Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Living The Spiritual Life

The more I try to live spiritually, the less sure I am that I am actually doing it. I believe there is a God but I am often wondering who or what this God is. I still have all the traditional images of God given me in my youth but I don't think its always that simple. I believe God must be an enigma of simplicity wrapped in complexity or vice versa. Some people seem very certain about who and what God is. Their faith is either much deeper than mine or they are blessed with a life of 100% certitude and therefore they have no questions or doubts about anything they believe. I wish I could live with that kind of doubt free conviction. I say all of this because I think the spiritual life, like God, is a mystery. Living a spiritual life is not always about doing things, especially in any kind of robotic way. It's about living and growing and changing and transforming into a more loving and compassionate person. It's also about feeling contrition for your failings and shortcomings as you continually get up and start over after you fall or lose your way. For me the spiritual life is also about a lot of searching, some stumbling down the path, occasional clarity, and sometimes days, weeks, or months of being lost in the fog. Still, many of us continue to follow the voice within us as we journey toward an unknown destination. It almost seems as though someone is calling our name and you are trying to follow the sound. In all of this is a sense of longing. The emptiness within us is a longing to find the source that seems to be calling our name. It can be a great thing to actually hear the sound of someone calling your name. Once about five years ago as I was walking through a crowd at a rock concert I literally heard someone calling my name. I turned around and saw two old friends that I hadn't seen in years. Since that moment in time these friendships have been renewed and with one person many new adventures have been experienced. When my beautiful little granddaughter, Chloe, comes to my house for the weekend, my name is called out four or five hundred times. Where am I going with this? Yesterday I talked a little about emotional needs and the emptiness we sometimes feel. I think this emptiness, and the longing attached to it, are really spiritual in nature. These feelings are not just experienced by lonely people. Sometimes people who seem to have it all still feel empty and they long for something they can't usually articulate. I think this longing is God calling our name. The emptiness we sometimes feel can only be filled by God. Even though this God is still very much a mystery to me, He/She is no stranger. There are quiet moments in my life where the emptiness and the longing are filled and my spiritual loneliness is momentarily taken away. I am grateful for such moments of rest before I once again take up the continuing journey of life.

2 comments:

isaiah said...

Stumbled upon your post of Jan. 8 researching music spirituality.

Yes.

See www.rockom.net the crossroads of music & spirituality.

Peace & blessings

isaiah said...

Stumbled upon your post of Jan 8 on Spirituality and music researching the same.

Yes- good post on Jan 8- very nice reading.

We just launched a new music website: www.rockom.net

The crossroads of spirituality and music.

Hope you stop by, register and participate, for it seems you have much to offer!

Peace & blessings,
Tom