Personal growth is often defined in terms of achievements that we obtain according to society's standards. For instance, bagging that employee of the year award signals that we are excelling in our field of work. As such, we can say that like a seed; there is growth present in this whole process.
But more often than not, our spiritual life is an aspect that is often underappreciated. When people speak of spirituality as part of their personal growth, most of us become awkwardly silent about it. Why so? Isn’t spirituality an important aspect of personal growth? Why is it not being given due recognition then?
The problem of Modern Day Spirituality
With the advent of anthropocentrism, there has been a major shift in perspectives. People no longer adhered to the notion that there is a great creator who gets to decide where we will be going to after our death. As history proves it, this notion became the stalwart foundation of morality and human society. Until this day, these notions are still in place through the institutions that cater them.
Even so, people have become increasingly reluctant on blindly adhering with this age-old institutions. Given the presence of increased connectivity and liberation, individuals have become more open-minded to other forms of spirituality apart from the ones promoted by the major world religions. As people from all parts of the world are able to exchange ideas freely, spirituality has taken a whole new definition that transcends the traditional.
As such, one proof for
this is the New Age movement. Using an eclectic approach, the New Age spirituality pulls out beliefs from all corners of the world and accepts them as equally valid in their own way. Given that they are coming from varying contexts, the validity of these beliefs is not judged based on some fixed universal viewpoint.
By doing so, this creates both good and bad points for the modern man. What now becomes the basis of spirituality if all is seemingly relative? In the same way, isn't it a great thing that dominant institutions are not able to simply trample on the belief of others? If so, where is the common man, and how should he face these challenges?
The three questions above outline the major problem in this article – that man is a confused being. By taking away the concrete foundations of belief, it shakes the base of man's spirituality but at the same time offers a new found basis. Like a double-edged sword, the rise of anthropocentrism challenges man to create something new and out of the ordinary.
To a certain extent, the whole questioning that this article takes gives us a good pattern of how spirituality is important for personal growth. Come to think of it, if man excels in most aspects of his life like physical, social, and communicative aspects, does that make him whole? Or is he still likely to face existential questions which will challenge the limits of his being?
Looking at advanced continents and countries like Europe and the United States of America, we can see that most of the individuals are living a comfortable life. Flipping burgers for In-and-Out, for instance, can get you a relatively good pay at 16.50 USD an hour. While this may not be much if you are living in America, know that this is twice as much as the daily (yes, daily, not hourly) minimum wage in a third world country like the Philippines.
But while the minimum wage in first world countries are able to provide for all the basic needs in one's life (like healthcare insurance, housing, education, etc.,), is it really able to account for the intangible and unquantifiable aspects of
human existence like relationships, self-improvement, and spirituality? The answer to such can be questionable for these material, and physical aspects clearly do not correlate to individual and spiritual growth.
As such, there you have it – spiritual growth is crucial and important for personal development because the meaning of man’s existence cannot be limited to two things – his material achievements and his social conformity.
Like the examples discussed above, material provisions and social security doesn’t necessarily lead to a meaningful life. Having enough to buy that Toyota 4runner doesn’t mean that you have a happy home. Although these things are relatively necessary for a good life, one’s meaning cannot be measured by such.
Similarly, blind adherence to major religions and institutions have also become less meaningful. Given the influence of globalization even in the sphere of ideas and concepts, people have become reluctant on such topics as they can now see the vast options before them. Like food choices in a grocery, beliefs, and religion have become readily available to us.
The challenge of the Modern Man
In the light of this situation, we are left with a big hole, a challenge for the modern man to find his own spiritual path. In order to truly grow as an individual, one has to connect with oneself on top of recognizing the finitude of his/her existence. By learning more about spirituality, we get to see how amazing life is and how fleeting it can become at the same time. Understanding this, one is able to develop not only with the social recognition that he/she gets, but also the inner peace and understanding that one obtains as they move forward.
Author Biography
Chris writes for individualogist.com, a website dedicated to helping individuals identify and learn about their personality archetypes. The site also offers a wealth of wisdom about spirituality, self-discovery, and astrology. You can identify your archetype by taking their
archetype test here.
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