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Refreshing Our Spiritual Awareness
by John Kaminski
Over the last several years, October has been widely recognized as a month of spiritual reflection and growth. The Ontario Multifaith Council on Spiritual and Religious Care organizes special events, usually during the third week of October, in order to inspire individuals, organizations and communities to reflect on this often "forgotten" dimension of life.
Coincidence or not, the OMCSRC "Spiritual Awareness Week" is like a symbolic link between the Canadian and American Thanksgiving Holidays. Indeed, if anything else, "thanksgiving" is probably the single word that has the most power to awaken our personal spiritual awareness. It helps us to appreciate where we are, who we are, what we are, and how special we are within our family, our community and our country. It also helps us to accept things as they are, no matter how bitter is our daily bread, or how much money we have in our pocket.
Every once in a while, a ray of spiritual awareness can remind us that life is not all about planning, doing, achieving, accomplishing, etc. It helps us to realize that to balance our life we need time and space for being. To be there for ourselves, for our loved ones, for all that surrounds us i.e. the beauty of our natural environment - and to reflect on the mysterious links/connections between all things.
Perhaps one day we will recognize the presence of Everything in ourselves… and perhaps from this perspective the story of the Incarnation - the story of Christmas - will not be as strange as it often is for many of us, especially for younger generations.
John Kaminski is a Chaplain at the Sault Area Hospital Pastoral Care and wrote this article for the hospital newsletter "Vital Links".
Posted by editor on March 15, 2004 01:51 PM