Here are more thoughts and practices for finding spiritual meaning in things. Appreciate Wabi Sabi Leonard Koren is an expert on the Japanese aesthetic of Wabi Sabi which he defines as “a beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete. It is the beauty of things modest and humble.” We have a chipped tea pot which we have had for years and still it has a special place in our hearts for its flawed beauty. Identify a few favorite objects in... Read more
We’re leading an email course this summer on Practicing Spirituality at Home. Preparing the 40 daily emails and looking forward to discussions in our online Practice Circle, we find we are really interested in hearing how people find spiritual meaning in their things. Here are some of our thoughts on the matter. There is a rich and soulful emphasis in the world’s wisdom traditions on respecting inanimate objects. Many Christians see the sacramental value of things as signs of God’s... Read more
Several times this week we’ve passed little groups of people in graduation garb taking pictures in front of New York monuments. Beaming friends and families were looking on. We congratulate them — and others graduating in the days to come — on completing this stage of their education. Here’s Part II of the graduation speech we’d like to share with them. Part I, published last week, covered “wisdom to go” in the form of proverbs and pith instructions. Here’s more.... Read more
It’s that time of year, when millions of students “graduate” to a new stage of their education or life. During the ceremonies they will hear representatives of their classes share about what they have learned and then listen to graduation speakers talk about what they will need as they move into the future. Here’s the graduation speech we’d like to give — offering “wisdom to go” in the form of spiritual practices for everyday life. (This is Part I; we’ll... Read more
Variety is the spice of life. We’ve been taught that by our consumer culture since we were very young. Think of all the movies in which immigrants experience for the first time the incredible diversity of brands in a supermarket. Our stores are stuffed with variations on the same things. All this feeds our need to constantly seek new foods, clothing styles, appliances, technological toys, and other objects of our desires. We are also programmed by our culture to look... Read more
Spiritual practices are the best ways we know to demonstrate kindness and courtesy toward the Earth, to express our gratitude and wonder, to yield to the mystery and the beauty of it all. In observance of Earth Day we offer a set of practices (from the Alphabet of Spiritual Literacy) you can do to honor the Earth over the next months. 1. Attention The great Catholic writer Ernesto Cardenal in Abide in Love observes: “Everything in nature has a trademark,... Read more
On Easter Sunday, Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, an event many consider to be the centerpiece of their faith. But Easter is more than just a day. What happens when we think of it as a verb? Then the resurrection becomes a spiritual practice in daily life. Megan McKenna, the prolific and profound Catholic writer, saw it this way when she was leading a Bible study. She shares the following vignette in her book Not... Read more
“Just as there are seasons in the world around us, so there are in our interior life,” Teresa of Avila wisely observed. “We cannot expect it to be otherwise.” Spring is a season of renewal and rebirth. It’s a time when buds become leaves and flowers, when healing rain washes city streets and falls like grace on parched country fields, when the hard ground beneath us softens to allow shoots of new life to emerge. As outside, so inside. Spring... Read more
One day it snows. The next day it’s 50 degrees and people are filling the park down the street. Of course, we say, it’s March, one of those transition times of the year when it’s not quite winter and not quite spring. March always gets us thinking about other transition times and spaces. Our days are punctuated by transitions. For example, we go through three entrances and use three sets of keys to get into our home. First, we open... Read more
The world is noisier than ever – at least on our street. New York’s one of those places that would be really, truly great if they ever finished it. The building next door is undergoing construction, which means pieces of its former insides are being ground up and compacted into garbage dump-trucks outside our windows. Many people see noise as a good thing signaling progress, energy, and excitement. “Make a joyful noise,” they cry. Others prefer the caution: “The Lord... Read more
Daily Life as Spiritual Practice
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