I am a spiritual being. I want to be connected to other people, and feel the warmth and depth of those connections. I experience this warmth and depth most when I freely give of myself, no strings attached. My authentic self expresses what is in my heart and soul to another person. How wonderful it is when the other person feels free to do the same. It is in that moment that the connection is forged. What a joyful experience! It is spiritual!

I have not always been aware of my spiritual identity. For a longtime, I denied it even existed. Like many people, I equated spirituality with religion and going to church. Because I have not gone to church in years, I felt like I was not entitled to the spirituality that surely exists in all of us. Mine was there, trying to reveal itself, and it did when I let down my guard and chose to be genuine with the people in my world. At first, I did not recognize what was happening as spirituality. But as I did, and took it in, my world got bigger. People were more drawn to me, and it dawned on me that it was simply because I was letting them in, and being the real me that sometimes I was afraid to show the world.

I have always been hesitant to show true emotion and allow myself to be vulnerable with others. But as I gradually risked letting my true self emerge, I found that the connections with others that I longed for were right there for the taking. There was no magic involved at all, as I had once thought. Rather, it was just a simple matter of integrity – showing love and concern for another person, being present with them, showing true emotion when they did, instead of closing up out of fear of appearing weak. Haven’t we all done that from time to time?

I am much more aware of how I am feeling when I am with important people in my life. Sometimes just being with them moves me to tears, and I allow it to happen, instead of pushing it back down, fearful that I will be perceived as weak. When the emotions well up, and I can share that with another person, that is special. It is these moments when I recognize that it is the richness of relationships, and intimate moments we share, that draw people together. That to me is spirituality. It is being alive with self and another person. It is being honest and giving, and taking the gifts offered by another.

We can be spiritual anywhere. I find my spiritual connections with my friends, in the workplace, at home and when I am with myself, at peace with me and what I contribute to the world. This feeling of spiritual peace is warm and true and makes me complete.