Spiritual Self-Care (Renewing and Restoring) - Page 1 of 2

Spiritual Self-Care (Renewing and Restoring)

All self-care and resilience-building ultimately comes down to renewing and restoring the spirit, "feeding your soul," reclaiming and nurturing the essence of yourself. Because the word "spiritual" can mean so many different things, a few brief definitions regarding what we are referring to might be helpful:

spiritual - concerned with the spirit or the soul rather than material things; not tangible

spirit - the vital principle or animating force within living beings; the essential nature of a person

soul - the animating and vital principle in human beings, credited with the faculties of thought, action, and emotion; the spiritual nature of a human being

Our appreciation for the breadth and depth of the human spirit is diminished if we think of spirituality only in a religious context. If we think that the tasks of "nurturing the spirit" are best left to religious institutions, we may negate the value and wisdom of much of our learning and personal growth throughout life.

Self-care tasks of renewing and restoring our spiritual selves typically include seeking meaning and purpose in our lives, clarifying our values, challenging and/or strengthening our beliefs, examining our ethics, seeking justice and righting injustices, seeking peace, genuinely forgiving others' mistakes and attacks, making and renewing commitments, nourishing our souls, and finding ways to live each day in integrity.