Mind-Body-Spirit

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”    ~ Jesus

I'm trying to adjust to a new life rhythm.  You see, for the past twelve years my work week has been back-loaded with the lion's share of deadlines and meetings coming Wednesday afternoon and evening through Sunday.  Since moving to a new congregation this schedule has been flipped 180 degrees and now my week is front-loaded from Sunday to Wednesday morning.  The thing this change seems to have affected most is this blog space since from its beginning I have mostly written and posted it on Wednesday mornings.  All of this is to partly explain why you didn't see this post yesterday and why it has been coming to you sometimes later on Wednesdays. My muse has become confused as to when to appear!

Now, with that out of my system, this whole dynamic also has me thinking about life rhythms and how physical routines and activities affect our thoughts, imaginations, emotions, and spirit.  I'm reminded of the body-mind-soul connection and how Spirit traverses every aspect of our lives. 

Mindful and thus authentic spirituality requires attention to all areas of our being.  Most of us are pretty good at one or two while neglecting the other(s). Maybe while exercising we ruminate on negative thoughts of things in our lives.  Or perhaps we feed our minds with good reading or listening while consuming a bag of chips or a pint of ice cream.  We could be meditating every day while sleeping only 4-5 hours a night.  There are too many examples in our lives, so I won't belabor the point other than to repeat that body, mind, and spirit (heart, soul, and mind) are integrated, and care of our whole person is necessary if we are to care for one another.

Jesus reminds us in the quote above of the ancient Truth that in order to love and care for another we must first love and care for our whole selves.  It all goes together. 

So, whether it's Wednesday or Thursday, be kind to yourself and then to someone else!