Sustainable Spirituality

I’ve had a sort of “flagged” ongoing collaboration with God lately. With the addition of becoming a Holistic Life Coach & LDS Spiritual mentor, I’ve had a desire to find the words to describe what I’ve been trying to create, do, be, say in a way that was concise & simple.

If you’ve been around here long enough, you know I’m never short on words or analogies or story. Concise hasn’t always been my strong suit.

For almost 10 years now I’ve been showing up in this & many other corners of the internet sharing my own walk toward faith, and knowing, and trust, and hope. It’s looked a million different ways but I’ve always known the end game was to simply reflect God’s love & understanding & compassion that I know is real.

The other day I was doing nothing special at all and the words floated right down into my heart & mind that I’ve been praying for, searching for, and seeking after : SUSTAINABLE SPIRITUALITY.

yes. this.

This is what I’ve spent the last decade of my personal life finding, and almost as much time on the internet shouting from the roof tops.

Sustainable Spiriutality.

A spiritual way of life that can change places, ways, avenues, amounts, but never leaves altogether. A spirituality that goes with you, into every season of life, into every circumstance, into every fire and summer. Into scarcity & abundance. Into every unknown and new chapter. Every day. Every hour.

I’ve had a little little black & white sticker I’ve had on my mirror that says “every hour i need thee” for many years. I put it there when I was in a season of not knowing. I didn’t know if I could be forgiven of my personal mistakes. I wasn’t sure if there was a place for me in God’s presence anymore. I didn’t know if my prayers were getting past the ceiling. I didn’t know if everything was going to be okay. And as I looked at those words became written so deeply on my heart it was the catalyst to creating a spiritual way of life that was ingrained into all aspects of me. this morning I saw the evidence of the sustainable spirituality I have sought. Every hour. In every condition. In every realm.

Creating this kind of spiritual life is sacred ground. It’s moving beyond spiritual to-do lists doing & into a realm of spiritual being.

I know this sounds abstract and far fetched.. but it’s really not! It’s about a change in mindset from living a divided life into living a holistic or whole life with spirituality integrated right into everything else.   

I think we’ve been taught that spirituality is special and reverent and separate. That we must pray in “correct” ways and access the Spirit in “correct ways” as well. We’ve come to believe that there is a special way to “conjure” spirituality in our lives. If/then. If we do this then we will get this.

That mindset has failed me & those I work with time and time again. Even creating a sense of spiritual resentment.

If you spent time doing x and didn’t receive y… the doing becomes labor intensive and un-motivating. We wonder what’s the point. We start prioritizing other things instead. And then when we realize we’re missing that spiritual life we think we must pick back up the doing to receive the depth of spirituality. It’s a spiral!

What if there wasn’t anything you needed to do to have a sense of spirituality in your every day? What if that sense of connection existed in your mindfulness? What if viewing laundry as a spiritual pursuit- being in participation of the provision of God in your life- could bring that connection right in? What if listening to certain Jesus centered music could open that window of heaven as you drive? What if memorizing a Scripture became a prayer you offered while you washed the dishes? What if tucking in your kids became a spiritual practice of love and compassion? What if moving your body transformed into a gratitude practice?

Creating sustainable spirituality happens when we break down the dividers we keep in our lives and show up as our whole self, everywhere we go. Our spiritual selves don’t need to be reserved for the temple or church. Our opinions and questions don’t need to be kept from the temple or church. We are free to show up as we are, where we are, and notice God’s presence right there with us. They are there. They care. They aren’t leaving us to fend for ourselves in some aspects of our lives and reserving their guidance for the others.

This is the sacred work we’re doing together in my spiritual mentorship sessions and it doesn't’ take much to get the ball rolling, to bring your awareness level up, and to begin creating your own sustainable spirituality that goes beyond apps, schedules, check lists, early morning wake up times, or forcing any square pegs into round holes.

It’s being willing to be seen by your Heavenly Parents, and see them in every hour in return.