Spirituality as a Way of Being Human

By Dr. Katie Eastman & Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino

Here on Best Ever Woo, we’ve explored spirituality through the lenses of gratitude, forgiveness, compassion, liminal space, resilience, and hope. Each of these practices reveals something simple yet profound: spirituality is not something outside of us—it is woven into what it means to be human.

Spirituality is not about escaping reality. It is about engaging reality with depth and presence. It is about pausing in the middle of change, loss, or uncertainty and asking: What really matters? How can I align my choices with love, connection, and meaning?

For some, religion offers language, rituals, and community that give structure to this search. For others, spirituality is lived in nature, in relationships, in quiet reflection, or in daily practices like gratitude, self-forgiveness, or the peaceful pause. Whether inside a sanctuary or on a walk through the woods, spirituality begins wherever you connect to something greater than yourself.

In Uplifting: Inspiring Stories of Loss, Change, and Growth, Dr. Katie shared how losses—both tangible and silent—can open us to the sacred questions of life. In The Change Guidebook and The Success Guidebook, Elizabeth reminds us that every transition is an opportunity to pause and consciously redefine success, hope, and meaning. And in The Peace Guidebook, together we teach that peace begins within and flows outward, one pause, one choice, one connection at a time.

Spirituality is not “woo woo.” It is not beyond comprehension. It is as ordinary and extraordinary as breathing. It is the awareness that life is precious, that love is central, and that our choices ripple outward into the world.

As we close this series, we invite you to see spirituality not as something you must seek outside yourself, but as something you already carry within. It is in your compassion, your courage, your gratitude, your willingness to forgive, your hope. It is in the way you choose to live each day with presence.

✨ Reflection Prompt: What practices—gratitude, forgiveness, compassion, hope—do you want to carry forward as reminders that spirituality is part of being human?

Takeaways

• Spirituality is woven into daily life, not separate from it.

• Religion can offer structure, but spirituality can also be expressed through everyday practices.

• Uplifting highlights how loss can open us to deeper meaning.

• The Change Guidebook and The Success Guidebook show how reflection during change helps redefine success and hope.

• The Peace Guidebook teaches that peace begins within and flows outward.

• Spirituality is not “woo woo”—it is the awareness of love, meaning, and connection in everyday life.

• Each act of gratitude, compassion, forgiveness, and hope is spirituality in motion.