{"id":21454,"date":"2021-02-11T03:00:34","date_gmt":"2021-02-11T09:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?p=21454"},"modified":"2021-02-07T13:31:41","modified_gmt":"2021-02-07T19:31:41","slug":"maintaining-a-spiritual-practice-in-difficult-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/02\/maintaining-a-spiritual-practice-in-difficult-times.html","title":{"rendered":"Maintaining a Spiritual Practice in Difficult Times"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Another question from the latest Conversations Under the Oaks is something I think we can all relate to.<\/p>\n

How do you keep up your spiritual practice when you generally feel stressed and overwhelmed every other week due to life\u2019s circumstances?<\/p>\n

I know the simple answer is that that is exactly the reason it is important to keep up the work, but sometimes you get to a point where even simple prayer times seem like too much and you just want to watch YouTube or go to bed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As the questioner says, the simple answer is that this is why we do these things in the first place. It\u2019s easier to start and solidify a spiritual practice in ordinary times. Not necessarily good times (those can be rare and fleeting) but the times when life is going as life usually does. Build a solid foundation that will support you when times get hard.<\/p>\n

But what if you didn\u2019t? Fundamentalist religions like to scare people by telling them to adopt their religion \u201cbefore it\u2019s too late.\u201d It\u2019s never too late to do the right thing, or to start doing the right thing. If you just started a practice before the pandemic hit, you haven\u2019t had much time for it to develop.<\/p>\n

Or perhaps you\u2019ve had a regular spiritual practice for years, but you\u2019re overwhelmed anyway. Daily prayers and meditations are helpful, but they can\u2019t prevent bad things from happening to us.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Perfection is not required<\/h2>\n

Life happens. As I often say, it\u2019s hard to be spiritual when your roof is leaking. The urgency of a leaking roof overwhelms your desire to meditate and pray and do all the things you usually do. Even when you\u2019ve done all you can do to mitigate the situation, it\u2019s still there and it\u2019s hard to get in the right frame of mind for devotion and other spiritual practices.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s OK to not be perfect. It\u2019s essential that you take care of your physical and emotional needs, otherwise you won\u2019t be able to do much of anything, spiritual or otherwise. Early last year I wrote The Morrigan Demands Persistence Not Perfection<\/a>. That\u2019s true of most other deities as well.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re still in a pandemic. The real economy is still struggling. Fascists, racists, and other bigots didn\u2019t disappear on January 20. And the ordinary difficulties of life are still very much with us. Dealing with all these things takes time and energy, and our time and energies are not unlimited. If you have to skip something now and then, that\u2019s OK.<\/p>\n

Pick it up again right away<\/h2>\n

The problem with setting something aside is that once we do, our normal state of affairs goes from \u201cdoing it\u201d to \u201cnot doing it.\u201d After a while, it no longer bothers us that we aren\u2019t doing our spiritual practices anymore. That makes it that much harder to pick it up again when whatever got in our way is lessened.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s like exercise. We know we need to exercise, and once we find something we like doing it\u2019s fun, even if it\u2019s sometimes challenging. If we\u2019re sick or injured we can\u2019t exercise, and that\u2019s OK. But it\u2019s one thing to pick it up again after a day or two off \u2013 it\u2019s much harder to get back to walking or running or lifting after two or three weeks, much less two or three months.<\/p>\n

So skip a day if you have to. But pick it up again the next day, or the day after, or as soon as you can. Because the longer you go, the harder it\u2019s going to be to get going again.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Will is required<\/h2>\n

As some point, going with the flow is no longer sufficient. At some point, will is required.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what I\u2019m called to do.\u201d \u201cThis is what I need to do.\u201d \u201cThis is what I want to do.\u201d \u201cThis is what I will<\/em> do.\u201d<\/p>\n

And then you do it. It may be difficult. It may unsatisfying. It may be a 20 second rote prayer instead of a five minute heart-felt communion with your Gods. But it\u2019s something. The people who say \u201cif you can\u2019t do it whole-heartedly don\u2019t do it at all\u201d are wrong. That\u2019s a recipe for giving up. Better to do it halfway than to not do it, because it\u2019s a lot easier to get from partial practice to full practice than to get from no practice to any practice.<\/p>\n

And if you do some practice, you\u2019ll get some benefits. No practice means no benefits. Something is better than nothing.<\/p>\n

Stick to the basics<\/h2>\n

I can\u2019t tell you how much I\u2019ve fallen back into familiar and comfortable things over the past year. I\u2019m watching the same movies and TV shows over and over again. I\u2019m listening to the same music. I\u2019m eating the same food and drinking the same drinks. In a time when nothing is familiar, I want familiar comforts.<\/p>\n

My daily prayers haven\u2019t changed. My weekly offerings haven\u2019t changed. My Gods have asked me for a few new things from time to time, but mostly what I hear is \u201cjust keep moving.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Or try something new<\/h2>\n

Sometimes starting something new requires energy and commitment that are in short supply. But other times starting something new provides inspiration, which raises energy and enthusiasm.<\/p>\n

Is there something you\u2019ve been wanting to start? Something you\u2019ve been wanting to try?<\/p>\n

Go say prayers in a city park. Make offerings to the land spirits at the largest tree you can find. Find a labyrinth<\/a> and go walk it. Get a new statue or other artwork to serve as a focus for prayer or contemplation.<\/p>\n

This is usually easier when dealing with stale devotion<\/a> rather than being overwhelmed. But if you have the time and other resources, trying something new can help you deal with stress as well.<\/p>\n

Some people don\u2019t have a choice<\/h2>\n

Most times for most people, our Gods are understanding. They are wise and They know what we are and aren\u2019t capable of doing. They aren\u2019t going to get angry if we skip a day or two.<\/p>\n

Most times. Most people. But not all.<\/p>\n

Some people have made commitments \u2013 or had commitments made for them<\/a> \u2013 that require them to perform certain practices every day, every week, every month, without exception. Sickness, stress, leaky roofs \u2013 none of that matters. They do what they\u2019ve committed to do without fail.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re one of those people, you don\u2019t need me to tell you what to do. You know, with clarity and with certainty.<\/p>\n

If you know one of these people, support them if you can. But do not feel like you must live up to their standards. You are responsible for keeping your own oaths and promises, not the oaths and promises made by someone else.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The benefits of spiritual practice come from repetition<\/h2>\n

Christian philosopher and theologian S\u00f8ren Kierkegaard said \u201cprayer does not change God, but him who prays.\u201d As a Pagan and a polytheist, I have issues with the first part of that quote. But the second part of it is unquestionably true, no matter what your religious persuasion.<\/p>\n

Spiritual practice changes us. These changes are slow and gradual \u2013 usually so slow and gradual we don\u2019t notice them until we\u2019ve been doing them for a long time and then look back to see how far we\u2019ve come. I\u2019ve been doing this consistently for 19 years \u2013 my practice has been a source of strength over the past year. And even with all that, there have been times when it\u2019s been a struggle. I haven\u2019t always done everything I planned to do, and sometimes that\u2019s been because I was overloaded and just needed to rest.<\/p>\n

And so I rested, and then I picked it up again the next time.<\/p>\n

I wish you well in your spiritual practice, no matter how hard or easy it is at the moment.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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