The expression "spiritual food" has long become familiar to such an extent that people sometimes do not think about what is hidden behind this concept and whether it is so important to receive it. Maybe there is some age or other limit beyond which the need for it disappears?
There is no need to explain what food is in the usual sense. This is what nourishes, saturates, gives energy for the growth and development of the physical body. Without it, the body will begin to weaken, ache and wither. Long-term lack of food leads to death. These are simple truths that no one needs to prove. But not everyone thinks that spiritual food means no less for the human person, consciousness, mental development.
What is spiritual food for?
If a person does not receive what is hidden under this concept, he does not develop, does not grow spiritually and, ultimately, degrades. There are now widely known cases when children, due to circumstances, were isolated from society at an early age. Having returned to society, the overwhelming majority of them have not been able to catch up with their peers, either intellectually or psychologically. Sadly, but the wonderful story told by R. Kipling in his "The Jungle Book" is nothing more than a fairy tale.
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling is also known in Russia as Mowgli.
But even becoming an adult, a person who is deprived of spiritual food, the very need for it, is significantly inferior in his personal qualities to someone who has not stopped in spiritual development. A person whose needs are reduced to the formula "consume and reproduce" is not too different from the primacy.
Many remember the phrase from the New Testament "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven", but not everyone understands its meaning. Alexey Pavlovsky gives an interesting interpretation in his book "Night in the Garden of Gethsemane".
The book presents original interpretations of the most famous plots of the Old and New Testaments.
“Beggars in spirit” are those whose spirit is hungry; requires food. And for the spirit, naturally, only spiritual food is suitable. It is these people who feel the need to grow spiritually, constantly striving for their own development, are able to rise to the true heights of the spirit.
What can be considered spiritual food
It is customary to refer to this concept as the achievements of culture and art, accumulated by mankind over the entire history of existence. And it is right. But such a definition would not be entirely complete.
Spiritual food is what allows a person to increase his personal, cultural, moral potential. And this is not only literature, music, science and other achievements of human culture.
First of all, it is the spiritual experience of the person himself, through the prism of which he perceives all the achievements of civilization. His impressions, reflections and experiences are a prerequisite for the perception of cultural values. And, of course, his personal creativity plays one of the leading roles in spiritual development. Whether he creates a literary work or simply equips a summer cottage is not so important. In any case, this is a creative act, albeit of a different scale. And in creativity, a person, expressing himself, is able to better understand his essence, the world around him and people. And this happens from early childhood until life continues.
