You could argue that everyday, more and people are becoming spiritual and waking up to a deeper awareness of themselves and why they are placed on This World.

With the growth in interest of spirituality recently , we are looking to certain people to guide us. Which, is great! However, we need to remember that spiritual leaders and healers are a part of an industry, too. And, just like with other groups that market towards a specific demographic, a few people and ideologies tend to dominate over the majority.

With that being mentioned, certain spiritual phrases have become catchy and are being used for everything. When that is not how spirituality works. Spirituality is not a one-stop shop where we state a phrase and then continue living like robots, it is all encompassing and based on compassion, understanding and love.

Here are 4 commonly used phrases that cannot be applied to everything:

1. Everyone is doing their best.

The human (in me) who has tried their best to be a better person agrees with this statement; however, the side of me that has previously (and still) been given information but continued to do something that wasn’t for my benefit over-and-over again, would disagree. Yes, some people are doing their best but, some aren’t. My best is not someone else’s best. But, that doesn’t mean that I can see when someone isn’t. Sometimes we sell ourselves short. We might have all the information, money and tools that we need to improve but continue to live as though we don’t. Sometimes, we get in our own ways and we need reminders that we are capable of doing better than continually sabotaging our future.

2. Everything that happens to you is a reflection of you.

I completely understand the foundation of this phrase, that every situation is a chance to look within ourselves and see how we could’ve contributed to a situation. However, try telling someone who has been sexually harassed, raped or abused that what has happened to them is their fault. It comes across as insincere and lacks compassion, which is the foundation of spirituality. Yes! Most situations have required our participation but sometimes things happen to people and it’s more about supporting them and guiding them to the light. As opposed to unintentionally blaming them because you heard a catchy spiritual phrase that you need to repeat to someone else.

3. What you focus on expands.

As a daughter of two Scientists, this phrase is one of my favourites. It allows us to take charge of our lives and reminds us that we have power over our lives. The only contradiction of using this phrase for everything in our life is a similar one to the last paragraph, what if a predator seeks you out, stalks you and then follows you for extended period of time? Which, recently happened to me. I am certainly not a victim and in-control of my life; however, mentioning this phrase to someone who has gone through what I have been through, or a similar situation, can be callous. It is subconsciously blaming the person that it has happened to.

I firmly believe in the power of focus; however, sometimes things happen to people that they were not expecting to happen. These situations could have happened to someone for them to learn a lesson, to grow or to lead them to another circumstance- not just because they were energetically focusing on something.