Practices From the Inside Out: Something Bigger Than We Are

Everyone is Searching for Something

Some of us are looking for respect, or happiness, or balance, or love. There are people seeking meaning, or awareness, or health, or everlasting life. It seems like everyone is looking for something in their lives. An essential step on our journeys seems to be appreciating there is something bigger than we are.

It begins with the recognition there may be more. Life seems to offer us the potential of something larger, deeper, more significant. We may come to see the limits of what we can accomplish on our own.

It could be we have met or exceeded the expectations people have of us, or even our own. We may have done what we set out to do, succeeded at life.

We awaken to the realization we have done what we were supposed to do. Often we look around, expecting recognition, and realize life has not made us happy. If we are so effective and successful, why do we not feel fulfilled?

It is not unusual for us to look around and begin asking, Is this all?

We begin looking for what else there is, for what comes next.

Some people see this questioning as a problem. If we are living the way we are supposed to live, why are we not satisfied with our lives? It is important to be grateful.

I see these questions as a key turning point on our journeys of discovery. These questions are not indicators of the end, but of a new beginning.

Steps on a Journey

Each of us is on our own unique journey of discovery searching for something.

My own journey has already made many stops and followed quite a few paths so far. There have been times when I did not know, or could not remember, what I was seeking. The times when I was certain I was close to finding the right answer have opened me. My focus has shifted from being right to asking insightful questions and listening.

I cannot remember a time when I was not in love with justice. The idea of finding fairness has captured my attention since I was a young child. For many years my strongest response, my argument of last resort, was That’s not fair! If our decisions and actions were to matter at all they needed to be fair.

My passion for justice led me to study and practice law. My experiences taught me about how our culture perceives fairness. Our understanding of what is fair and what is right depends on competition. Two parties battle each other as we watch and the winner apparently has justice on their side. I came to believe there had to be a better way to be fair.

Fascination with justice also drew me to study power. Our understanding of power, as well, depends on who wins a contest. We choose people through elections and expect them to solve problems for us. Again, my experiences gave me an understanding there had to be a more effective way to make decisions.

Spiritual Life is Bigger Than We Are

Justice is also a strong aspect of how I understand spiritual life. Spiritual life is not about following arbitrary rules as much as a deep, sacred relationship.

It is a challenge to describe the limits of spiritual life. It reaches back into the past further than we can measure, as well as forward into the future. Spiritual life encompasses and shapes how we understand all the parts of our lives.

Is there anything which is not affected by how we understand spiritual life?

My experience and understanding of justice deepened. I began to see how it reflects spiritual life. Our concepts of fairness and unfairness, and how we decide what is true, demonstrate spiritual life.

Slowly, through my own life experiences, my eyes were opened to the potential power of spiritual life. Justice and spiritual life became transformed for me.

I had worked with people who were bringing together people harmed by crimes. Some of them were people whose actions had been criminal. Others were people whose property had been damaged or stolen, or who had been injured. It was an advanced education in how the way we practice justice affects real people.

There is a strong element of spiritual life underlying how we find justice.

I became even more curious about how spiritual life affects how we live.

Searching for Something Bigger Than I Am

As I explored I found spiritual life is bigger than I had thought it was. I was ready to move past platitudes and arbitrary rules to discover the deeper relationship.

Not only is spiritual life bigger than I thought it was, it is bigger than me.

There have been times when I have been lost in spiritual life, afraid of drowning. A relationship to deep, Sacred truth can feel overwhelming at times. Some people avoid exploring because they are afraid of losing themselves or giving up control.

Each day, each moment I try to paddle out a little further, go a little deeper.

It can be a challenge to live with life so immense, so beyond my ability to control.

We talk about living for something larger than ourselves, but it can be difficult. We say things like “peace beyond understanding,” but still want to understand it.

Spiritual life is life on the cutting edge, life more alive than we usually realize. When we feel tired or overwhelmed spiritual life fills us and gives us strength to continue.

My favorite metaphor for spiritual life is fire. Some people see spiritual life as an old man with a long, white beard looking down on us. That could not be farther from the truth for me.

Spiritual life shows us it is so much more than we are, then ignites our hearts. It can be challenging and overwhelming, but it is so much bigger.

What are you living for which is bigger than you are?

[Image by NASA Goddard Photo and Video]

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].