I'M ACTUALLY, LIKE, SPIRITUAL

Whoever coined the phrase “I'm spiritual but not religious” must feel pretty self-satisfied by now. There’s even a recognised acronym: SBNR. It’s on the interet and everything.

Heaps of people tell me they’re spiritual, but they never tell me what they mean by the word. To seek more information seems to be to disrespectfully pull the wings off the butterfly. I'm just supposed to nod serenely, aren't I? Be accepting? Well, bugger the butterfly. I’m curious. What the hell does that person mean when she tells me she’s spiritual?

I guess there are a few options.

She could be interested in spirits, as in angels and devils and such. This also probably means she wears purple, collects magic rocks and has a stalactital arrangement of wind chimes in her semi-rural home. Or it could be that she is interested in caring for her spirit. This probably means that she does yoga to feel less stressed, eats local and posts Zen proverbs on Facebook. It could also mean she just drinks heaps of spirits.

Does “I’m spiritual but not religious” simply translate as “I am uninspired by this superficial world and am hungry for a bit of mystery and transcendence but I don’t trust anybody else to tell me how to do it so I’ll work it out myself based on Googling and whatever makes me feel calmer and more comfortable with the way I do my life”? Seriously?! Is that it?!

I think I need to go burn some incense.

Or I could just ask you what you mean when you tell me you're spiritual. Sorry for throwing words at you.