Spiritual Vitality in Difficult Days

Inspired by love and anger, disturbed by need and pain,
informed of God’s own bias, we ask him once again,
“How long must some folk suffer? How long can few folk mind?
How long dare vain self-int’rest turn prayer and pity blind?”
              —John L. Bell (listen to the hymn)
 
These are difficult days to find hope. Our news is filled with stories of war and aggression with millions of refugees fleeing their homelands. We’ve been shocked by mass shootings in which young children are murdered in their classrooms and grandmothers and fathers are gunned down in grocery store aisles. In conversation after conversation I’ve had over the past two weeks, common threads of anger and hopelessness are woven together along with a profound sense of helplessness. We’ve been here before. As the years go by, more of us have tragic stories to tell. I was living in Oregon in 1998 when a 15 year old boy murdered his parents and then went to his high school cafeteria in our community and shot 50 rounds of ammunition, wounding 24 and killing two students. This was one year before the shocking attack at Columbine High School in Colorado.
How do we respond to these days in faithfulness and with hope?

1. Take a break from the news. Turn off the television or radio, stop scrolling on social media, or close that news tab on your computer. The news will be there later, when you return.
2. Do something physical, if you can. Take a walk, ride a bike, or go to the gym. Spend time working in your garden or yard.
3. Make a commitment to write down one thing each day for which you are grateful. Write it down in a small notebook, noting something in your day that brings you joy. At the end of a week, review your growing list. Keep the practice up for a month, and then read the complete list aloud. This practice of paying attention and intentional recognition will uncover what you cherish in life.
4. Tend to a spiritual practice in your daily life. Perhaps you may wish to begin with simple meditation or a time of prayer. Practice letting your mind fall silent. If sitting still is difficult, you may wish to explore walking meditations.  Walk FCC’s labyrinth, holding your prayers in your heart as you walk to the center and opening your awareness to direction from Spirit as you make your way back outside. Gina Marie Mammano has written a book of moving meditations to use while walking, Camino Divina: Walking the Divine Way.
5. Seek community. Join in Sunday worship or in Thursday vespers. Praying together and sharing communion will help ground you in your faith and connect you with others.

Notice my list is not explicitly political or especially activist in nature. Engagement in politics or activism without being spiritually grounded leads to burnout. Tending to our spiritual well-being will enable us to commit to the long hard work of social transformation. Matthew Fox in Occupy Spirituality: a Radical Vision for a New Generation reflects, “I feel passionate about the changes I call for, both personal and societal transformations, and I see them as deeply related. If you don’t work on yourself then much of your politics is merely projections. We have to do the inner work that allows the outer work to be authentic and also effective.”
Let us not lose heart. The gift of life is precious, fragile, and holy. Let us tend to the sacred in our world with hope and courage.