In His Own Individual Right

(taken from the book Came To Believe)

   Spirituality is an awakening- or is it all the loose ends woven together into a mellow fabric? It's understanding- or is it all the knowledge one need ever know? It's freedom- If you consider fear slavery. Its confidence- or is it the belief that a higher power will see you through any storm or gale? It's adhering to the dictates of your conscience- or is it a deep, genuine, living concern for the people and the planet? It's peace of mind in the face of adversity. Its a keen and sharpened desire for survival.

    It's a man or woman. It's gratitude for every happenstance of the past that brought you to a moment of justice. it's the joy of being a young man in a young world. It's awareness- or is it realization of one's capabilities and limitations? It's concentration- or is it an easy sensing of the universe? It's seeing a mystical power for good in each and every human being. It's patience in the face of stupidity. it's feeling that you want to knock somebody's head off- and walking away instead. It's when you're down past your last dime, and you know you still have something that money can buy. It's wearing dungarees that feel like a tuxedo. It's wanting to go home, yet being there. It's the rocket ride that goes far beyond the world your eye can see. It's looking at something that superficially is ugly, but radiates beauty. it's a magestic skyline or a western desert. It's a young child. It's seeing a caterpillar turn into a butterfly. it's the awareness that survival is a savage fight between you and yourself. it's a magnetic pull toward those who are down and out. it's knowing that even the bad times are good.

                   dont look back-you haven't seen anything yet.

              The singular thing that is spirituality cannot be given to a fellowman by word of mouth. If every man is to have it, then every man must earn it, in his own way, by his own hand, stamped by the seal of himself, in his own individual right.