It is clear to us that viewing a person solely as a biological being is a deeply flawed perspective. A person cannot find fulfillment in merely maintaining their biological life functions. Viewing a person as a biological being with a developed psychological life is still inadequate, as it does not distance us much from our pets, which also possess a certain level of psyche.

For a person to truly be called human, the spiritual component must be taken into account. It is spiritual acts that make a person truly human and distinguish them from other living beings. Spiritual acts alone create history, culture, and civilization. No wise person would claim that fulfilling basic physical needs exhausts all that is necessary for a fulfilling life.

And yet, even in the modern world, after so many civilizational efforts, we often reduce ourselves, the world around us, and sometimes even culture itself, to mere biological and psychological needs. Too often, we prevent ourselves and others from meeting the needs of our spirit, declaring everything other than the struggle for physical survival as irrelevant or a waste of time and resources.

We frequently subject ourselves, our families, our time, and our values to rigid economic calculations, whether on a personal level or within the system in which we live. Art, recreation, nature, and spirituality are often undervalued or pushed aside by “greater” and “more important” concerns, the fulfillment of norms, and service to a rigid system that will never make room for them, as it is built on very basic principles. Consequently, the lack of these “less important” things often drives us into problems or even, ultimately, to our graves.

How many times have we heard ourselves or others say that we should relax more, dedicate more time to ourselves and things like relationships, balance, health, walking, exercising, and activities that bring us joy, inspire thought, provide rest, and benefit our health — only for these intentions never to materialize? We often live caught between envy and judgment of those who manage to find time and space for acts of the spirit: envy because we wish to do the same, and judgment because we see their actions as unacceptable.

There is a difference between neglecting one’s responsibilities for the sake of comfort and grossly ignoring one’s real needs. It seems that in our society, this balance is threatened in both directions. Generally, we lack a sense of balance, which becomes particularly evident when we do not allow ourselves the full breadth of human experience, when spirit, soul, and body are not adequately harmonized, and when we are deeply unaware of ourselves and the reality around us.

Places rich in culture, spirituality, nature, and history are an opportunity to return to this balance, to set aside time, and to allow ourselves to experience more than what our everyday lives revolve around. They offer an escape from the patterns of thought that may imprison us, leading us to endlessly repeat ways of thinking that do not meet all our needs in the right way.

Consciously turning to what fulfills the deep and genuine needs of our spirit is not a luxury; it is a basic human necessity, a matter of our overall health as human beings. Furthermore, the health of civilization, which often concerns us, is achieved through the health of the individuals who compose it.

We are in the Church of St. Vitus, Modestus, and Crescentia. St. Vitus was a child from a wealthy Roman family. Together with his educator Modestus and his nurse Crescentia, he suffered martyrdom because they refused to renounce their Christian faith. Despite offers that would have abundantly and sustainably satisfied their basic physical needs, they chose instead the health of their spirit and soul, values that do not perish and cannot be destroyed by physical death.

May their example inspire us to think more deeply about the fundamental needs of our being and our spirit and to dare to commit to what leads us to fulfillment and balance, to proper relationships with ourselves, others, and the world, and ultimately, to eternity.