Endings and Beginnings

Classes begin tomorrow where I teach and I have mixed feelings. I'm looking forward to beginning a new semester with a new group of students. There is a tinge of excitement and anticipation at this new beginning. On the other hand, the beginning of classes means the end of the freedom to set my own schedule as I have this summer.

Every transition in life brings a mixture of anticipation and anxiety. When a new phase of life begins an old one ends. Endings often involve feelings of loss and grief over what has been lost. Of course, beginnings have a sense of excitement and adventure into the unknown.

We are always moving into an unknown future, even if we don't realize it. Nothing about our personal futures is guaranteed. We live as if life will always continue in the same way with the same comfortable routines. But life changes in an instant and we can find ourselves journeying into new territory.

What remains constant is our spiritual connection with God. This relationship endures the endings and beginnings in life and continues beyond the ending called death. This relationship offers stability, reassurance and hope-- all essentials for a fulfilling life.

Summer Reading

The phrase "summer reading" evokes images of relaxing with a good book on the beach--reading for pleasure and/or entertainment. Mass market paperbacks are the stock and trade of publisher's book lists in the summer.

However, because I'm teaching a course on the Old Testament in the fall, I am reading the primary textbook, Reading the Old Testament by Larry Bandstra, this summer. In addition, I will be reading several other books on the same subject. Not exactly light reading.

In my reading yesterday about the creation story in Genesis, I came across this provocative sentence:
"The Primeval Story beings with a world-class road trip, a space-time adventure that sweeps us back to ultimate origins... The narrative takes us to the earliest conceivable moment, the cosmic beginning, where we witness the formation of a universe."

Suddenly, my imagination was jolted to life and I began to think about the beginnings of the universe. What an amazing thought: our universe began in a specific moment! This beginning is steeped in majesty and mystery. Bandstra is right in calling it a "space-time adventure." Only through imagination can we enter into this story at its first moment.

My point in sharing this is that even in the driest, densest textbook, there is the possibility of a fresh and creative word being spoken that evokes something deep within us. "The beginning of our universe is an adventure that is still continuing." I could ponder this thought for the rest of the summer, or longer...

The Importance of Recentering

I find that how I begin my day can have an out-of-proportion effect on how the rest of the day goes. A bad beginning too often leads to a bad middle and end. But does this necessarily have to be the case? I don't believe it does.

A few mornings ago, my day began in mild chaos. While my spouse was drying her hair, the power went off. I was awakened from a sound sleep by her urgent plea to go to basement to reset the circuit breaker so she wouldn't miss her train. Also, because of the power interruption, the wifi stopped working and she needed to send an email before she left. So I trudged upstairs to the modem and reset it.

All of the above occurred at 5:30 a.m. I was wide awake by the time these tasks were completed. It was too dark to go rowing, so I went to my basement and did a workout on the rowing machine. This hard workout somewhat redeemed the chaotic start. I was calmer and more centered afterward, especially after a hot shower and breakfast. The day went much better after this.

When a normal morning routine is interrupted, it can "ruin" the rest of the day if we let it. For me, the best way to begin a day is in silence as we awaken to the possibilities that await us. A quiet time is a great way to ease into the day and prepare ourselves mentally and spiritually for the tasks ahead. But, we aren't always in control of how our day begins, as my story above illustrates.

So what happens when your morning routine is interrupted? If possible, it's best to not empower the chaos to effect the rest of the day. If a beginning is negative, try to do something positive that will help you get back your emotional and spiritual stability. Just because we get knocked off-center doesn't mean we can't recenter.

Beginnings

This is my inaugural blog entry. I've been thinking about blogging for about a year now, but have been too busy (and intimidated at what it might involve!) to launch my own blog. But, I've decided to overcome my excuses and fears and enter the blogosphere.

The theme of this blog is everyday sprituality. Some call it "active" or "practical" spirituality. My interest is in exploring what is sacred and soulful about daily life.

In this blog of active spirituality we will travel through the primary areas of daily life-- work, play, travel, home life, commuting, leisure and recreation—and try to connect with the spiritual dimension in and through these activities.

I believe that the foundational concept that enables persons to discover their spiritual connection is “mindfulness”: being fully present in the present moment. The focus in mindfulness is not so much on what we do, but how we go about doing it. Mindfulness transforms work into vocation, travel into pilgrimage and recreation into re-creation.

In nearly every major religion, there are threads of active spirituality. The Judeo-Christian tradition has several. Abraham sojourns from Ur to Canaan. David dances in joy before the Lord. Jesus is on the move so much he says, “The Son of Man has no place to rest his head.” Paul is in perpetual motion on his missionary journeys. Active spirituality also plays a prominent role in other major religious traditions: the Whirling Dervishes of Sufism, Karma Yoga in Hinduism, and Tai Chi in Taoism.

When it comes to spirituality, the key questions are: What feeds and nurtures your soul? What brings joy to your heart? What helps you expand your spiritual horizons and grow? The active spirituality of Soul in Motion explores these questions and (I hope) will help you discover joy and fulfillment in the everyday activities of work, play and travel.

Bob/Robert/Rob