"Excellence is to worship God as if you see Him, for although you do not see Him, He verily sees you." - Islamic Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
Chances are you’ll never meet someone who says they don’t need to renew themselves.
Everyone needs a fresh start.
It seems as if almost no one nowadays thinks they need spirituality to make themselves feel whole and complete.
In a world where our food is fake, our relationships are fake, our titles are fake, and our speeches are fake, how do we expect ourselves not to be fake?
The average person in the 21st century is empty on the inside.
Religion, (which I believe is the best spiritual entity to make someone feel whole) is seen as a laughing stock. Anyone who talks about God, a Divine Being, or even the concept of morality is seen as strange.
Spirituality is severely sick in the 21st century, and it’s now beginning to die.
Atheism is on the rise. Apparently every 2 years, according to Pew Research Center, Atheism rises in the American Population by 4%.
And interestingly enough, suicide is on the rise as well.
Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the US, with almost 46,000 people committing suicide in 2020 alone.
Now you’re probably thinking “Oh, that’s just cause of Covid-19.” Well sure, it could definitely have played a part, but look at this next statistic.
Between 2000-2018, suicide increased by a whopping 30% in the US, according to the CDC.
Why, you may ask?
I argue that it is because of a decline in religion.
Religion can play a huge healing role in the mental health crisis currently plaguing the US.
When I say religion, I don’t mean neglected institutionalized religion. I don’t mean a system where the clergy take money from the people, give useless speeches, and wear funny clothing all day for clout.
I mean a belief system in which an individual can live by to stay motivated in life. And even when not motivated, will look forward to an everlasting reward.
Life can suck more often than not. People need to be able to keep their heads up even if everything gets taken away from them, as we’ve so unfortunately seen during covid.
Unfortunately, when the average individual in the 21st century thinks of religion, they’ll think of the quote by Carl Marx (an staunch atheist) who stated that religion “… is the opioid of the masses.”
But that was never the complete sentence Carl Marx wrote. It comes from a larger sentence:
“Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the masses.”
The one atheist whom many atheists will quote to support their negative stance on religion even understood that religion can be a solution for human suffering.
Those roaming in a “heartless world” should stay connected to a ‘heartfelt’ higher power.
The human being needs a higher power. That source of power which is intrinsically in power of what we know.The God.
We need something to look forward to; something that isn’t of this world that we know it as.
Mental illness and suicide are the symptoms of the spiritual pandemic we are going through. As more people leave religion and spirituality, more people have mental illnesses and thus commit suicide.
It’s such a sad and unfortunate thing to proclaim, but the fact of the matter is that most people are empty, unhappy, and unfulfilled. Religion is being abandoned.
The last statistic I’ll leave with you is this one:
According to Pew Research Center, actively religious people are both more likely to describe themselves as “very happy”, and are less prone to drinking and smoking than the less religious.
I’m not telling you to completely renew yourself and get fully invested and active in a religion.
I’m telling you to start a connection with something bigger than the world around you. Begin a spiritual renewal.
There is always more than what meets the eye.
Just because you don’t hear It talking to you, or see it looking at you, doesn’t mean there isn’t a higher power taking care of you.
Pursue Alchemy