05/30/2024
complete text section - McKinsey Study - Tyler Norris: Thanks for the question about spiritual health. We are in an era of “polycrises”—an economic crisis, political crisis, climate, continued race challenges. Underneath all of those crises is a spiritual crisis, a crisis of “Who really are we?” Am I just a white male in this body, or am I a spiritual being who is deeply connected with everyone in my community in shared fate, including those who may not look like me?
I draw on my own Abrahamic faith tradition that teaches us to love one another as we do ourselves. Not in some transactional way. But as ourselves. And recognize the intimacy of who we are, for, and with, each other. Outside of that understanding of our fundamental human connection with each other, we’re bereft. It is not surprising that outside of that, trying to find other layers of our identity, we find ourselves more anxious, more depressed, separate, with more suicidal ideation.
One in three young girls has seriously considered su***de. Three in five are persistently sad or in despair. That’s a spiritual crisis. Yes, we need to provide more access to mental healthcare, but we’re not going to get to transformation by more apps and profitable start-ups. We’re going to get it by people connecting and being able to turn to one another and listen to one another. That is a spiritual act, to create a safe space for someone to share their struggles and joys.
How do we create a place where people have a sense of purpose and a place to express themselves fully? I think that’s what spirituality and health look like—belonging, a place to express purpose, the ability to experience awe and wonder, and to serve. To bring back who we are in a meaningful way to our community. This is upstream from our mental health and well-being, and as we address our mental health and well-being, we’re going to get at the chronic disease that’s, frankly, killing this country and is expected to soar because how we eat, how we move, how we manage our stress is held in place by an underlying mental health crisis in this country that is rooted in the need for us to appreciate the community that we already are. We’re already connected. The spiritual question is, will we allow ourselves to be connected with one another and stop the “othering” that’s not only killing us, but is undercutting the United States of America.
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