Life As Sacred Tasks
Where things are moving too quickly, nothing can stabilize, gather, or grow. John O’Donohue (Anam Cara)
The sacred isn’t speedy. And speedy isn’t sacred.
The saying “take time to smell the roses” comes to mind this morning as I settle in to write. This week I’ve been present to the times when I experience the sacred in the tasks of daily life and when those sacred tasks become unpleasant chores to be rushed through.
Sometimes I catch myself urging Zadie Byrd to ‘hurry up … I’ve got things to do’. I’m more present to the doing and completing than to self, to soul, to this canine being and to the sacred task of care for another. In this state I miss noticing the bunnies, the hummers, the blooms.
I lose that coherence when I rush to ‘get things done’ rather than being present to each as a sacred task in support of life, a life that I love.
What is the cost of dismissing the mundane in our rush to check things off our ‘to do’ lists?
I thought about this one recent morning when I found myself rushing through opening windows upon rising. I became aware of unconsciously doing the daily task rather than being present to greeting the day. Moving from one window to the next, I failed to greet the mountains and acknowledge the woods. Did I even see them?
With this awareness, I paused and retraced my steps, returning to each window to greet and thank the beauty and the beings that I’m blessed to live among. I chuckled, recalling that I’d recently mentioned to a friend how much I appreciate this summer morning ritual. I shared I was happy that maintaining a comfortable temperature in the home requires my attention rather than an automatic setting. Just as building a fire in the wood stove does each winter morning; opening windows, placing fans, and adjusting them as the sun’s angle changes connects me to the season, to Nature, to Gaia, the Cosmos, and their cycles. By choice there is no Alexa, Siri, or smart thermostat to stand between me and Mother Nature.
How much sacredness do we lose to so-called convenience — personally and collectively? I think of the lost nutritional value, degradation of our health and the planet’s well being as a result of industrialized agriculture. What if we held the earth and her capacity to produce food as sacred? What if we held food as sacred and more robustly supported those who practice regenerative agriculture, providing fresh, nutritious foods? Just as is true for our souls, nourishing food ‘cannot stabilize, gather, and grow’ at warp speed.
The sacred isn’t speedy. And speedy isn’t sacred. What sacredness have we lost in other domains of life? How can we enjoy the comforts of life without offending or abusing the Natural world? How can I? How can we/I maintain the sacredness of life and its tasks with each sacred breath we breath?
Cindy studies the practical application of mysticism, reflects on life, writes, takes long walks with canine companion Zadie Byrd, and stewards a small property at 8000 feet in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of Southern Colorado. In the midst of the changing environment of a chaotic world, each week Cindy invites the Muse to explore how to navigate these uncharted waters and how to live a life aligned with our highest values in her blog at www.cindyreinhardt.com/blog
