How to Find Spiritual Truth in a Red Pepper
How do vegetables nourish
spirit as well as body?
The next time you are getting ready to prepare a salad for your supper, pause for a moment and listen for the wisdom that a tomato or pepper holds for you.
Begin by taking out your Smartphone and take a few pictures of a pepper from several angles before adding it to your salad…the pepper, not the phone! This is the first step in a practice of using photos of everyday things as inspiration for spiritual growth.
You don’t have to be a professional photographer! You only need to keep your phone close by, capture any images that interest you and pause a few moments asking with an open heart “What do you want to tell me?” (Because you now have a photo, go ahead and eat the pepper.)
What is ‘Spirituality’?
Spirituality is not theology. It is not about religion or philosophy. It goes a lot deeper than the mind and lives in our tissues in the same way that love and hope and fear take up residence in our bodies.
Let me give you an example of finding spirituality from my own life. . .
Growing up in a Christian tradition everything I thought I knew about spirituality came from Bible verses and old hymns. However, most of this learning was external to my life, practiced on Sunday and left behind on Monday; discussed in Youth Fellowship but not with friends or later with coworkers.
Like many people, I wanted to defend the faith of my childhood and listened with a closed heart to anyone with a different ‘spirituality’ which I understood in my young mind as religious practices or traditions. Little did I know then!
Yet, I was curious, and as I grew, I began to study different religions and eventually went to seminary. I didn’t feel the connection between the theology in my head and the pulse beating steadily within my heart that would open me to Mystery beyond my understanding until after I graduated from seminary and continued my hike into the Unseen ahead of me. It was on this journey that I began to understand the real meaning of spirituality.
Where Can We Learn About Our Spirituality?
An infinite number of ordinary, everyday things connect us with the unseen Mystery inside which some people call Spirit and others may refer to as Universe, or God. I first felt it when I planted a vegetable garden.
As I collected food, I also harvested something much deeper than I could find in a theology book. Taking the day’s bounty into the kitchen to prepare supper I beheld not only vibrant red color, delicate shape and tender stem, I contemplated what it hid inside — revealed when I cut it in half.
I have had several ‘deep cuts’ in my life – times when there has been painful separation because of death, illness, loss of relationships or dreams. At these times, instead of peering inside, I looked outside of myself to
- Find the cause – something or someone to blame. Not productive.,
- Find a solution – a way to fix it. Not helpful.
- Find someone to console me. Helpful if they direct me back to my inner wisdom.
Some people I turned to for consolation were poets like Rumi and Rilke, and Mary Oliver. Especially Mary Oliver. She wrote about the richness found in the ordinary — trees, fences and wild animals. She understood sacredness in the mundane. She taught me that what I had spent decades searching for in church, seminary and religious practices is a lot closer to home than that. We only need a window to see it.
Reflection on something as simple as a sweet red pepper or a slice of tomato,
is one window that helps us experience inner wisdom or a spiritual awakening.
Emptiness as Sacred Space
After I had sliced the red pepper to prepare for my supper, I paused. A pause long enough to see, not only the color, shape and seeds, but especially all the emptiness surrounding them.
I thought about how I feel when I am ‘empty’ – a sensation I often rush to fill as soon as possible with the closest food on hand. Usually junk food.
What would happen to seeds inside of us – little germs of creativity and wisdom that are waiting to ripen and mature and bear new fruit – if we fill all our uncomfortable empty spaces with popcorn and soda?
Reflecting on this question as I held the pepper in my hand I slowly began to change my relationship to food. This single red pepper helped me see emptiness as sacred space and I became reluctant to make it a sugar and starch storage bin.
An Icon of What Lies Ahead
I finished my salad that day with slices of tomato. If you are familiar with Celtic Christianity, you will notice the symbol of the Celtic Cross. For a Christian it is also a symbol of love and hope.
I hope this short reflection on cut vegetables has given you some ideas about accessing your own inner Spirit from the depths of your refrigerator.
VickiJolene Reece
Today as I continue to empty closets, drawers, shelves, and sell furniture, I will reflect on the sacredness of empty space.
It made me think if David R. Hawkin’s work “Letting Go” The truest spiritual breakthrough comes through surrender, which to me means letting go not only the stuff but the closely held justifications, illusions, unforgiven wounds, false idols, and tightly fisted beliefs about everything.
Empty space. Nature loves the vacuum, and us ready to fill it again. Thanks for your reflection. May we all consider what God is doing as we create space for fresh winds to breathe new life into our souls, crisp waters to refresh our spirits, fragrant oils to sooth, soften and anoint our bodies, and even ferocious fires to burn, warm, melt or strengthen all God wills fir our highest good!
Thanks Ardis for the seeds of reflection you plant in us!
Ardis Mayo
VivkiJolene, thank you so much for adding your reflections to this post. I especially like your use of “we create space” for it reminds me to not only be aware of my empty spaces but to create them with intention for the gift they can be.
Dara Perfit
In art, it is what is called the “negative space” that defines the object. It is the quiet space behind or alongside the object that makes you able to see the object and pay attention to it.
Look at the space behind the new green pepper within the pepper and you can see it with special clarity.
In music, it is sometimes said that it is the quiet that makes us pay attention to the note or sound.
These are lovely ways to see and hear and then pay attention to what is important.
Ardis Mayo
Thank you Dara, for amplifying all the ways empty, or negative, space creates beauty in our world. I am thinking, also, of the bouyancy that is created by emptiness.
Bonnie
The tomato got me – I have never before seen the Celtic cross within. Thank you for your weekly reflections. I look forward to them and especially enjoy the pictures you’ve chosen each time.
I’m now busy creating space by packing up and selecting donation items for my early January move. It never ceases to amaze me how much I’ve collected and forgotten… and moving to a smaller space is a good thing!
Ardis Mayo
You’re welcome, Bonnie. thank you for all your encouragement and affirmations. I think the reason so much ‘stuff’ gets in our lives is we don’t understand that ‘stuff’ is a gas…and the definition of gas is it expands to fill any (closed) container. Would this be why an open heart has an infinite capacity for love?
Pat
I loved your description of wandering in the meadow. I love to wander in the woods. Sometimes I follow a path and sometimes I wander where there isn’t a distinct path. On occasion I have gotten lost but eventually found my way out of the woods, even if it was on a different path. Recently I walked in the woods with my daughter-in-laws dog. All went well until we headed back. In not watching where I place my foot, I tripped and fell flat on my face. In the process I lost my grip on the dog’s leash. Thankfully the dog responded to my calls ,stopping before he raced off too far. I sustained a few bumps and a bruised lip but no serious injuries. A reminder to stay in the present moment, one step at a time, rather than becoming too lost in my own thoughts. Better to ponder when the body is still.
Ardis Mayo
What a descriptive picture you have painted for a life’s journey, Pat. And your insight from reflection on this is a good word for me. Thank you.
Khadijah
I also grew up in a Christian tradition. Now I found myself steeped in spirituality and enjoying the immersion. After reading your article it reminded that, although it didn’t always provide answers, to be grateful for that time in the church because it made spiritual less distant. When I found the open door it was much easier to walk through.
Im looking forward to reading more poetry from those you suggest.
Ardis Mayo
Khadijah, thank you for your comment and insight. ‘The church’ has affected many people in many ways, some of which we never expected.