As human beings, we are all made up of four aspects: body, mind, spirit and relationships. You might call them by different names, but whatever you call them, they are us.
‘Body’ seems pretty straightforward. It is what we look like, how strong our muscles are, how fast or slow we run, our size and all the rest. It is the physical part of us that we can touch and see. It is all of our body parts and how they physically work together. It is our internal organs in addition to all the outwardly visible parts. It gets a little more complicated when you consider that it is our actions and words as well. What we say and do is determined by the other three aspects, but the actual production of them is right here in the physical realm.
The aspect I call ‘mind’ has to do with what we know, how we process information, our memory. The brain is part of the physical realm, but the brain’s purpose is to be the mind. Just as our physical aspect gets hungry for food, our intellect gets starved if we are not taking in new information. Curiosity is the key.
Our relational aspect is not whether we have relationships or not. Even the hermit living in a cave far away from other human beings has relationships… with the environment, with his memories, with her self. It is more how we function in relationships. We are introverts or extroverts (or somewhere in between.) We are open or closed with our emotions. Some of us go deep easily and others collect friends.
Our spiritual aspect has to do with what our standards are, how we understand the difference between right and wrong, good and bad, truth and falsehood. It is about our values and priorities. It is about what justice looks like, and being a blessing on the world around us (including the people) instead of a drain. It isn’t as much about whether we practice a religion or not; every religion in the world is trying to help its adherents live more deeply and put our energies into worthwhile pursuits.
If we are to be truly healthy, we must be healthy in each of these four areas. It is my aim, as the pastor of this congregation, to help members be healthy in body, mind, spirit and relationships.
Blessings and peace,
Pastor Karla
