Mystic Musings: Lent 3/23
“It helps, putting my hands on a pot, on a broom, in a wash pail.
I tried painting, but it was easier to fly slicing potatoes.”
Rabia of Basra, 8th century Sufi mystic from Mesopotamia (now Iraq)
I remember years ago I was raking the falls leaves from the front yard. A neighbor acquaintance walked by and said, “You know that would be a lot easier and a lot faster with a leaf blower.” I said, “Yes, but I get more exercise this way.”
Photo by Kyle Mesdag @tehmezdawg
The truth is it wasn’t just about exercise. It was also about getting into a rhythm that that felt meditative and made room for some reflective thoughts (I was preaching then and always working on ideas). I remember a couple of years ago I admitted to the church I was serving that the sermon for that Sunday was written while riding my bike. I had sat at the computer for much of the afternoon with no movement on the sermon. I finally decided to head out to the bike path. An hour later my sermon was all ready to go and all I needed to do was write down a few notes.
We often think we need to do something beyond the ordinary to get in touch with the spirit. Go on a retreat. Attend a worship service. Commit to some artistic pursuit like painting, singing, dancing, or sculpting. The truth is those are great ways to get in touch with the spirit, and I do advocate for that. But “to fly” as Rabia puts it we don’t always need to create a separate outlet. Often all we need to do is change the pace of what we are doing to change it from a task or an activity to a working meditation.
I can get this by raking the leaves, getting into a rhythm on my bike, cutting vegetables, and even shoveling snow. Spiritual communion is always available no matter what we are doing. The trick is to approach our normal routines less as tasks to get done and more as opportunities for connection and communion.
Sit quietly. Breathe deeply. Ponder these questions:
What routine things do you do where you already experience them as a time of enjoyment and communion?
What would be different if you approached routine chores as reflective meditations? Would you do them more slowly? Would you play music? Would you do them alone or with someone?
Do you tend to approach chores as things to check off a to-do list? For one day think of them as “An Enjoyment List” and see how it changes how you experience them.