Religion and spirituality are something I've been hyper aware of ever since I was little. I was christened into the Uniting Church as a baby where I was allocated God Parents and had a little party. Whenever I asked my parents what religion we belonged to, they'd always answer with "Well, you were christened in the Uniting Church". I never really asked much more about it.
I didn't really know much about Jesus and my first introduction to the man that walks on water was in my first year of school where my class was split up into our respective denominations and senior students aka 12 year olds, taught us about our religions. Unfortunately the lesson we were taught obviously weren't very interesting to my six year old brain and I can't remember exactly what we learned. I do however remember the Grade 6's trying to make it fun for us. This was my first real introduction into the idea of spirituality.
Up until I was 16 years old, I had always considered myself a Christian. I believed there was a Heaven and a Hell and that there was a God. I never went to church, mostly because my Mum and Dad didn't go. They had told me I was a Christian but it wasn't a part of my daily life. It wasn't something we talked about often but it always fascinated me, especially as I began to learn about other religions. When I was 16, I went to a Baptist Church youth group just to hang out with my friends who went there. I didn't take it too seriously but still considered myself a Christian. That was until some of the other church goers, including my younger sister, told me that I wasn't.
I couldn't believe that anyone had the nerve and right to tell someone that they weren't part of their religion. Even my own sister blatantly said to my face that I wasn't a Christian. I was previously under the belief that you chose what religion you believed in and no one could have an opinion on it. Well APPARENTLY NOT.
Gradually I have lost touch with Christianity. I don't want to be part of a religion that excludes people and says you can only be part of that religion if you meet a certain criteria. Isn't religion supposed to give you hope and make you feel like you are part of something? I slowly began to dislike the idea of religion in general. It 's caused the world so much pain and suffering. I struggled to see the good it brought to people's lives. I didn't want to be part of the problem.
More recently, I've come to respect religion. I've seen that it gives people hope and something to live for and even though I don't have a particular religion that I believe in, I can now see how important it is for many people and culture to have this belief of a higher power. While I don't associate myself with a particular religion, this does not mean I don't have some sense of spirituality.
Spirituality to me is a sense of connectedness to something bigger than yourself. It could be a connection to a God, the university or anything really. I am personally connected to the world and nature. I have a strong pull towards water of basically any kind. I always feel happier, safer and more at peace when I'm near the water. This could be the ocean, a river, a pool, a lake or anything. I feel so small yet so big when I'm by the water.
One of my favourite things to do is go to the beach by myself or with my dog and just stare out at the horizon and think about how vast the ocean is. I think about how lucky I am and how insignificant my problems are compared to the rest of the world. But while I can see how insignificant my troubles are, thinking this way also helps me reflect on how lucky I am to be living the life I lead.
I think spirituality is something that grounds you. Something that gives you hope and makes you feel part of something beyond yourself. While religion isn't something I personally want to be a part of, my sense of spirituality is a huge part of my life and contributes so much to my ability to live my best life.