“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!
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