Religion and Spirituality: Which to Choose?

What is religion and what is spirituality? Does one choose one over the other? The way i define the two is as such: Religion is a structured sense of living based on the fundamentals of a faith that has a name, a source book and a way of worship, and religion is also the belief in the Creator who reveals Its presence to us through our worship of It in our daily live. (Worship of the Creator connotates living a life in accordance to the teachings of the faith, and not simply bowing down a million times a day to an image of the Creator) Spirituality, on the other hand, is about living the life in a state of awareness of the Creator’s presence, it focus in on the presence of our spirit, and not just our form. Is there any connection between religion and spirituality?
The two concepts, for me is two sides of a single coin. I cannot name the 'coin' but i do know that the 'coin' is my currency to good and satisfactory living. I need both the fundamentals of the faith and the ability to be aware of my spirit in the presence of the Creator to have a good and satisfactory life.

Dealing with Anxiety

I sit here unable to move beyond my immediate preoccupation and let time pass me by. I am in a predicament. I know what needs to be done but I also know that it is beyond my control. I have been waiting for my PhD viva for the last 11 months. I have, in my mind, done all that is within my ability. So here I am stilling at my table consumed by my anxiety and unable to think and do anything else. My mind races through a check list of things that can be done and i am facing a brick wall. If only my supervisors could do this. If only the department could do that. If only the assistant registrar could do this. If only everyone involved could get their act together and ... How has my concerns been addressed by this mental preoccupation? It hasn’t. Has my anxiety been eliminated? No. Have I achieved anything by being preoccupied mentally of the issue? No.

How then can I address this issue? I can’t and I shan’t.

Instead I go and do something else. I look at something beautiful. In my case, that’s easy. My daughter is a beautiful child; at least in my eyes she is beautiful. Watching her sleep, in such peace, I forget my past and my future and immerse myself in my present. I realise what I have going in my life. I realise that once upon a time, I was alone and had no one to care for. I didn’t experience love from another human, the kind that I could appreciate. Now, 38 years old, I am a mother of this precious being. Her hugs and kisses sometimes appear at moments when I least need it, like when I am trying to finish a lecture or a paper. But now, at this very moment, I stop to say prayer of thanks to the Almighty. My daughter’s presence while asleep reminds me the presence of my soul. I learn to recollect my own concerns and put them in perspective. I learn to accept that this is what the Almighty has planned for me at this very moment of my life. I am to accept with patience and with faith – two of the hardest things to do in life when one is busy chasing after milestones. But learn I must and learn I will if I am to go beyond the pain and discomfort of my own anxiety.