Nature Vs. Nurture - What Makes Us, Us?

Awe, the age-old question: Which affects us more, nature or nurture? I feel like it's a mix of both. What we're born with, gives us our predisposition and counts quite a bit how we react to experiences in our life. Two children can come from the same family and experience the same upbringing, but each child may behave differently.

I watched my siblings react differently than I did to our trials and tribulations. It's possible that helped me deal with things differently. They had no one to compare it to. However, they had no older siblings to put them in the middle. Nor older siblings making them do things or beating them up.

I believe the traits we are born with will be reshaped by life's experiences. Life's lessons, cruelty, and niceties will help shape who we become. But our reaction to such lessons will influence us more so.

Our temperament and personality traits can affect our spiritual journey. I'm empathic and compassionate. I feel this gives me an interconnectedness with others. For me, this leads to a heightened spiritual awareness because I can feel other's emotions at a deeper level. I believe this gives me an innate desire to live less selfishly. When you're open to the heartbeat and energy of everything and everyone around you, it's hard to be selfish.

Sometimes, this connectedness also makes it unbearably hard to just breathe. When I become overwhelmed and unsure why I feel that way, it's mainly because of all the energies around me. That's my cue to isolate for as long as I need to recenter myself. It took me many years to learn that I was not the energy everyone else portrayed.

Have you ever walked into a room and just felt the thickness in the air? You may not have known what was wrong, but you got an uncomfortable feeling, and you couldn't wait to leave that room! That's intuition: empathy. You feel something isn't right. It changes your mood right at that moment. It's not just with people, but the Earth and horrific events that affect us all.

About two to three weeks before the towers fell, I just kept telling everyone to pray. I said, "Something's not right. Something bad is going to happen. I don't know what, and I don't know who, but it's going to be really bad. Just pray." When the towers fell, the feeling went away. It was, of course, replaced with horror, sadness, and anger. But the feeling I had been carrying for over two weeks was gone. I immediately knew that was what I was picking up. I wasn't the only one. Many people had similar experiences.

Intuition and sensitivity can lead to more profound encounters. It allows us to perceive spiritual energy and experiences. When you encounter a beautiful soul or experience, it's like it bathes your soul. It refreshes you. Your light shines a bit brighter. There's not another feeling like it. Whether it's with your significant other or just a gorgeous night out that speaks to your soul, it can lead to richer experiences and emotions.

Even though genetic predisposition alone does not determine our spirituality, I believe certain genetic factors contribute to how we react to certain spiritual and religious beliefs. For me, this was dominant in the church affiliation where I attended. They're a very strict denomination, and they do not offer the forgiveness and other things that our Bible teaches us to do. Their influence has affected me greatly. I'll never be a member of that denomination as an adult.

Personal moments such as crises, adversity, joy, and sorrow can trigger spiritual awakenings or shift our spiritual outlook. I know many times during my life that the experiences I have gone through have altered my spiritual path. Horrific events led me down the path of not believing in anything. The events that took place while I was in that state led me to my faith again, but differently. I have dabbled in several different practices. Each one gave me a special gift, but all brought me back to my inherent belief: God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. My faith is not the same as it was in the beginning. No. It's changed quite a bit. To me, it has grown leaps and bounds. It's much deeper than it used to be. It's more personal. I am no longer religious; I'm spiritual. My relationship with God is what is most important.

It seems to make the statement ring true that God gives us lessons, trials, and tribulations to evolve and grow. It may not feel like it, and we may never understand many of these lessons. I know I don't. But it's like we only see a scene at a time. God sees and knows the whole movie from start to finish. So, He understands things I'll never understand until my time comes to lay this old body down and let my soul reconnect with Him.

Social and Community interactions also affect us. For some, it may be attending religious services. For others get-togethers. Then there are the music get-togethers, friend outings, barbeques, etc. All can offer a sense of awe and an interconnectedness with each other and the natural world. I feel a special connection with each event and am thankful I have all of these experiences to help make me who I am.

Nature and nurture work together to make us who we are. Innate characteristics provide a foundation for our experiences and the environment shapes and refines us.

(932 Words)

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