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I am in the industry of Spirituality.
I teach yoga. I sell spiritual bling, I offer programs to help people find their “Self.”
I can chant ancient Sanskrit and talk kale and poop for days.
I chart the moon and armour with crystals. I drop mercury retrograde into conversation without blinking. I talk about the highest Self, manifesting and “truth” like a scientist talks research, cells and grants.
I’ve sat in meditation for hours or what seem like hours. I have done copious amounts of yoga and had revelations.
I pray, offer blessings and intentions. I spend time in nature, in solitude. Me and the sacred, we be tight.
But the continual search for the sacred can be exhausting. How spiritual do we need to be to enjoy life?
What’s even more exhausting is our constant need to prove this in our online world. It’s becoming tedious with the same continual posts of yoga poses, essential oils, inspirational quotes and our endless #soblessed, like we are part of a secret club and showcasing it on Instagram is our VIP ticket.
The sacred however does not need accolades or photos or mentions or likes.
The sacred needs the mundane.
In case you didn’t know, we don’t always need to be extraordinary or do extraordinary things all the time.
We need grace in the simple and tedious acts of doing laundry and picking up dog sh*t. Cleaning the fridge and the bathroom are opportunities to treasure the moments that invite contemplation, which is the doorway to the sacred.
These simple, ordinary acts create pathways for the sacred to arrive and alight its presence.
The problem is, we miss it.
We are caught up in demonstrating our sacredness and our gratitude for life instead of just of being. We are so fixated on our next shot, our next tweet, our next update that will remind our peeps how connected we are.
I speak from experience. There were many times my brain spoke to me in 140 characters or less and more often in what filter would look best for the “shot.”
I admit, I don’t post much anymore. It is hard to find motivation in offering up yet another unique angle on a yoga pose. I felt like my soul was drifting further out to sea while I built up my online presence.
So I tuned out and tuned in. I de-cluttered closets. I got into those deep, dark corners of the kitchen cabinets and de-cheerioed the joint. I cleaned places the cleaner never would. I listened to music, drifted my gaze outside and let the thoughts come and go. I walked for the sake of walking, with no destination, no goal, just move legs and arms and walk.
I paused.
I didn’t hit send. I didn’t like. I just sat in the spirit of the ordinary until I could hear the tiny song of the soul call out to me again. And she did, sweetly, in remembrance. These simple, non-sacred, yet sacred activities are exactly what my soul was calling out for.
“We’re so engaged in doing things to achieve purposes of outer value that we forget the inner value, the rapture that is associated with being alive, is what it is all about.” ~ Joseph Campbell
To do for the sake of doing is to remember the great connection we have with life—the absurdity of it, the joy of it, the sh*t of it, the beauty that resides within all aspects of it.
The being alive of it.
The ordinary is where magic is at its most potent. The ordinary isn’t worried about are we doing it “right” or in line with our deepest truth. It frankly doesn’t give a f*ck.
And that, my friends, is the beauty of the mundane.
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Author: Tahnee Fournier
Image: Penelope Dullaghan
Volunteer Editor: Tess Estandarte; Editor: Khara-Jade Warren
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