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Napkin Spirituality?
Spirituality is one of those things that is both extraordinary -- it speaks to that place in our hearts that experiences
both the joys and pains of life -- and very ordinary -- like the napkin you grab at lunch to jot down some notes
to take back to the office after talking "shop" with co-workers.
Look at the graphic to the left -- and if you're relaxing with your computer at your favorite coffee shop or restaurant,
grab a napkin and draw out these four boxes. Once you've drawn them on a napkin, or just in your head, where would you say
you best fit?
Start just by drawing the question mark for the "big questions." Then next
to it (you can draw them top-to-bottom like the graphic or left-to-right if you prefer) draw the
little question marks, then the stick figures, and lastly try to squiggle out a
"path" trailing off to the mountains in the distance.
If you find yourself asking what seem to you to be "big" questions, write out
one or two (or three) of those questions by the big question mark. Your
questions might be (and probably are) different from the ones in the graphic.
Do the same thing if you find yourself asking lots of little questions. Or
do both if it seems you are somewhere in between.
If you've heard answers to some of these questions that you find helpful, draw
out some stick figures. Imagine a group of people you would enjoy being
with who are also interested in spirituality. What does this group look
like? What does it do together?
Lastly, next to the "path," jot down what you think it would take for your life
to come to the point where you actually choose to follow a path.
The most important lesson from this exercise is the only answers which can
really get you from one place to the other in your journey are the answers you
discover yourself. We have found some answers in Christian spirituality,
but there are a lot of things even there that are left unanswered that still
bother us sometimes. We have also found that it is too easy for churches to
offer stale clichés to life's most troubling questions. "Napkin
Spirituality" is about a community who seek answers honestly as much as it is
about the answers themselves. It is about the "normal" times in life when
you have coffee with a friend instead of times once a week or on special
occasions when you might go to a church service.
Email us the thoughts on your "napkin" at thenapkin@pacificlighthouse.org.
We'll get in touch, and if you're local here to San Diego we'll fill you in on
some informal, relaxed opportunities to get to know others who share your
interest in an honest spiritual journey.
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