Creation, connection, compassion

I grew up without any religion. My mother had been Catholic;  my father Muslim. They often said that their lack of faith brought them together. I was raised with no spiritual practices beyond shopping for Christmas presents. However, for as long as I can remember I envied people who crossed themselves with holy water, bowed down in prayer, or lit candles for the sabbath or prayer.

As I teenager I dove into a faith tradition, Unitarian Universalism, that is more known for intellectualism and justice work than for deep spiritual practices.  But I never stopped envying people who had meaningful spiritual practices in their lives.  So in my twenties I set out to create something that would work for me.  I started with yoga. Years later I added grace-, then tonglen meditation, and most recently gratitude.

I didn't have words for what I was seeking when I started my spiritual practices, but now I do. These daily spiritual reminders help me to see myself as a part of the stream of life with more creativity, connection and compassion. I'm not rigid about doing them--I'd guess I do each of them 85-100% of the time in any given week, but they make a huge difference in my life every day. As we head into joy and stress of holiday madness, I know my spiritual practices will remind me of what’s really important in this time that has been so paradoxically commercialized. As a matter of fact, I think spiritual practice will be on the top of my gratitude list tonight.