I like Ted Grant\u2019s comment in the above photo and I have to agree that I have (as this new blog site emphasizes) always loved black and white photography. There are nuances that are brought out in a black and white photo, an \u201cessence\u201d that seems to be more something you sense rather than see.<\/p>\n
Maybe a spiritual or ethereal nature.<\/p>\n
It is safe to say that I am a deeply spiritual person. Yes, much of that has been steeped in Christianity, but I have also studied other religions. Additionally, I consider myself nondenominational. My other endeavors in life have lead me to places where I must be open to others beliefs and only show my \u201cChristianity\u201d through my presence and my actions.<\/p>\n
Some who come here this may immediately turn off. However, hear me out before you judge. I think what you will find is while I have a value system I adhere to and a spirituality I embrace there is room in my theology for your views.<\/p>\n
I may not sway you, you may not sway me, but we can learn from one another.<\/p>\n
Religion is too often used in a divisive way. Spirituality too can be used as a negation of religion. However, there is much to learn one from the other.<\/p>\n
Due to my love and study of Martial Arts I was introduced to Zen. There is much to learn in the Christian realms about the value of Zen meditation. Additionally, I am a voracious reader. The nature of my spiritual reading has spanned from Apologetics to Zen (yes, I found an easy A to Z reference, Go Me!).<\/p>\n
The spirit is an integral part of who we are. Make no mistake about it, there is a spirit and while it does not require the exercise our minds and bodies need, it can be a fuel source for both.<\/p>\n
The spirit can be a small thing or an enormous thing. Thus, as a fuel source it can either add only a small spark or power up what can be an entire city within us.<\/p>\n
It may seem odd to use the fuel analogy, but if you have ever been in someone\u2019s presence who needs to plug into you to gain strength you will know what I mean. You will also know what it means to be drained by another\u2019s emotional needs.<\/p>\n
Having the spiritual fortitude to be that emotional conduit for others is a great gift. Maintaining your own strength during trying times for others can be challenging but can also be very rewarding. You just have to be aware of your limits. I have seen many exhaust themselves continually recharging others without breaking away to rest and allow that energy to replenish.<\/p>\n
The spirit of a strong individual can be a truly inspiring and daunting thing. I have met a few of these people and have been fascinated by their strength and endurance. I, for one, get spiritually drained very quickly and need time alone to recharge.<\/p>\n
Today, many view spiritual matters as very grey. For them spirituality, religion or conviction needs to be a very quiet background thing. There is no black and white, there is only grey.<\/p>\n
Now, when I talk about black and white when it comes to this topic I am not putting any ones beliefs into a good or bad category. That is not mine to decide. I am using the analogy to emphasize that this \u201cgrey\u201d ideology leads to a very anemic sense of the spiritual.<\/p>\n
We were not meant to live this way. We have a soul and a spiritual side that should be fostered and helped to grow within us. Furthermore, when we allow it to be a thing that is turned off or on based on who we are with or where we are, then we are not being true to who we really are.<\/p>\n
What I believe is that when we are not true to that spiritual side and do not allow it to grow within us, there is an integral part lost. I truly believe this is where so many get to a point in life and decide that they don\u2019t know who they are or get disillusioned with what is ahead of them.<\/p>\n
Then you hear, \u201cIs this all there is?\u201d<\/p>\n
No, this is not all there is. There are worlds more, an eternity\u2019s worth.<\/p>\n
I will endeavor to explore what more there is in these pages.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I like Ted Grant\u2019s comment in the above photo and I have to agree that I have (as this new blog site emphasizes) always loved black and white photography. There are nuances that are brought out in a black and white photo, an \u201cessence\u201d that seems to be more something you sense rather than see. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-soul"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xplorechrist.com\/norightgear\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xplorechrist.com\/norightgear\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xplorechrist.com\/norightgear\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xplorechrist.com\/norightgear\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xplorechrist.com\/norightgear\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xplorechrist.com\/norightgear\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xplorechrist.com\/norightgear\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xplorechrist.com\/norightgear\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xplorechrist.com\/norightgear\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}