Spiritual
Recalibration
“Sacred
places like Iona often have a way of recalibrating our lives—the pace at which
we move, the ways we choose to spend our time and money, and the ideas that
call for our attention.”
Tracy
Balzer (A Journey of Sea and Stone, p.28; Broadleaf Books, 2021)
Have
you ever gone on spiritual retreat? It’s interesting to me that most religions
have pilgrimage built into their calendar, but for inexplicable reasons,
Christianity doesn’t. Spiritual Director, Tracy Balzer’s book talks about her
personal spiritual journey to the Isle of Iona in Scotland. She went with two
questions: “Where is God?” and “Who am I and what can I offer the world?”
Spiritual retreat provides an opportunity for us to go inward and ponder such
big questions without the distractions of everyday life.
My
friend, Joe, goes once a year or so to the deserts of the American Southwest.
He travels around in his truck-camper and spends entire days in silence. He is
a man who knows that he needs extended periods alone in silence—but we all need
that whether we realize it or not. Tracy Balzer writes about the pace of life on
Iona. The twice daily call to prayer, when the bells toll, and members of the
Iona Community file into their ancient abbey and lead prayers. Wherever we are,
we are calmed and quieted by the rhythm of regular practice.
Here is
what Tracy Balzer wrote about reentry after her retreat: “The essential rhythm comes under forceful
attack the moment I set foot on US soil. The transition from the peace of Iona to
the frantic pace of modern living is jarring: long lines of impatient travelers
at the airport, the stress of the customs process, the dramatic reacquaintance
with the speed of cars on the freeway. I may have only been gone for two weeks,
but I feel like I’ve entered a foreign country rather than the one of my birth.”
Most of
us don’t think about the impact on our body/mind of constant exposure to speed
and noise—how much of our vital energy goes into being vigilant. It frazzles
our nervous systems and keeps us on high alert. The pace of American life, especially
in our cities is, quite simply, violent.
Most of
us cannot take yearly trips to the Isle of Iona, but we can find a place of solitude
and make a habit of going there. Even if that place is in your back yard, or in
a park just down the street, spending time in silence there will recalibrate your
nervous system. If you spend that time in prayer or meditation, so much the
better. We all need soul rehabilitation after our pandemic experience these
past two years. It doesn’t have to be in the middle of the desert, or the
middle of the ocean. It can be right here at home as we sit in silence and
pray.
In the Spirit,
Jane
No comments:
Post a Comment