NF — Oh yes it is
I do not consider myself to be an authority on the subject, but I will share with you what I have learned from my own experiences.
As I often tell people, spiritual growth is just a shinier way to talk about human growth. We are all here, lost in our daily lives with their demands, and some day, we depart. This is a small way to live. Yet, it is an essential step in our evolution so there is no point in condemning it.
After we are done with our quarrels, arguments, and miseries — eventually, there comes a time when we ask ourselves if life is just supposed to be about endless and pointless fights. That is when we look for meaning, for deeper understanding, for what exists beyond the five senses, and so on.
We are basically trying to make sense of life because so far, the material domain on its own has proved to be fade, devoid of taste, and meaning. (Once we reach a certain point of maturity, we come back to this world and appreciate it for what it is.)
This inward journey is called the “spiritual journey.”
Again, it is just about the human journey, about growing up as a person, about stopping to blame the world and others for our problems — and learning to become more accountable for our lives, more accountable for our feelings and thoughts, more accountable for our actions and where they led us.
This process of maturation however, like any process of growth — cannot only be pleasant.
If you work out at the gym, you know that building strong arms or legs demands that you feel the burn, that you have a hard time in the bathroom due to how sore your body is, that you feed yourself properly, and so on. This is work. And it isn’t always nice.
Growth equals moving out of what feels familiar for us, and penetrating into uncharted territories.
This is taxing on the brain. It is a demanding process. Adapting to it takes some time. We may behave in compulsive ways to cope with the discomfort. We may need more sleep, more food, more “play.” We may be moody; ecstatic at 10:00 and depressed at 10:01.
These “symptoms” are not only linked to spiritual growth, but to growth in general. It just is a natural phase of our transmutation.
This process of transmutation is what creates anxiety, low self-esteem, despair, hopelessness, and so on. And here is the interesting thing; growth never ends. We can always grow. But growth will remain demanding. The only difference is that with time, we become wiser, and we learn to accept our human nature, and that is what makes the process smoother.
Embrace yourself. Be nice to yourself. As long as you are willing to overcome your limitations, you have nothing to worry about.
It is toxic, and unhealthy to have so many expectations from ourselves. Live for yourself. Follow your own path. Be human. Who cares about Brad Pitt? Haha.
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Wishing you the best.