No matter what happens to us, the bottom line reality is that all of our experiences in this lifetime will come to an end at some point and in some way. There is no getting around, no avoiding this simple truth.

As I think about our spirituality and how we experience life, I cling to the hope that we are more spiritual beings having a human experience and not just human beings having an occasional spiritual experience.

We all experience the cycles of life and death and then life again. We all experience the four seasons; spring, summer, fall and then winter and we all know that spring will again come.

Nature is around us, we experience it, but we are also a direct participant. Our modern inventions surround us and often seem to fill up our existence, but yet we all still experience the chirping of the birds, the wet tongue of a dog and the hug of another person. We are very much a part of the complex systems we have built, but we also are a part of the natural system of nature and life.

Joel T Nowak, MA, MSW