Faith & Life Inspirational Message

Recently it dawned on me that my spiritual discipline is a great deal like my physical discipline.   I am sure that is not novel, but I also am sure I never thought about it quite like that.   Being active physically has been important to me for as long as I can remember.   I am lucky in the sense that it has always been something I wanted to do, rather than felt like I had to do it.   Perhaps growing up on a farm helped the process.   I cannot remember when I did not go outside to work or to play.   On the farm there was a great deal of work.   But there also was a fair amount of play.   Both are healthy.   In due time sports became very important to me.   I certainly was no star, but I played with gusto.   I had fun and was active.   I continue to play long after my eligible years in school were finished.   Being physically active was a way of life for me.   It was not a matter of virtue.   I did it because ...

The title for this inspirational piece came with some words in a sentence I was reading somewhere.   They were not part of a quotation and I know for certain I am taking these words in a direction that was not intended by the author, whom I cannot remember.   All I can recall is the piece I was reading was not even about the spiritual life.   So I can be certain the author would be very surprised if he or she could see what I am about to do with this phrase: the value of the interior life.             I like this phrase because I believe it is true.   In fact, I think it is so true that I would claim no one can be happy or satisfied long-term without having some kind of interior life.   That would be its value.   Behind this claim lurks the initial question: just what is the interior life?             Doubtlessly, there are multiple answers to...

Recently I was given a gift.   It was a little surprising to me.   I was given a pedometer.   I know many people have these gadgets.   I think they are probably a good idea.   But I never even considered having one myself.   Part of that, no doubt, is having been raised in an era when technological things like this simply were not a part of life.   Having a wristwatch was about as “high tech” as it came!   At one level, I suppose I always will be a child of the pre-computer age.             Even though I have had a computer for decades, I can easily remember life without it.   I certainly don’t want to give up my computer.   I don’t want to return to the pre-computer days.   They are not necessarily “the old days.”   The computer makes so much possible, I don’t want to live without it.   But I still can imagine life without it.        ...

I have often commented that the key to a discipline such as writing one of these daily inspirational reflections is to pay attention.   That sounds so simple---and it is---but it is not always easy.   I am always amazed by how easy it is for me to go through my life on autopilot.   Having a number of routines in my life makes autopilot very easy.   Like many people, I’m sure, my daily routine does not vary much.   Coffee and newspaper in the morning.   Meals are about the same time.   I tend to see the same people on a regular basis.   There is nothing wrong with any of this, but it does make living on autopilot very easy. I like variation and variety.   And I do have some of that in my life.   And I know that it is much easier to pay attention to things when I am engaged in something different.   For example, when I drive the same route day after day, it does not call for much attentiveness to get from point A to B.   But i...

Most days when I go to work, I realize how lucky I am.   In fact, I resonate with the person who first understands that if you enjoy what you are doing, it does not feel like work.   Most of why I like what I do is because it involves significant time with young adults---college students.   It is an exciting time for so many of them as they are transitioning from being a child at home to a young adult testing out their independence and figuring out the kind of person they want to be.             It is a joy to be involved with so many of them as they engage some aspect of spirituality.   Many of them sign up for a class with me, not so much because they want to focus on spirituality.   Honestly, most of them take a class because it counts for some kind of requirement.   In a sense they conclude I am the best of a bad thing!   Or just as likely, they like the time of the day when the class is off...

Dealing with spirituality is something like a good meal.   There are various parts to both of them.   When we sit down to a good meal, there are different kinds of foods.   There may be a salad to start.   Then comes the major part of the meal.   But again, there probably is diversity.   There may be the proverbial “meat and potatoes.”   There could very well be a vegetable.   Often there is some form of bread.   And if we are lucky, the meal is topped off with a tasty dessert.   Spirituality has analogous parts to it.   Without trying to match one part of spirituality to one part of the meal, let me identify what I consider to be the “meat and potatoes” for spirituality.   That would be the spiritual disciplines.   They are the basics of spirituality.   Without them, there is no “main spiritual meal.”   In my experience it is not unusual for people to try to be spiritual without actually practicing any of ...

One of the reasons I use and like the daily lectionary (reading) is the fact that it gives me the benefit of regularity.   And in a sense, regularity is the key to any discipline---spiritual disciplines, too.   Spiritual disciplines are much like physical exercise.   If I did it only when I felt like it or want to do it, I might slack off.   I would get out of shape---physically and spiritually.   So I decide I want to be in shape physically and spiritually and, therefore, make the commitment to be disciplined about it.   That is the role of the lectionary.             Since I use the lectionary more in the mornings than the rest of the day, I often look at the readings for Morning Prayer.   I also like the fact that Benedictine monks around the world are doing the same readings as I am doing.   That connects me to a community that I value.         ...

Recently it dawned on me that my spiritual discipline is a great deal like my physical discipline.   I am sure that is not novel, but I also am sure I never thought about it quite like that.   Being active physically has been important to me for as long as I can remember.   I am lucky in the sense that it has always been something I wanted to do, rather than felt like I had to do it.   Perhaps growing up on a farm helped the process.   I cannot remember when I did not go outside to work or to play.   On the farm there was a great deal of work.   But there also was a fair amount of play.   Both are healthy. In due time sports became very important to me.   I certainly was no star, but I played with gusto.   I had fun and was active.   I continue to play long after my eligible years in school were finished.   Being physically active was a way of life for me.   It was not a matter of virtue.   I did it because I wan...