Article in Stretton Focus, October 2016
The verb ‘to be’ is the most important word in the English language. The present tense, ‘I am’, raises the question ‘Who am I?’ and invokes the challenge to be the best person we are capable of being. We have always referred to God as the ‘Eternal being’, but we do not possess the language to define God accurately and therefore struggle to find a clear definition, as have many of the poets and writers throughout the centuries.
William Wordsworth is confident about the nature of a supreme being, i.e. God. In his poem ‘Lines composed above Tintern Abbey’, he says:
‘And I have felt
A presence that disturbs me with the joy
Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime,
Of something far more deeply interfused,
Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns,
And the round ocean and the living air,
And the blue sky and in the mind of man;
A motion and a spirit that impels
All thinking things, all objects of all thought,
And rolls through all things.’
Again in his ‘Ode to Intimations of Immortality’ Wordsworth refers to the concept of pre-existence where the soul is created before the body to connect the child with the ability to witness the divine in nature. As children mature they become more worldly and lose that divine vision. However they are often able to see what others do not see in the natural world as everything to them is a source of wonder.
Spiritual development should be seen as a lifelong experience involving reflection and adjustment and is the way children develop in relationships. Questions could be asked about the nature of spirituality and if it only exists between people. Individuals are not spiritual in isolation from other human beings. Spiritual growth should be encouraged from an early age as it can promote balance, concentration and contentment for a child, enabling them to handle the pressure and challenges they will face in the future.
If we can experience God, as I believe Wordsworth and many of the poets and thinkers did and do today, i.e. as a spiritual presence and mystery that transcends everything, then our lives should take on a renewed meaning. I refer you to the Quakers, where God is defined as the inner light, i.e. God within everyone.
If everything is in God then surely there is no need to search for something that is already there and within us.
David Hill
