Discarded Personal Shrines

The Indian philosopher J. Krishnamurti wrote that the only thing spiritual about shrines is the spirituality invested in them by believers; this would be disputed by the many true believers. As an experiment he suggested making a little shrine at home and placing flowers or candles in front of it everyday, also maybe say a few words or prayers, and soon this will become a habit and you will believe in the spirituality of the shrine and whatever it was made to represent. Walking by this same personal shrine, as pictured, I noticed that it has already been discarded by whoever made it; it has fallen into disrepair and someone has placed garbage on it. Whatever made it special has disappeared.

Not sure why anyone bothers with this "personal shrine", it's hidden in the middle of some bushes at the City Farm Garden at the Loyola Campus of Concordia University. I walked there yesterday and the shrine (as I've been calling it) has been further broken up... here it is:

Small personal shrines

A few days ago I noticed a young woman sitting near the City Farm gardens at the Loyola Campus of Concordia University, so today, out of curiosity, I walked where she had been sitting. I am always interested in people's expressions of spirituality, especially personal expressions not associated with any organized religion. Going back millennia people have made little shrines, memorials to dead animals, almost paganistic collections of feathers, shells, broken glass, weathered photographs, holy wells, things hanging from trees, Oak trees, Yew trees, or some other private ritual that is the expression of something important to them. Something that lives on in people's souls despite current events. So, I wasn't surprised to find hidden in some overgrown bushes a vase with a flower in it, several white stones, and a Christmas ornament. What does it mean? We'll never know except that it means something to someone.