Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Strategic Monk

Home
Contemplative
Practicing Living Each Day Into the Potential of Tomorrow

Practicing Living Each Day Into the Potential of Tomorrow

Last updated on: April 18, 2017 at 3:25 am by Greg Richardson

Practicing Living Each Day Into the Potential of Tomorrow 2017-04-18T03:25:05-08:00 Greg Richardson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

7041283363_6720e130bc_z

It is easy for us to assume spiritual life is about deep, cosmic, overarching truths.

Some of us are intimidated by how we understand spiritual life. It all seems too much to grasp, too amorphous for us to think about seriously. Other people see spiritual life as an essential element of a balanced approach to all of life. They may not understand everything, but they hold onto certain key truths. There are people who refuse to acknowledge spiritual life even exists at all. They believe in what their senses tell them, in what they have experienced themselves.

There seems to be a wide gulf between our experience each day and what we expect from spiritual life.

Living Each Day into the Potential of Tomorrow

We are challenged to talk about spiritual life in practical terms. It is hard enough to think about infinity or eternity and even more difficult to see ourselves there. The more we try to understand and explain spiritual life, the more cosmic it sounds, even to us.

In fact, spiritual life is much more practical than it is cosmic and unattainable. There is no chasm between everyday life and spiritual life.

It is easy for us to compare ourselves to our impossible expectations and decide we are not very spiritual. Our experiences give us very clear ideas of where we spend our days. There seem to be only the most vague, most conceptual notions of where we want to go. We cannot see a path which will take us from where we are to where we believe we should be.

Plenty of people will give us simple, digestible programs to find spiritual life. There are many different outlines of the seven, or nine, or twelve objectives we need to implement to move forward. Each framework seems to contain pieces of the truth and many of them can be helpful. None of them is the final answer.

Each of us is the bud of a uniquely beautiful flower. We decide for ourselves how and when we will open ourselves to display the striking colors within us. We may not know where or for how long we will blossom.

Our First Question

We follow a path which begins with our asking Why?

Like toddlers discovering the world around them, we need to know the reasons for things. Our questions are not so much Why is the sky blue? but Why do we do what we do? What makes us the way we are?

Asking Why? takes us below the surface of life across which we often skim. We want to go deeper. We refuse to take That’s the way it is. for an answer.

Our sacred path is a journey of exploration and discovery. We seek to understand, to recognize, to appreciate, to know who we really are. Our quest is to discover the core values which make us our deepest true selves.

Some of us begin exploring early, while others put it off as long as we can. Almost all of us get there sooner or later. Our curiosity about ourselves draws us deeper.

Our Second Question

The path which begins with Why? often leads us to ask Where? The key fact is our Where? is based in, and grows out of, our Why?

Some of us want to get going, to head off in a direction, and let our Why? emerge along the way. That may feel like a more proactive approach, but we can end up somewhere we do not want to go. When we have a more intimate idea of who we are we can begin to explore where we want to go.

As we grow more familiar, more comfortable with who we are, with our Why? we may find new answers to Where? I have known people who assumed they would head in certain directions. They built their lives and educations to support them. After they had built some momentum in that direction they learned more about their true selves. They came to see they needed to change directions.

They made the mistake of putting their Where? ahead of their Why?

Living into Our Potential Each Day

Like inspired athletes, we begin with who we are. The core values which inspire us are the reasons we continue pushing ourselves. Our practice each day shows us who we are and why we are doing what we do. We are not competing with other people, not looking for revenge or retribution. Our focus is on bringing out the best in ourselves each day, building a more intimate relationship with who we are. The better acquainted we become to our best selves, the more we share those selves with other people.

As we work today to put our values into practice they become more real, more tangible to us. Each day we change our own perception of spiritual life as theoretical or philosophical. We practice spiritual life and it becomes more recognizable in everyday life.

Spiritual life becomes more familiar and less conceptual for us each day. It is not about what we think or our opinions on academic questions. Spiritual life is how we live, putting our values into practice.

As we practice remembering our Why? new Where? potential is born in us. We share our Why? with the people around us and connect to people who share our values. Together we work to practice our shared Why? in ways and places we never expected.

We practice living each day into the potential of tomorrow. New potential reveals itself to us every day.

Buds Bursting Into Color

We may have spent the winter resting and dormant. Now it is spring, and we gather our strength to push our way into bloom. The power to burst into color is within us; that is why we are here. We are ready. Where will we go?

How does your Where? grow out of your Why?

When will you put your core values into practice today?

[Image by mike from aus]

Greg Richardson is a spiritual life mentor and leadership coach in Southern California. He is a recovering attorney and university professor, and a lay Oblate with New Camaldoli Hermitage near Big Sur, California. Greg’s website is StrategicMonk.com, and his email address is [email protected].

Blog

Spiritual Practices

Previous Post

April 15, 2017

Spiritual Practices Inside Out: Light Shining in the Darkness

Next Post

April 20, 2017 Leading Like a Monk: Taking Care of What We Need to Do the Job

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Blog Book Reviews Everything Else Guest Posts Leadership Monastic Strategies Neighborhood Pilgrimages Sacred Stillness Spiritual Direction Spiritual Practices Work

Select a Month May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Beersheba" mean?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Valley of Water Well of the Oath House of the King Blessed Field