Every now and then, I am reminded of the richness and depth that is found in the human spirit.  In the materialistic world in which we live, we tend to relate to one another on a superficial level, and the human spirit is often concealed from our perception.  Since the materialistic world thrives on power struggles, our motivation has been lowered to “how do I get more?”.  In our drive to rise above others as the biggest, strongest, richest, best, we dampen the spirits of those with whom we interact.

In such a world where we’re often caught in a web of low-level struggles – petty fights, judgements, jealousy, control, one-upmanship, greed, grandiosity – the beauty of the human spirit is hidden from us most of the time.  We simply do not see the spirit behind a person, we see only the person’s physical appearance and persona.  Consequently, we lose respect for humanity as we see our fellow human beings either as flawed or as candidates for competition.

Occasionally, we’re able to sense something greater in a person other than their body and persona.  The pursuit of a dream, the courageous healing of long-held pain, an altruistic act, a great act of surrender, a creative expression, an uninhibited expression of joy and freedom …. they reveal the greater truth about the spirit of humanity.

The spirit of humanity is capable of a great many things.  Yet we’ve been conditioned to express ourselves as small, weak, ugly and powerless beings – devoid of the spirit that gives us depth in our existence.  We act as if our spirits do not exist.  Our spirit has an intelligence that surpasses logic – one that includes but not limited to our deductive reasoning.  When we express ourselves from the level of our spirit, unfettered by our self-made fears, we tap into a vast potential within ourselves.  We begin to show ourselves and others that who we thought we were is just the tip of the iceberg, or may not even be real.

The way into our spirit is through our emotional self.  We feel it first as a stirring in our emotional self.  That emotional connection is a bridge to our spiritual self.  For a lot of people, however, their emotional self has been hardened from a long time of holding unprocessed pain, and their sensitivity is deadened against any spiritually-moving experiences.  As such, they cannot be touched nor inspired by the spirit of humanity.  In protecting their pain, they remain bitter, hard, critical and controlling – they miss out on seeing humans in their full potential and the world seems unfair to them.  The great spirit of humanity is lost to them.

I often see or hear of people who’ve gone through an emotional healing to experience a spiritual opening.  As the heart heals, the door to our spirit opens.  We experience ourselves, or others, as more than just flesh and mind.  As we experience ourselves as spirits, we automatically open up to a world where so much more is in store for us.

In ending, I would like to share this poem written by a friend.  She shared it as a song, sung to a beautiful tune she’d composed on her guitar.  Listening to her had inspired this post.

Her name was Mary
Her dreams took her soul and it travelled the world
She saw veins, lies, truths
Everything conceivable, existable,
She saw the rings on every bark
She saw the specks of sand on their feet
She soared
The millions of galaxies, stars, suns,
She looked over herself, this being exists
She saw heaven before this body died
“I’m finally free”
She saw her lover weeping by her side
Waiting for her to come back – mind and soul
love over freedom
She thought about this flesh – this gift, this life
It’s time, she thought
It’s time to live this dream