Three Words for Spirituality

About a year ago, our abbot invited those of us on retreat together to come up with three words to describe "our spirituality."  I put that phrase in quotes because it's not quite how I would express this thought.  But I am the sort to ponder things slowly - a bit like that "chewing" stage of lectio divina - so I've come back to that exercise with a new set of words, and a deeper sense of their authenticity.

First, let me explain what I think spirituality is.  Akin to many other characteristics, it is something all human beings are born with.  Unless we are operating with a significant handicap, we all arrive here with a certain basic set of characteristics -  we can think, we can play, we can create; some of us are more athletically inclined, some of us are nerds, some of us are artists or musicians, but we all have the basic capacity to express our humanity in physical and cognitive and creative ways.  Likewise, we all have a basic capacity to experience the divine, the extraordinary, that which takes us out of ourselves, even if just for a moment.  For some folks, that capacity is more available, and our circumstances render us able to touch that dimension, and develop it more easily.  Those folks may appear to be "more spiritual" than others, in much the same way some folks are "more athletic."  But I don't think in terms of "my spirituality," so much as I think in terms of "how does my spiritual nature express itself most easily?"  That just makes more sense to me.

So - how does my spiritual nature express itself most easily, or most authentically?  

First word - contemplative.  I sit.  I reflect.  I contemplate.  I ruminate.  I am a slow learner and thinker.  And I believe that the temple in which I worship is God's presence within my own heart and soul.

Second word - restless.  I may sit and reflect and ruminate a lot, but I'm also pretty inconsistent with my particular practices.  Sometimes I journal, sometimes I don't.  Sometimes I work through a book of the Bible, sometimes I don't reach for the Bible for months.  Sometimes I pray the Office, but I haven't actually done that regularly in years.  For a long time I had a meditative mantra, but lately not so much.  My spiritual practice is very restless.

Third word - joyous.  What a shock that was!  It was two years ago and more that I heard God tell me that our human existence is intended to be an experience of joy.  Still haven't gotten over that moment, mostly because that thought had never occurred to me before.  Life was about hard work, duty, obligation, love was tossed in there somewhere, but never joy.  And here, now, in this time of meditation, when asking again about these three words, I'm told that my own inward being IS joy.  

Clearly there is much to be ruminated on in this new discovery.  I'm sure these will continue to develop over time.  But it seemed worth a few minutes to put some words around where I am now, and cherish a sense of rightness to the present insight.