Spirituality Essay
Spirituality can have many different definitions, depending on who is asked. It can be something as simple as looking for a higher meaning to life, or something so complex that one can base their beliefs, religion and overall life around it. There are several different ways to express one's spirituality; rituals, songs, dances, stories, and writings are all common methods of expression. Spirituality can be found in almost anything. Finding spirituality in something can make someone feel enlightened and bring strong emotion and deep feeling. In some cases, people would be willing to sacrifice nearly anything to help maintain the integrity of what they find to be spiritual. The earth is found in many cultures to be regarded as highly spiritual. There are countless numbers of people willing to sacrifice money, material goods, jobs and several other things that most people take for granted, only to help keep what they find spiritual in its natural, beautiful, and wholesome state: nature. Several authors have based some of their writings on their spirituality. Some of these writings are as intricate as the Bible or as basic as an article in a local newspaper, but the meaning and passion behind them should never be doubted. In Leslie Marmon Silko's "Landscape, History, and the Pueblo Imagination", she expresses how her people have a very different meaning of "landscape". To Silko's people, the popular definition of landscape as being "a portion of territory the eye can comprehend in a single view" makes it seem as though the viewer is on the outside looking in. To them, the term landscape is much more than that. One cannot leave their surroundings, the earth and nature are always around us and we are always interconnected. The ancient Pueblos see everything as offspring of "Mother Earth"; they find spirit in all things. The smallest pebble on the side of the road, a half eaten antelope carcass, and every tree on the planet, all things, living or dead, contain spirit.
Cited: Silko, Leslie Marmon. "Landscape, History, and the Peublo Imagination." Listening to Earth. Christopher Hallowell, Walter Levy. Toronto: Pearson Longman, 2005 171-183 Suzuki, David. "Introduction to the Sacred Balance." Reading Writing Canada. Ed. J Miller. London: W.W. Norton + Co., 2005. 367-375 Williams, Joy. "One Acre: On Devaluing Real Estate to Keep Land Priceless." Listening to Earth. Christopher Hallowell, Walter Levy. Toronto: Pearson Longman, 2005 95-105