Sunday, November 18, 2012

Spirituality

I am taking a psychology and cultural diversity class this semester. One of the topics we talked about was religion and spirituality with healthcare outcomes. Studies have shown that people who are more spiritual tend to have better healthcare outcomes, are less depressed, less anxiety, and live longer.

I thought about this for a second and thought "well I'm screwed." I have never considered myself a very spiritual person. I practice Judaism and enjoy the culture and traditions of my religion and I am excited to celebrate Christmas and Easter with my new family, but I don't dive into either religion with much depth.


Then I thought about it. I am a spiritual person.


The Mayo Clinic states:

Spirituality has many definitions, but at its core spirituality helps to give our lives context. It's not necessarily connected to a specific belief system or even religious worship. Instead, it arises from your connection with yourself and with others, the development of your personal value system, and your search for meaning in life.

With this definition I AM a spiritual person. Running, yoga, hiking, music, etc are what make me a spiritual person. I don't go to Church or Temple every weekend, but I do ritualistically take a long run every weekend. I have a whole process that I run through (ha ha, play on words) and I must do all of my rituals before I head out the door. I prefer to do long runs with other people, but I am happy to run on my own. It allows me to clear my head, it gives me a purpose (usually I am training for a race) and when I do run with others, it allows me to connect with them. It is a time when my thoughts are concentrated on either the music I am listening to or the people I am running with. 


I could go on about the other aspects of my life that make me a spiritual person, but I won't.


I will say, that it is important to be spiritual. It gives you something to look forward to, whether it is walking with a friend every Saturday afternoon, reading the newspaper every morning, taking an exercise class the same time every week, or watching a TV show. These are things that you look forward to, that make life more fun, give it context, develops your personal value system.


So here is to Spirituality and Health!



http://improve-your-running.com/running-tips/running-form
What makes you a spiritual person?

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