spirituality for me is unfolding in a purpose/direction for my life. I want to serve community while learning myself. I want to help encourage men that its still “macho” to know themselves and its ok to admit that we don’t have all the right answers, but are willing to learn.
What is Spirituality for you and why is it important?