In traditional Western society, let’s say during the 19th century and prior, the sacred had a big role to play in the lives of everyone in the community.
Church was a central part of the way villages, towns and cities functioned.
It was where we all got together on a Sunday morning to catch up with friend and acquaintances in the neighbourhood and hear the goss.
It played a spiritual role in the lives of some, sure, but the role it played communally is undervalued and misunderstood.
These days, in modern society, church has been largely removed from its pedestal as the cornerstone of civilisation.
For a time, in its place was government, a source of trust and nurturance. These days, for the most part, in modernity, its business and its role as the saviour of all the ills of humanity.
Which leaves little room for the sacred.
What even is sacred in our society today?
The role of traditional, organised religion in our social fabric is rapidly falling away, even if people identify as spiritual but not religious and a type of covert nihilism has taken root in many spheres where nothing is seen as sacred as a direct result of the atheism and agnosticism that was so popular at the turn of the 21st century.
If nothing is sacred, what do we ground our life’s purpose in?
What do we turn to in times of despair?
What is worth suffering for?
The answers to these questions that we tend to come up with as individuals is often leaving a lot to be desired.
Hence the skyrocketing rate of suicide that we see continuing to gather pace.
What am I referring to when I use the term ‘sacred’?
Well, to me, every human being is sacred. You are sacred. I am sacred. From the Dalai Lama to the bum on the street. We are all sacred.
And life itself is sacred.
This moment.
This breath.
Is sacred.
And it’s worth honouring.
What does it mean to honour the sacred?
Well, perhaps that’s best up to you to decide for yourself, how you’d like to honour what you see as sacred in your life. But as a grounding life philosophy, I’d highly recommend something along these lines. For me, it’s about being present as much as possible and trying to foster love and compassion in my heart. If I can do those things, I feel like I am honouring the time I have on this planet and honouring every single soul that I come into contact with.
If I can leave my time on the Earth having tried to live in this way with integrity, I’ll at least be proud of that.
And that’s worth something.