Crossposted at Sacred Space: Reflections from the religious left, MyDD, Daily Kos and My Left Wing.
Over the past few years, people have taken to saying “I’m not a religious person, but I’m a spiritual person.” I’m not entirely sure what that means, but among progressives, I often sense a Goofus and Gallant style dichotomy: spiritual=good, religious=bad. Well, I tend to avoid labels whenever possible anyway, but I do like to have fun with words. So, I’ll say this… I think it’s important to find a spiritual practice, and take it seriously. Follow it “religiously”, if you will. It’s especially important for people who are involved in politics these days. Speaking for myself, I know that if I don’t check in on a regular basis with my Something More, I find myself sinking into a “people suck” slump in response to current events. And that’s not good for me, or my family, or the creative energy that I need to fuel my activism.
When I say it’s important to have a spiritual practice, you should know that I think I am defining that term very loosely. You can just ask yourself, “When or where do I feel most connected to What Really Matters?” Or “When do I feel most comfortable in my own skin, and most at peace with the world and the people in it?” Maybe it’s listening to a certain kind of music that does this for you…maybe spending time in nature. For some of us, our spiritual practice is something that could be called religious. Come on–say it with me: “Not that there’s anything wrong with that…”
And really, the more I find out about various religious practices, the more I discover the common ground between different traditions. I grew up with the Rosary, assuming it was a “Catholic thing”, only to find out about the Anglican rosary, Hindu mala beads, and Muslim sibhah (See the Beliefnet article “Spirituality on a String” for a more complete list and description of variations on the rosary.) I think there’s got to be some sort of Jungian archetype thing going on there. Same thing holds true for labyrinths which show up in several different religious traditions throughout time.
What’s my practice? Well, actually I seem to have some spiritual short attention span issues. I’ve prayed the Rosary on and off, and I’ve tried to get in the habit of walking the labyrinth or doing centering prayer. None of them has really “stuck” long term. So I go to church. When I was a kid, I went because I had to, but now I go because I want to. I miss it when I don’t. It helps me reconnect with What Really Matters, and it usually pulls me out of that “people suck” slump. In a way, I guess you could say it feeds me.
One of my favorite answers to the “why go to church” question is from author Anne LaMott’s book, Traveling Mercies, explaining why she brings her young son to church every week despite his protests.
“First of all, I outweigh him,” she writes. “But the main reason is that I want to give him what I found in the world, which is to say a path and a little light to see by. Most of the people I know who have what I want – which is to say purpose, heart, balance, gratitude, joy – are people with a deep sense of spirit. They are people in community, who pray or practice their faith.”
I’ve heard that one of the best personal finance strategies is to “pay yourself first”. I think most of us know what can happen when we set aside money only after paying everyone else…often there is nothing left to set aside. I think the same holds true for anything we do for ourselves. I know of people who want to start attending more to their spiritual lives, and planning to do something about it just as soon as work slows down.
So, it’s important to pay yourself first. Remember, “we are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” Burnout can really get in the way of saving the world/taking our country back. So if you’re one of those people who has a hard time putting yourself first, just remember that the world needs you to take care of yourself!