Simply stated, a lifestyle that includes Sacredness is one in which:
- a person views all life in the world as interconnected (which, in reality all organic and/ inorganic elements and forms of energy are interconnected).
- And, that the meaning and purpose of each moment, each day, each year, is to extend efforts of caring about and benefitting all life encountered and recognized as in danger.
(Experiencing Sacredness is indispensable to developing this lifestyle. These experiences give a reality that no theory, fact, or information can. These experiences become a sustaining basis for choosing such a lifestyle.)
For many, just seeing the devastations, and peril of life on earth motivates a personal commitment. This can extend to intentionally choosing to develop and live such a lifestyle. The best development of such a lifestyle begins, first and foremost, by learning how to be in healthy relationships. Please see “Relado” in the replenishvitality.org website for an excellent introduction to this.)
The first relationship that must be brought into health is a person’s relationship with themselves. By learning to take care of one’s self there then can be both the health and energy to engage in healthy relationships with others. This sense of relationship can extend to one’s relationship with nature. For some who are more introverted or have had experiences with others in authority who scared or caused them harm, relationship with nature and pets can be more fulfilling and less taxing than relationships with others. For those who open to faith in “a higher power” — a personal relationship with God, Allah, Yahweh, or the name a person finds when experiencing that/who is greater than all else, one can find the relationship that supersedes all others, and is filled with Unconditional Love, Ever Present Wisdom, Compassion, and Counsel. This relationship is there when all else seems to fail.
Developing the skills to develop healthy relationships in all areas of one’s life brings enrichment of being and brings balance when one area of relationship is strained. Friends help when relationship with self is struggling. Relationship with Nature helps when relationships with others, whether personally, socially, or with bosses/employees brings difficulties. Relationship with that/who is beyond all mortality is there every moment, and especially needed when struggles with all other relationships are a struggle.
Thus, caring and tending is greatly enhanced when the skill of balancing and drawing on one relationship to balance another is developed. (A music album “Compassion’s Caress” has been dedicated to those who are feeling the “weight or burden” in their lives that must be endured through a period of time. Also, “For Those In Need” offers support.) One skill that greatly assists in recognizing the “status” of various relationships, and thus, developing a lifestyle that includes Sacredness is “Mindfulness.”
“Mindfulness” is a relatively new term within the last 20 years, and what it speaks to is very important. There are excellent websites with more in-depth explanations. A succinct presentation of mindfulness in terms of personal wellness and integration can be found here. In simplest terms, being mindful is having one’s attention directed to what is directly present. Not thinking about the past or future. Not focusing on desires, urges, etc. but taking in all that is in the present moment. Using all of one’s senses and attention in the “moment.” When totally present to the moment this is when someone or something that needs attention is observed; and when appropriate and possible, responded to.
Having times of quiet solitude are essential for quieting all the thoughts and emotions that can swirl in the sphere of relationships that fill each life. Here mindfulness helps identify all that may be swirling in thoughts and emotions, and then a person can intentionally quiet them in the moment, and yet commit to dealing with them when possible. Especially for those whose lives involve long- term taking care of or tending to, mindfulness immediately lets a person know that attention and “presence” is slipping. Everyone gets overwhelmed at times so developing the skill of mindfulness can benefit all of a person’s life, and is essential for developing a lifestyle of Sacredness. A fractured person may give care to all around, but at too great of a personal cost, and often with “fractured care.” When mindfulness is well developed, unexpected moments of experiencing Sacredness can occur that then inspire living a sacred lifestyle.
With developing relationships and mindfulness , contributing to groups, organizations, etc. who/that are working to increase the preservation and restoration of ecosystems, biodiversity and sustainability in nature gives meaning and purpose to life. And being part of such efforts greatly contributes to developing a lifestyle of Sacredness. (Humans being “human,” if you feel rejected by a group or organization, simply know to look elsewhere.) Thus a lifestyle and set of values is integrated personally and extends from daily activities to joining with others in ongoing commitments.
Humanity’s evolution must include lifestyles of Sacredness, both for the exquisite quality of life this brings, but also for the preservation of life on earth. What is needed is for cultural attitudes to include Sacredness as a primary core value in people’s lives — every individual valuing and contributing to the wellbeing of other lives, other life forms, and all that gives life on this miraculous planet. Personal values as well as contributing to increasing cultural values and attitudes will greatly assist in bringing about this crucial evolution. Religious and Spiritual Traditions, and Education can also contribute to this crucial evolution. The “industrial Revolution” brought forth a massive disconnect from nature, and values that were based too heavily on “produce, sell, profit” without regard to what was taken out of nature, and what was being done to nature. With the emergence of a a worldview that all life in the world is interconnected, and values based upon the meaning and purpose of each moment, each day, each year is to extend efforts of caring about and benefitting all life encountered, and recognized as in danger, so much of what the industrial revolution brought forth, including information technology to globally connect people, can now take humanity into its next evolution.
There will come a time in which Sacredness will become part of human consciousness. Historians will look back on the thousands of years of tragic devastations inflicted on all life by some of humanity and recognize that without the efforts of so many in their life-time the evolution would have slower and more devastating.