I have grappled for days with this month’s theme, continually disappearing down rabbit holes of gloom, and generating hundreds of preachy words. In large part this is because the dictionary defines sacred as ‘connected with God or a god, or dedicated to a religious purpose and so deserving of veneration.’
Some of us do not believe in any god, can we still have a religious purpose?
A dictionary definition again; religion- ‘the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.’
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| Photo by NASA
on Unsplash |
So we hit another hurdle - must we believe in something superhuman to have a sense of the sacred? What does ‘sacred’ mean to people of no religious belief. What makes life meaningful if there is no superhuman entity to believe in?
The word sacred starts to make more sense if we stretch the definition of ‘a personal god’ to ‘that which gives our lives purpose and meaning’.
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| Photo by Islander Images on Unsplash |
I’m not comfortable with changing the definition of words in general; it waters the currency of communication. However, you regularly hear people say things like ‘football is my religion’, or ‘cooking is my religion’, and we know what they mean, so I’m cutting myself a bit of slack here.
I’ve written about Maslow before but I often find myself returning to his hierarchy of needs when considering philosophical issues.
If we are lucky, we work our way up from the bottom of the pyramid as we grow up, get jobs, find love and achieve our potential. But are all these acquisitions and achievements the meaning of life?
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| Photo by Mosoianu Bogdan on Unsplash |
We all have a duty to look after ourselves if we can, but when we think about all these needs in terms of others: individuals, communities, planet, that’s where real meaning begins. And that’s where the sacred reveals itself. Not in books, or buildings, or music, inspiring though they may be, but in the ability of human beings to transcend their own selfish natures, to reach out and say ‘I’m here. What can you teach me? What do you need from me?’
Perhaps every person can be suprahuman.
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| Photo by Pagie Page on Unsplash |
My name is Alice Rosewell and I live in the city of Bristol in the South West of England (UK), the city where I was born. I write in British English, so I hope that American readers will not be put off by British spelling of some words.
This is my last post for this blog as I need to prioritise family matters for the foreseeable future. I’d like to thank Judith and Sarah for giving me this opportunity. I’ve learned a lot, and have enjoyed reading your posts and comments.
All good wishes to you for the holiday season and the year to come.
4 comments:
Alice, thank you for an awesomely thoughtful post!
We do understand priortising family. Know that you will be missed!!! and there will be a spot for you should you have the time, energy and inclination to write a guest post or even return.
Thanks for the post, Alice. I agree that community and connection are sacred.
We'll miss you, but I understand needing to take care of your family and yourself. Hope to see a guest post from you, when you have time for one!
Alice, whether religious or not, I think you described sacred beautifully. "We all have a duty to look after ourselves if we can, but when we think about all these needs in terms of others: individuals, communities, planet, that’s where real meaning begins. And that’s where the sacred reveals itself."
Every religion speaks of community and the needs of others. Humanists and Athiests often speak of community and looking out for others as sacred as well.
I will miss your thoughtful posts, but I certainly understand needing to prioritize family matters at this time. May it serve you well and bring you new learnings and understanding.
Wonderful, thoughtful post, Alice. We'll miss you on the blog. I hope you can come back to visit once in a while. Sorry to be so late in responding, but just catching up.
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