Is there something that’s part of your day, a small routine or ritual, that helps you to be more centered and focused?
We often think of spiritual practice in terms of meditation, prayer, walking a labyrinth, or other activities that have an obvious foundation in a spiritual tradition. But spiritual practices are not limited to these kinds of activities.
For many years, my mother took about a half hour of quiet in the morning while sipping a cup of coffee. She referred to is as “her time.” When she took “her time,” no one was to interrupt her. She also sat gazing at a particular tree in the back yard. This was a time of centering and focus which nourished her spirit.
Over the last few months, I’ve incorporated a new spiritual practice in my day. I consider it my mid-day pause. It only takes about five minutes. Yet, its a few minutes that helps me to be centered and focused rather than caught in the stresses of my work. My mid-day pause is built around a pod-cast.
Each morning I receive an email and link for The Writer’s Almanac hosted by Garrison Keillor. It’s published by American Public Media. While there is a text version of the Almanac, I click to listen. Typically, I sit in a chair away from my desk, take a few deep breaths, then play that day’s edition on my Smartphone. I listen attentively as Keillor shares stories of famous writers born on that day. Often, what he shares are aspects of their ordinary life. The stories are followed by a poem for the day.
Generally, I don’t know much about the authors of whom Keillor speaks and the poems are usually new to me. I rarely remember any of the specific details he’s shared for more than a few minutes. But each day, I’m given a gentle reminder of writers who engaged in daily life, often unaware that they or their words would be remembered, but chose instead to be faithful to their craft. Through the poem, I’m able to enter for a moment another person’s world and experience some sort of connection to a feeling or image conveyed in the poem. Some days, I’m left with something from the poem that nourishes me: an image, a metaphor, an experience. What does occur for me each day is that I have taken a mid-day pause, stepped back from work, and re-collected myself. The Writer’s Almanac invites me to a deeper stillness and a patient gentleness which makes my work somehow lighter and more fulfilling.
While The Writer’s Almanac isn’t meant to be a spiritual practice, listening each day has become one for me. In the routine of daily activities, I step away for a few minutes, focus on poetic images, and am refreshed.
Consider ways that you can incorporate a mid-day pause to help keep you more centered and rooted in the spiritual dimension of life rather than caught in the business of the day.