Five Ways You Can Find the Sacred in the Ordinary
Finding the Sacred in the Ordinary
Finding what is holy in our everyday life is a matter of pondering the stories and wisdom contained in the common things all around us.
It is a path to spiritual awakening and renewed zest in living that is just waiting for open hearts and minds to listen.
We may not be able — or have any desire — to engage in organized religious practices, but we are guaranteed to find simple everyday things and events that are ready to provide us with wisdom and insight for inner growth.
An increasing number of people today no longer attend religious services except for funerals and weddings. And yet I suspect most of them still yearn for spiritual nourishment.
Research tells us that 78% of people who once attended religious services have stopped doing so, yet 44% of those same people still pray every day. We may no longer go out to eat, but we still get hungry.
Where do we turn?
Consider the monks of old, who became hermits and went into the desert to satisfy the hunger of their souls.
How did they sustain their spiritual practice without icons, candles, and organ music?
Their secret is simple. They knew how to find the sacred in the ordinary.
They learned the art of contemplation from what was right before them. Sunrise. Carrying water. Chopping wood. Sunset.
If you find yourself yearning for something to feed your soul beyond (or together with) what religion has to offer, here are five ways to find nourishment in your everyday life, to taste the goodness of what I call Divine Mystery.
These are only examples, and as you learn to hear or read their wisdom, you will never be at a loss to find the sacred in your life. Ask yourself questions about the things around you at this moment, and use them as journal prompts. Here are some examples.
A Teacup
Pause as you have your morning tea and consider the cup as a metaphor for your life and you will discover something holy in a common piece of dinnerware.
What is the cup designed to hold? How do you keep it full? If there is a chip in the rim, can it still have a purpose?
Is this cup only for you, or will it also provide for guests who may be thirsty?
In what ways is your life like the cup – a vessel full of purpose and meaning? What is this vessel inviting you to do today?
I have a cup named Moses, for it leads me forth into the wilderness of my day.
Chatter
The next time you are in a public place – a supermarket, a cafe, a public park – listen to the chatter nearby.
Not as an eavesdropper, but like a birdwatcher listening to songbirds.
What is the tone of the voices? Is it dull or sprightly? Is there a lot of silence? Do you hear anger or angst?
These are cues for how to pray for strangers. And this prayer needs no words.
Using only your breath, inhale their unknown concerns and exhale harmony and peace for their day.
Once we connect our ordinary breathing to a practice of prayer, we have the secret of how to “pray without ceasing.”
Vehicles
What moves you (literally) throughout your day?
I have used my feet, an automobile, plane, train, bus, cab, bicycle, various walking aids, and a wheelchair.
Each of these, like John the Baptist, has paved a way in the wilderness. A wilderness of life with wild landscapes and detours.
I learn patience when I sit in a traffic jam and grow in awe as I listen to the GPS lady.
How does she know exactly where I am when I am lost?
Humility arrives when I run out of gas, and gratitude for the good Samaritan who comes to help out. My life becomes full of sacred moments in ordinary movement.
When I am fully present to whatever moves me physically, it opens my awareness to what moves me spiritually – the clouds overhead, spring blooms, and fall colors.
Noise
What are the ordinary sounds you hear in the course of your day?
As I write, I listen to the birds singing outside my window and bathe in the music of their conversations. I have a Seth Thomas clock that ticks quietly beside me, and I smile in gratitude for the gift of time.
Time in my day to live, laugh, and serve. And time in my life to remember, to experience, and to dream.
I am reminded to slow down and listen as I go forth in my day – to people who need someone to hear them, guidance from teachers, writers, and prophets, to the source of goodness that I call Mystery.
Listening is 50% of prayer.
Food
On any given day, I am fortunate to have many tastes and textures pass over my tongue – spicy condiments, sweet deserts, salty treats, creamy soups — crunchy and savory mixed together.
People who struggle with depression have lost a sense of the taste and texture of goodness in life.
There is a condition called Acedia which is a type of spiritual sloth that is unable or unwilling to experience Divine joy.
I have been there.
It is as if the only thing you can taste is white rice.
When my meals (and my life) are lacking spice or sweetness, I reach for condiments.
What is going to put the zest back? Do I need a sprinkle of humor, a spoonful of creative activity, or a full cup of rest to return to a life with flavor?
Conclusion
This summary of five ways to find the sacred in the ordinary is offered only as examples of an infinite resource for anyone thirsty for wisdom and insight.
- Hold an empty cup and think about life as a vessel that is sometimes empty, sometimes full, and available to nourish others.
- Listen to typical chatter in a public place and offer a prayer or blessing for each voice.
- Hear what the noises in your environment have to teach.
- Consider vehicles and other things that move you.
- Inhale aromas from baking bread and meditate on the goodness in your life
As you look around where you sit, what do you see or hear?
Try to ask 2-3 questions of each item or experience, and you will have the beginning of a rich and sustaining practice that is available to you anywhere, anytime.
An example from an earlier post is
How To Find Spiritual Truth in a Red Pepper
If you struggle to find time for spiritual practice, check out
“How to Find time for Spiritual Practice”
Or try a favorite author of mine, Macrina Wiederkehr
A Tree Full of Angels – Seeing the Holy in the Ordinary
[Images from Unsplash: tea-cup-loli-clement; cafe-wade-austin-ellis; scooter-creative-christians; clock-pawel-czerwinsk; spicy-food-aaina-sharma]
