Healthy Aging and Spirituality

My last topic to discuss regarding healthy aging is spirituality. A person may ponder why write about spirituality when it is something very personal. You are right it is personal, but it is an important part of our lives and society. Our parents influence our first views of what spirituality is and sometimes this definition changes when we become teenagers or young adults and may change again later in our lives as we age.

When I went looking at the definition of spirituality on the Internet, I got numerous ones from academy and religious groups. The common theme of the definition was spirituality is individual. What is the difference between spirituality and religion: spirituality is the big picture and religion can be a component of it. Here is one definition of spirituality:

Christina Puchalski, MD, Director of the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health, contends that “spirituality is the

aspect of humanity that refers to the way individuals seek and express meaning and purpose and the way they experience their

connectedness to the moment, to self, to others, to nature, and to the significant or sacred.”

Spirituality typically involves a search for meaning in life. Spirituality is about seeking a meaningful connection with something bigger than yourself that can result in positive emotions, such as peace, contentment, gratitude, and acceptance. My own definition of spirituality is a belief in something higher than myself. It can be God, Yahweh, or multi- gods and goddesses. Thus, the definition of spirituality can vary from person to person. Many studies have shown that people with a strong spiritual belief age better and live healthier and longer lives.