Worship where you feel most spiritual. I find this saying comforting in many ways. Although this is meant for Christians (is said to be told by Jesus) to worship God, I am going to take something else from this.

Worship life.

While this can be argued by most existenialists that life is all chaos, that would be missing the point. There is only this one life and nothing else, why not worship and be thankful for that?

I figured that in light of all those blogs about religion where people get angry over something that neither side can verify or accurately argue against, I would write a blog about where people feel most spiritual. After all, isn't that the real message?

I feel most spiritaul in the gym. To be more specific, the weight room. I find it to be the one place in life where there is no one to compete against, no angles to find, and certainly no need to ever feel bad. It is my safe haven...it is my church. I worship life in the weight room. A moment when all my thoughts can be set aside and I can focus on one thing or nothing if I so chose. The only time it is me against myself, and no one else. There is a calm serenity about the weight room, an odd notion of understanding as if everyone knows that this...and only this...exists at the moment. Many people from all walks of life inhabit my church, and yet, while I have never lived the life that they have lived, our mannerisms, our worries, and our goals are all the same. A simple head nod from one lifter to another conveys everything that words tend to complicate.

I myself have never come across an intolerant, ignorant, or rude lifter. Perhaps it is because I am a big guy and I look to garner such respect. I would like think that the answer is deeper than that. My size is attributed to my love of the weight room for about a decade now. I don't go to adjust my self-esteem issues. I don't go to get better looking. I don't even go to make myself a better person. I go because that is my spiritual center. I go to get away from the worries of the world, even if it is for 3-4 hours. I go simply to think. I have been to many gyms and everytime I walk across that threshold, it is as if I am entering the Sistine Chapel (I have been there before, so the relation is relevant). I find that there are many people who enter my church. I find that I feel most spiritual when I am alone in the weight room. When it is just me, my weights, my thoughts, and, of course, ACDC.

As many people who attend a church that worships a deity know, many people frequent, but then, during certain seasons, the attendance rises. This too happens at my church, and while I will never turn anyone away, I feel that if you do not in some way spill your blood, sweat, or tears in my church, your time was wasted and should be spent doing something more constructive. Do not infect my church with your infrequent visits and disrespect. The weight room is a living and breathing community that does no harm and wishes to have no harm done to it. This is where I feel most spiritual...my church.

Where do you feel most spiritual?