Spirituality
For me spirituality is a funny word. It has all kinds of connotations and implications that don't fit what I mean.
We can argue the existence of the spirit/soul, the distinction between the two, and all sorts of religious and philosophical themes riffing on that.
And that's precisely my point.
Every single person that lives in this world has a core philosophy- a belief system.
And what each individual believes, changes and grows as they learn.
To me, our spirituality is that drive within us to do Good, to Help, to Serve, to Protect, to Learn, to Understand, and above all to Love.
And we may disagree about the best measures to take to live out these things.
But the fact that we have these disagreements rises from the fact that we all have our own philosophies and by my definition spirituality.
As a writer, it is not only necessary to recognize your own philosophies, but to embrace your spirituality.
It is impossible to separate the way you see the world from your own philosophies- IF you don't understand what you believe is specific to you. Take for instance... hmmm... I truly believe that every person has worth, potential, and deserves to be loved. Not everyone agrees with that. And if I'm writing from the point of view of... let's say, a gal who hates clowns (not a far stretch there!), like truly hates them, I have to recognize that the basic assumption I put on the value of individual life, doesn't exist for her. To her, everyone has value, unless they are Bozo or Krusty. And I know that's a silly example.
But there are other things, more specific things- that can be kinda messy to talk about online... like ANYTHING to do with politics, or religion, or Truth.
But these things shape the way we see EVERYTHING, and the way we interact with EVERYONE. Whether we realize it or not.
It is important to remember and embrace those things that you truly believe as you write. Because even if your characters don't believe anything similar to what you believe, and you recognize this, and you write that character as honestly as humanly possible. You still are responsible for what your book says. For the message it puts out in the world.
And you need to be in touch with that drive within you to do good, so that when your books are agented, and published, and sold, and read...
*your books will never, ever be something that makes you feel ashamed for writing them.
*your books will not do what you perceive to be harm.
*you can write books that are unique, because they come from you.
*your books will have heart, because you remembered yours while you wrote.
My goal in order to keep my spirituality growing, is to remember to study everyday- which I'm ashamed to admit I didn't do in 2011.
When signing up for the Round to Well-Rounded Challenge, you will need a goal to put here. It can be to volunteer somewhere, or to study, or to meditate, or to pray, or to help mow an elderly neighbor's lawn, or to smile at a random stranger a day, or whatever! Anything that reinforces and strengthens that drive in you to do Good, to seek Truth, to make the world better, to help, to learn, to LOVE.
I won't ask you your goal.
I believe that to be a very personal thing.
But in December, I'll ask you for a percentage of how well you think you kept to your goal.
I'll trust you to be honest.
Tomorrow, we'll talk about Home.
So, have you recognized any themes within your stories that are tied to your philosophies and/or spirituality? I find that twisted religions appear in much that I write.
An admirable goal, and a biggie too. A lot of my MCs personal philosophies tend to revolve around guilt (I blame that on my being raised Catholilc) and they tend to subscribe to the notion of "Hardship and challenge are the true markers of worth", meaning that the best things are difficult to achieve.
ReplyDeleteI love and agree with your definiton of spirituality, Vics!
ReplyDeleteI do find certain themes resurfacing within my novels. You're absolutely right, we can't help but put ourselves and our beliefs into our writing in some fashion.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post. :)
oh, wow. That's a gorgeous way to look at it. And are those your paintings? LOVE the first one. Love love love it! Thanks, V! Here's to writing with our hearts~ <3
ReplyDeleteAmen, Vicki! This is absolutely beautiful and so true. And your sentiment to write something you'd never be ashamed of is something I believe in. That's why certain elements will never be found in my books.
ReplyDeleteReally interesting post. I agree completely that spirituality is a very personal thing, and in large part my objection to religion is a refusal to acknowledge that by the more zealous practitioners. I get that they want to share their faith and spread it, but CENTRAL to my own beliefs is that something different works for everybody.
ReplyDeleteI know many of my values come through in my characters and stories. I've never actually included my own beliefs because frankly, they are a little complicated, but I do notice that the good guys tend to have at least things I can sympathize with, and my theme of distrusting authority and rules extends to organized religion in my couple books that include religion as a theme (though I've had a few very positive characters with strong faith, too--they just 'live it' rather than 'preach it')
Very thoughtful post. I really enjoyed reading this, and it brought up a few questions I should be asking myself more often~ thanks :)
ReplyDeleteI like the painting, but I won't say what it looks like.
ReplyDeleteI haven't given much thought to what my spirituality is, but I know what it's not, if that makes sense. Story of my life, actually. I've been defining myself by what I'm not rather than what I am and I'm hoping to change that.
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