I finally realised.

The other day, in a flash of light, I finally understood what spirituality was really all about.

Spirituality is not just about love, light and peace. It is about rebellion. At its core, spirituality requires you to reject earthly authority.

You cannot claim to be spiritual if you comply with anything that runs counter to your conscience. In short, if you do as you are told by those with earthly power then you aren’t following God, you are giving way to fear. And compliance is the exact opposite of spirituality.

It ought to be clear to everyone now that the consequences of Corona are going to be far, far worse than the virus itself. In exchange for the illusion of safety from a virus with a 99% survival rate whose average victim is aged over 80, your rights as a human being are being systematically dismantled.

Modern spirituality has lost its way. The eagerness with which many so-called spiritual leaders have complied with increasingly authoritarian governments simply confirms to me that they mistake God for comfort, and prioritise good feelings over growth. They forget (or perhaps they neither know nor care) that in order to live spiritually you must be free, free to go your own way, free to learn, and free to make mistakes.

You cannot comply your way into paradise. By taking the knee before man you distance yourself from God, as well as from happiness, contentment and fulfilment. If you worship either Science or Government then you are consigning yourself to a life of fear, because you can be absolutely certain that your chains will only ever be tightened, never loosened.

Waking up involves the realisation that in order to be at peace one sometimes has to fight, that in order to transcend one sometimes has to run toward trouble, not away from it. Lockdown, for many people, was a joy. But it was an artificial state that cannot be sustained. Obsession with protection and safety has created a population that, in some cases, is literally scared to breathe. Yet life itself is risk, and everyday is an adventure. But by insisting that the government guarantee your safety you are walling yourself off from everything that makes Life worth living.

So, in times like these, rebellion is a spiritual activity, not a political one. You can rebel however you want, loudly or quietly, visibly or behind the scenes. But if you value God in any way at all then sooner or later non-compliance will be the enlightened thing to do.