The Deeper of Smaller & Deeper
If you missed last week, the smaller of smaller and deeper, you could catch that here.
I have been doing a lot of thinking about the power of practice. I love words and definitions; there is something so clarifying about seeing what the dictionary definition of the word is.
The definition of practice is:
Noun 1. the actual application or use of an idea, belief, or method, as opposed to theories relating to it.
My kids are both great practice people. My son has spent thousands of hours practicing all aspects of his golf game. My daughter practices turns, cartwheels, drawing, and the violin-one if not all of those things daily. They are practice people.
They both know the value of using ideas (What if I adjusted my grip this way? What if I tried using this color theory on this sketch? What if I turned my head just a little faster on this turn? What if I lined up the putt using this line instead of that line?) rather than thinking about ideas while sitting on the couch. They know that methods are only as good as how they use them. It’s one thing to talk about a great golf shot and another thing to hit that shot. It’s one thing to talk about playing a song on the violin and another to make music from those four strings.
Practice invites us deeper into the things we love.
Practice draws us deeper into the ideas that intrigue us.
Practice challenges us to a deeper understanding of the beliefs that guide us.
A few weeks ago, I took up my practice of the daily examen after not practicing it for months! Over a few days, reflecting every evening on the contours of my day, I was surprised to notice something.
I have a tween and a teen. It’s a BUSY life right now. They start school at different times, end at different times, and need to be in different places on different days. (I shuttle my kids around a lot, everyday-is what I’m saying.) Cooking dinner- feeding my family is chaotic, and finding the time is tricky; there are many moving pieces in our life right now regarding meals! So, I was surprised when I made an effort to reflect on my days at the end of every day when I thought of the activities and moments in my days where I felt alignment, joy, and Love’s presence, were when I was making food for my family. It was an insight that snuck up on me. I noticed after a few days, I was jotting down, fixing meals, prepping breakfast burritos to ease the morning rush, and packing lunches for school were all small moments in my days that drew me close to Love and helped me express Love.
My practice of the examen helped me uncover a deeper truth in my life. The regular and routine practice of reflecting on the highs and lows at the end of the day was a path to deeper understanding. It’s not about making the best meals; it’s not about perfectly packed lunches (because we for sure are not running in that lane!) It is about noticing the joy that I didn’t see until I made it a practice to stop and reflect.
Practice is how we metabolize ideas, beliefs, and theories into usable information in our lives.
Practice is how we transform.
A {Deeper} Blessings
Blessed be the daily practices you undertake to reflect, act, choose, and believe again, again, again, and again. As you apply ideas, beliefs, and methods to the contours of your heart and life, may they draw you deeper. May you see with new eyes. May your beliefs become alive and transformative. May you find the small things in your daily life that invite you deeper into the heart of Love.
Try practicing the Examen for a week?
Is there a daily practice (silence, meditation, prayer, reading, yoga) that you have let slide out of your life? Can you gently re-engage your practice this week?
“The examen is an immediate solution to the problem of what do I pray about? The answer is: everything that's happened to you today. You might have the impression that your everyday life is the dreary same old, same old. It isn't. Daily life is rich and meaningful. Every encounter, every challenge, every disappointment, and every delight is a place where God can be found.”
― Jim Manney, A Simple, Life-Changing Prayer: Discovering the Power of St. Ignatius Loyola's Examen
“Whatever may be the tensions and the stresses of a particular day, there is always lurking close at hand the trailing beauty of forgotten joy or unremembered peace.”
― Howard Thurman, Meditations of the Heart
Recently Finished:
The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith
The Ink Black Heart is the 6th book in the Cormoran Strike Novel series by Robert Galbraith, who is the pen name for JK Rowlings. I love a good mystery, and these never disappoint. All these murder mysteries are set in London; they are twisty, a little dark, character, and plot-driven novels. I read this 1000 (plus) page novel in a week. I think that speaks to how engaging it is!
Words to ponder is a weekly invitation to slow down and read with intention and curiosity. Not just read the words, but let the words read you. Notice how you respond to words and phrases and listen with the ears of your heart to see if the words are inviting you to a new way of seeing or being.
I found these lessons from Macrina Wiederkehr (one of my favorite authors) that was posted after she died. I think it’s true smaller and deeper wisdom.
"By nature I am a bit nomadic. I probably belong to the tribe called hunters (as opposed to the gathererswho settle into one place, tend their crops and wait for the harvest). Belonging to the Hunter Tribe fits me quite well spiritually for I am always seeking, reaching beyond what I can see with my visible eye. My hunt is for the great Source of Life we call God. My hunt is for meaning and purposeful living. Jesus, the Christ, is my guide. I feed on eternal questions and deep listening. In spite of being a hunter I long for solitude and have even taken a vow of stability of life which may seem not to fit with a hunter’s heart. Yet even hunters are called into solitude and quiet as they wait for their prey. They learn to keep vigil. There are hunters who, in the midst of the hunt, discover that the prey they thought they were seeking turn out to be far beyond their original expectation. They return home with nothing to brag about except the scenic view of a pierced heart that only they can see and understand.
Perhaps we are all a bit like that. We don’t fully understand our own vigilance and who it is we are waiting for, until suddenly we feel the breath of the Hound of Heaven on our heels. We slow down, then, and turn around to discern who might be hunting us.
These Things I Have Learned on the Great Hunt:
All work (even menial tasks) can become a joy rather than a burden.
“Practice” is one of the most important words in the spiritual life.
It is harmful to my soul to judge others.
All moments of waiting can become moments of keeping vigil.
The book of the earth is as holy as the book of scripture.
I am happiest when I am able to surrender my own will.
If I am not happy with what I have, I probably won’t be happier with more.
Even if I don’t agree with someone I can learn much by listening to them.
-- Macrina Wiederkehr