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DionicioCox
Mr.Conrad
EnglishIIIPeriod7
14November,2014

Yin&Yang
Andonthethirdday,Jesuscamebackfromthedeadandthepriestjustgoesonand
on,*sigh*ofalltheplacesa7yearoldmewouldwanttobeonchristmaseve,churchisnotone
ofthoseplaces.Doesthispriesteverstopramblingon?Itsbeen40minutes!Whenwillitend?!?
Incaseyouhavenotcometotheconclusionyet,Iamnotthemostreligiouspersonyouwillever
meetImeanIbelieveinGodandJesusandthewholelot,Ijustdontliveandbreaththegospel.
HoweverIhavebeentoldIamaveryspiritualperson.Wait,hesnotreligious,buthes
spiritual?Isntthatalilcontradictingyoumaybesayingtoyourself,wellthetruthisreligion
andspiritualityarecompletelyfreefromoneanother,ayinandyangifyouwill.Imnottheonly
personwhoseesitasthis,backinthe19thcenturymanywritersandpoetsseemedtofeeland
thinkthesameway,somenotablepeopleofthiscenturywereEmilyDickinsonandHenryDavid
Thoreau.Throughtheirworks,theyclearlyexplainedandshowedtheirviewsonSpiritualityand
Religionastwoseparatethings.
EmilyElizabethDickinson,BornDecember10,1830,livedaveryprivatelife,but
becamealegendafterdeath.Herpoemsbrushacrossavarietyofdifferenttopics,howevermany
ofthe1,800poemsshewrotedealtwithdeath,immortality,andreligion.Inmypersonal
favouritepoemthatshewrote,FaithisafineinventionthereisalinethatIabsolutelylove.It

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goesassoFaithisafineinvention/forgentlemenwhosee!(Dickinson1).Now,whatexactly
isagentleman?Typicallythestandardideaforoneissomeonewithexcellentmanners.However,
notnotlongago,agentlemanwassomeonewhowaswealthytheywerethesmallpercentage
thathadmoremoneythantheothersaroundthem.AlsoDickinsonsaythatthesegentlemenare
abletosee,toseecouldmeantobeenlightenedyouknowthewaysoftheuniverse.For
myselftobeenlightenedyouneedaneducation,andintheoldendays,onlytherichupperclass
gentlemencouldaffordaneducation.Sotomethislinesbasicallysays,religionisonlyforthe
upperclass,itisnotforeveryone.Soifonlytherichcouldhavereligion,homecomewesaw
thepoorpeopleoflongagolivingthewordofthegospel?Welltheywerespiritual,theyalready
hadthecreatorsstrengthinthemandcouldgooutandhelpothersfeelhappyandgoodabout
themselves.Theyshowedtheothershowtobespiritualratherthanjusthearonhowtobe
spiritual.
Agreatwaytofindyourselfandwhoyouaremeanttobecomeanddoistotakeaspirit
journeyandjourneyouttothegreatoutdoors.ThatisexactlywhatHenryDavidThoreaudidand
accountsinhisessayWalden.Nowforthosewhowerenotaware,Thoreauwasnotareligious
man,hewashoweververyspirituallysolidandhediscoversinthelatemonthsofwinterthat
heavenisunderourfeetaswellasoverourheads(Walden155).Whatdoesthatexactlymean?
wellifyousaidthatheavenisactuallythisplanetthatweliveonthendopassgoandcollect
$200.Earthisamagicalplace,justgoandtakeawalkoutsideandyouwillseeamultitudeof
magicalthings:treeschangingcolor,aninvisibleforceblowingtheleavesallaround.Ittrulyis
realmagic.SoafterseeingallthisitiseasytorealizehowThoreaubelievedthatyoujustdidnot
havetobelieveinsomeultimatebeingintheskytobereligiousorspiritual.Inmyopinionhe

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wouldsaythatinordertobereligious,justgooutandcareforourplanet.Listentoitshumsand
songthatitsings.Speakwhenearthspeakstoyouandalwaysbeonthelookoutforsignsonhow
youcanhelpthosewhoneedhelp
SoitiseasytoseethatEmilyDickinsonandHenryThoreaubelievedthatreligionand
spiritualitytobeayinandyang,eachinperfectbalanceyetcompletelydifferentfromone
another.NeedlesstosayIfeelandbelievethisaswell.Isaythatjustbecauseyougotochurch
everysinglesundaymakesyouareligiousperson,howeveritdoesnotmakeyouaspiritual
person.Ifyouweretosay,gooutandactuallypreachthewordandmessageyouheardthenthat
wouldmakeyouaspirituallysoundandgoodperson.Itisaveryfinelinebetweenthetwoandis
difficulttoexplainwhythetwoarenotthesamething.Soletmedomybesttosumitupright
here:BeingreligiousmeanshavingthewillpowertohearandlearnaboutwhateverGodyou
choose.Beingspiritualmeansfindingthestrengthandcouragetogooutandlivethosewords
andhelpothersintheirtimesofneedandtobeagoodneighbor.LikeIhavesaid,botharealong
averynarrowlinesobothareeasilyassumedtobethesamething,buttheyarenot.YetIhope
thatyougooutandstartlivingyourlifeasaveryspiritualandreligiousperson.Ibetthatifyou
doyouwillencounterabunchofchanges.Allgood.Ipromise.