Something Practical?

I like to wax philosophical with enormous frequency. Part of this is due to pure interest in the big questions and subjects, and part of it is due to fear of getting real.

Today I wanted to discuss a few practical things I've been thinking about/ starting to try and do to live more spiritually. These are not prescriptives, just some things that one person has found to be helpful in his own journey. Take what you will, leave what you find useless.

1) Sharing meals with people is a great way to feel connected to community. I've had a few potluck dinners with some other young people from my school community (and beyond) and it is seriously a highlight during my week. I love cooking for others and accepting the gift of food from others, and there is something intensely spiritual about such actions. It gives new meaning to the word "communion." I wonder sometimes if Jesus was keenly aware of the community building nature of mealtime when he began speaking at the last supper, and indeed imbued the food and drink with the quality of holiness, such that every time we eat together, we are sharing in something greater than us. The word solidarity comes to mind.

2) Writing letters admitting your mistakes and affirming love for others can relieve enormous burdens. I have been repenting for mistakes I made with my relationships with many people for a long time, and while I have begun learning the hard lessons I needed to and turning down a different road, I still felt a weight inside. The act of repenting to God is great, but there is something humbling about honestly and actively taking responsibility for the things you've done and said that helps make it real to me. The response of the other may be positive, negative, or non-existent, but the act of laying down my pride has been changing my mindset towards others, and it's provided a strange kind of release to be a truly different person that wasn't there before.

Those are what I've got so far. This week I watched something that was really helpful in moving me away from the self-hating guilty thoughts and actions I used to revel in, so I wanted to share that to. Here's Rob Bell. If I ever meet him, I'll thank him for sharing such profound encouragement in such a simple way.



You don't have to live this way....

Or in the words of the late John Lennon

"War is over, if you want it"