Spirituality is not a "thing," not an object that can be identified as something one possesses. It is a process, a growth experience. Ironically, when someone thinks he has achieved spirituality, he has probably lost it. One has it only as long as one is striving for it. Because we can never quite achieve perfection, we are always capable of improving ourselves. As long as we continue to improve ourselves along the lines we have discussed, we are spiritual. If we lose the momentum for growth and become stagnant, baser human inclinations toward gratification and comfort are certain to arise and work against the spiritual life. In spirituality, the searching is the finding, and the pursuit is the achievement.
- Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski
3 comments:
great thought, good point.
This reminds me of the Daily Dose from this morning (from Chabad Rabbi Tzvi Freeman):
As a mother and the baby she holds in her arms, as a father and child, as two in courtship or in marriage, so we are with Him. One chases, the other runs away. One runs away, the other chases. One initiates, the other responds. The other initiates, the one responds. It is a dance, a game, a duet that plays as surely as the pulse of life.
Until one falls away and becomes estranged. Then the other looks and says, "This is not an other. We are one and the same." And so, they return to each other's arms once again.
It is a great mystery, but in estrangement, there is found the deepest bond.
It's hard in the quick pace of life to keep both of these ideas in mind, but they are so important. Two days after Rosh Hashana and already I'm buried in work, schooling, life... I need to make time for searching, pursuing and finding.
Shmuel, very moving. Thank you for sharing.
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