SPIRITUALITY
The Spiritual Path Isn’t About Being Nice
And why that’s a good thing
Let’s dispel a myth right off the bat: the spiritual path isn’t about transforming yourself into a human sunshine dispenser, relentlessly spewing rainbows and glitter.
Don’t get me wrong, kindness is a beautiful thing, but spirituality delves deeper, into the messy, magnificent labyrinth of the human experience.
Think of it like this: Imagine a dusty attic, crammed with forgotten treasures and cobwebbed memories.
The spiritual path is about unearthing all that hidden stuff — the sparkly baubles of joy, the moth-eaten shawls of grief, the chipped teacups of past relationships.
It’s not about shoving everything back into neat little boxes labeled “good” and “bad.”
It’s about acknowledging it all, the light and the shadow, and finding a way to integrate it into a more wholehearted version of yourself.
Personally, the “nice” phase of my spiritual journey felt inauthentic.
I plastered a smile on my face even when my insides were churning with frustration.
Setting boundaries felt like a betrayal, and saying “no” was a foreign concept.
Guess what?
That path led straight to burnout city, population: me.
It wasn’t until I embraced the full spectrum of my emotions — the grumpiness alongside the gratitude, the anger alongside the compassion — that I truly started to grow.
Now, this doesn’t mean turning into a grumpy Gus (although there might be days for that too).
It’s about allowing yourself to feel your feelings, the whole messy kaleidoscope of them.
It’s about expressing them healthily, and learning to set boundaries with kindness but also with firmness.
It’s about honoring your truth, even if it means ruffling a few feathers.
Think of Gandhi.
Was he always a picture of serenity?
Nope.
Dude staged some pretty darn rebellious protests!
But he did them with a core of compassion and a fierce dedication to justice.
That’s the kind of spiritual badassery I’m talking about.
The spiritual path is a wild, unpredictable adventure, filled with unexpected detours and hidden treasures.
Embrace the full spectrum of who you are, the “nice” and the “not so nice,” and watch yourself transform into a more authentic, radiant version of yourself.
After all, wouldn’t the world be a snoozefest if everyone just smiled and said “yes” all the time?
Now go forth and be your gloriously complex, beautifully human self!
