A Good Day

I recently heard an interview with Atul Gawande. You can click here to listen to the interview from On Being.  There were several moments that I was drawn into what Dr. Gawande was saying.  First was his reflection on the integration of mind, body, and spirit.  We are not as able to compartmentalize our thoughts or emotions or spiritual life as we like to think we are.  The fact is that an emotion can be physically felt.  So when we grieve, we can feel exhausted in our bodies.  The reverse is true too...joy can give us energy.  What is going on in our head does impact the rest of us.  Pause for a moment to ponder what is going on in your head...your body...your soul. 

At a recent retreat I led, I asked people to draw a stick figure with a crayon; then write down how it was with their head, heart, and soul.  If you had to color your head right now would it be a bright, brilliant yellow or maybe a muted gray?  If you had to color how you feel physically, would you go with a purple or brown...why?  Color is, of course, in the eye of the beholder.  For some folks, like me, I love brown!  I am definitely a fall person who sees oranges and muted yellows and browns as being colors that really are about life.  But I realize that for others a brown brings back bad memories of the seventies...where avocado green shag carpet still haunt your dreams.  But part of choosing the color...or letting the color choose you...is to ask why?  Why did I pick up that blue?  Is it because I feel like I have the blue...or because it is a beautiful color?  So, on one level, this practice of coloring your life is about seeing where you naturally gravitate...deeper you ask yourself why? 

So, what color and what is going on in your head?  Your body?  And your soul?   Are the colors congruent or chaotic?  Do they compliment or feel like they are in conflict?  I think sometimes part of the dissonance we feel in life is because our head is in a season of new life or spring while our body just wants to go hibernate in winter.  Listening to...and living out of the seasons of life is a great spiritual practice to live a more wholistic and integrated life.

Second, Dr. Gawande asked, "What is a good day?"  I love this question and the quest, adventure it can take us on.  What would a good day look like, be like, feel like for you?  The more open and honest we can be about this, the better.  This need to be a guilt free zone.  Even if you have a family and feel like a good day is spent curled up with a good book all alone...you have permission to name and claim how you would spend a good day.  One last thought.  Notice, I said, "Good" not "The most awesome, amazing day ever!!'  Let's scale back and simply ask about a good day.

Prayerful ponder this and may there be more than a trace of God's grace as you do.

Blessings ~~