All of us are pushed in a thousand directions over the course of a single day.
Spouses, children, parents, work, friends—it can be hard to find the time for daily maintenance, much less the mental space to practice any kind of spirituality.
Having any kind of deepened spiritual life can often seem impossible. But Sister Joyce Rupp, O.S.M., an award-winning author and retreat leader, says that in fact, quite the opposite is true.
The process is two-fold.
We have to allow ourselves to be present in the moment and where we are in life, committing ourselves to our families and letting go of any guilt we feel for not being able to accomplish everything.
But we also need to take the time to be kind to ourselves: to find those small moments of stillness where we can take a deep breath and remind ourselves that we still have a meaningful interior life.
In this web-exclusive excerpt of her interview with U.S. Catholic, Rupp teaches us how to start being aware of those small moments of spirituality in our daily lives.
How has the awareness of spirituality grown or changed over the years?
I think basic, fundamental things are the same, but the spirit has changed a lot.
There’s such a draw today towards both Buddhism and monasticism. It’s because we live at such a frenetic pace.
That’s something that has changed a lot from when I started doing retreats.
Back then, people would come for a five day retreat. No problem.
Today I do mini retreats, which are an hour and a half. People love them. Someone once said to me, “That was perfect. Just an hour and a half. It was great. I got some input. I had a little quiet time. It left us with some questions.”
But the same people won’t come for all day retreats. Continue reading
Sources
- U.S. Catholic
- Image: Oshonews