Excerpt from Chapter 6:
"REMEMBERING OUR SPIRITUAL PATH"
₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪
The one eyed man thanks God only when he sees a man who is totally blind.
- African Proverb
As a people, African Americans need Spiritual Grounding. Many of us realize that our most important relationship in life is the one that we have with God, Yahweh Jah, Jehovah, Allah, Oludumare, or whatever the Higher Power is called by various sects. We seem, however, to spend very little time and energy developing that aspect of our lives.
We are not human beings on a spiritual journey we are spiritual beings on a human journey. Both DeChardin (1951), former French Jesuit Priest, and Stephen Covey (1989), author and motivational speaker, have been credited with that phrase. We need to remember and regularly embrace our spiritual being and the spiritual aspect of our lives. We may only seek a stronger connection with God following a major loss or hardship. Our relationship with God, however, is like a Get out of Jail Free Card. Its always good. We just forget that we have it at our disposal! Developing spiritual resilience is about remembering that strength. To help remember that you have a Get out of Jail Free Card, make a card for yourself and keep it in your wallet, your purse or coat pocket. Use the picture illustrated in Figure 3, Relationship with God, as a possible model for the card that you might create. Let it serve as a visual reminder that God is always there. Embrace any means necessary to help you remember that God is always available.
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Developing spiritual resilience is about remembering our connectedness with God and understanding the power that is innate in our relationship with the Creator.