Vocation

No, people. I’m not talking about passionate love movies and being swept off your feet, à la:

Sorry to disappoint. (Though that is a good movie…)

I’m talking more along the lines of being swept away by the business of life. Namely, having your spiritual practices swept away in the flood of jobs, homework, classes, stress–you name it.

I have certain spiritual practices I have picked up over the years. Meditating every morning (thank you, Geshe Dakpa Topgyal, my Buddhist monk spiritual teacher from the Charleston Tibetan Society). Writing, before bed every night, a list of ten things I am thankful for on the whiteboard beside my bed (an idea given to my by my yoga therapist aunt and later echoed by my pastor at my UU church). Saying grace–as I talked about in another blog post here.

But in the past few weeks, in an onslaught of midterms and paper writing and a faltering immune system (despite my best efforts with Germ-Ex and Vitamin C supplements), my spiritual practices have fallen behind. I’m too busy finishing homework to meditate in the mornings, too exhausted at night to think of ten things before I tumble into bed. Meals are something eaten while I’m power-walking down Comm Ave to make it to my next class or meeting.

And I can feel the toll this is taking on me (as can any of my roommates, friends, or a particular significant other). Grumpiness, snappiness, just plain tiredness. Because the thing is–we all need to take time for spiritual well-being.

Whether you’re Christian or Jewish or Buddhist or anything else, you need to take the time to, as John Wesley would say, see if it is well with your soul. Breathe in, breathe out. Be quiet. Say hello to the Divine or Allah or just your own inner self. Just be.

It’s hard, I know–hard to set aside time, hard to be still when there are things to do (and things due). But it’s worth it. Try it. I’ll be trying, too.