Spiritual awakening is a growing awareness of myself, of other people, and of God, and it keeps deepening over time. It's more than psychological insight. Not only about noticing my patterns, fears, or reactions, but about becoming more open to relationship. I begin to see that other people matter to me, that I need them, and that real life happens in connection. It's a strong challenge to stop believing that I must handle everything alone. When something hurts or overwhelms me, my instinct may be to withdraw and try to fix myself in private. But the deeper healing seems to happen when I let my struggle enter relationship with God and with other people. God hates loneliness. Not because God rejects lonely people, but because separation and isolation damage life. We need contact, exchange, closeness, and shared life almost like we need air. In that sense, spiritual awakening means learning not to be afraid of relationship, because relationship is one of the places where God brings us back to life. #lent #12steps #step12 View quoted note →