Photograph: Erin Simkin/Netflix
Today’s question from the devotional cards is this:
What things do you need to feel nourished and ready for growth?
Many years ago I had a spiritual director that asked me to make a list of 20 things that I love to do, that feed my soul. And I couldn’t get to 20. I think I only got to about 8 or nine.
Oh I could list 20 things that I was grateful for easily enough … but things that feed my soul? That was hard. I found the task challenging … and every time I have thought about that question since then, I still do.
I think those two questions are similar. Whatever feeds our soul will nourish us and prepare us for the growth that inevitably comes, whether we like it or not, throughout our lives.
I think that her point was that I wasn’t spending enough time doing those things that feed my soul … which, when you think of it, when you are doing something that you love to do, like having a visit with someone just to have a visit, or going for walk in the woods, or by the lake, or taking the time to make someone else’s life a little easier to bear, I believe you are really putting yourself in the presence of the sacred. And I think putting ourselves in the presence of the sacred, which can take many forms, nourishes us and makes us ready for growth.
This is a round about way of telling you that Pat and I are really enjoying a new Netflix series called The Residence. It’s quite hilarious … it’s an eight part murder mystery set in the White House. The Guardian says it is “a joyful murder mystery (that) is eight hours of gorgeous, gleeful escapism.” I didn’t realize I needed a good belly laugh … but I have had a number of them since we started watching this. Highly recommended.
There’s nothing wrong with gleeful escapism these days I say – just to cleanse the palate from the firehose of foolishness that the rest of the news brings.
What things do you need to feel nourished and ready for growth?
