{"id":332342,"date":"2020-10-28T06:02:30","date_gmt":"2020-10-27T20:02:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=332342"},"modified":"2020-10-28T06:02:30","modified_gmt":"2020-10-27T20:02:30","slug":"spiritual-wellness-helps-us-think-beyond-ourselves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/spiritual-wellness-helps-us-think-beyond-ourselves\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Spiritual wellness helps us think beyond ourselves\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The pandemic has truly caused extraordinary disruption and anxiety throughout the world, which is why going back to what gives us hope, inspiration, and the will to go on is important more than ever. And the more we watch out for the wellbeing of others, the better all of us will be, according to Diocese of Chalan Kanoa Bishop Ryan Jimenez.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026The specific challenges of the economy and the threat of disease that challenges all humanity makes us more aware of our common challenges and the more we have solidarity with all who suffer equally, the more we watch out for the wellbeing of others, and the better all of us will be. \u00a0This is \u2018common sense\u2019 spirituality and propels all of us to think beyond ourselves, our families, and our customary communities because the pain of humanity makes us more united,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany who are practicing their religion in a conventional or nominal way can find real support in the heart of the spiritual mission of all religions because\u00a0it is not about building churches and institutions now, it is about the reality of human suffering and solidarity which religion addresses with a heritage of faith, service, and a credible story of God who loves and teaches us that such love is our mission also,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

According to Jimenez, taking baby steps to raise one\u2019s spirituality makes a difference when disheartened and beaten by life challenges. \u201cOftentimes, people who are disheartened feel needy, are broken, and suffer from several failures in their communities. Often they live in a psychological world full of \u2018poor me.\u2019 This world can become a deep downward spiral if they turn to substances, or thought processes, or addictive behaviors as a relief, or as pain-killer, or as some kind of social identity which can be criticized as shameful,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way through some of this is to not focus on the self and problems, but to be giving and loving as one is able. \u00a0Small steps in becoming loving are important and can contribute to immense psychological healing and a little can go a long way,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

For counselling and comfort, Jimenez said that most professional-level workers in churches (clergy, elders, overseers) have some training in pastoral counseling for activating religious solutions to many human problems. \u00a0\u201cMoreover, they want to motivate the members to provide ordinary and compassionate love to the persons who are suffering in their midst. The stories of human suffering deserve attention and respect by all religious people, and the act of compassionate listening contains much power to heal and encourage,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose who are Christians are called to be ready to listen, to love, and to support the broken persons in their lives and to regard such suffering persons as gifts from God, like true brothers and sisters,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Jimenez said that building a strong spirituality requires strong relationships with other people and not just with God or the saints. \u201cThe more one can relate within the usual communities of life and break the boundaries toward loving the needy, the more complete the challenge of wellness becomes. Everyone can do this, even the most miserable of us. \u00a0It does not mean we become social workers or join clubs or raise money (but it may include this for some). It just means we become more fully human ourselves by engaging and loving other people whom God himself puts into our lives and who need the love only we can give.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not patronizing love, but a kind of special commitment to loving the unloved, serving the ungrateful, accommodating the strange, and being consistently positive with the angry, prejudiced, and hateful. We are designed by God for this, and Christians tell the story of God\u2019s son who made this characteristic obvious to his followers,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

To find encouragement and purpose in life, you have to listen to yourself, Jimenez said. \u201cIf you know the right thing to do, do it.\u00a0Sometimes it is awkward to seek forgiveness, to offer forgiveness, to give of self, to be loving. \u00a0We don\u2019t have to push, but we can do the right thing, which is always a loving thing. \u00a0Doing the right things reshapes our lives, our time, our energies, our resources, and our relationships as it brings us closer to God and allows us to work with him in His mission,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Ryan Jimenez<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201c\u2026The most important challenges in life are not just temporary. They are always the same issues\u2026pride, prejudices, malice, shame, and all the things associated with the \u2018seven deadly sins.\u2019 The forms differ a lot but the fundamental challenges to reform our lives with the help of God and our communities\u2014this is the stuff of life. When we work out our guilt in some of these matters, the temporary challenges of life become far more manageable,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

During this pandemic, Jimenzez said that love renders us healthy and love gives us the foundation and stability that sustains. \u201cLove is the endowment of every human being (we can do it), and any church serves to strengthen its members to undertake the great effort of love,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026That is our job, really\u2014to minimize the damage and\u2026to replace some of it with authentic humanity. \u00a0I believe firmly that God does this in every human being, and that churches are supposed to assist with God\u2019s mission.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The pandemic has truly caused extraordinary disruption and anxiety throughout the world, which is why…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":332343,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-332342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-supplement"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=332342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332342\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/332343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=332342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=332342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=332342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}