Thoughts from the St. Paul Staff

 "What is saving my life now is the conviction that there is no spiritual treasure to be found apart form the bodily experiences of human life on earth. My life depends on engaging the most ordinary physical activities with the most exquisite attention I can give them. My life depends on ignoring all touted distinctions between the secular and the sacred, the physical and the spiritual, the body and the soul."

These words come from An Altar in the World, the new book by noted Episcopalian writer and preacher Barbara Brown Taylor.

I love the phrase that Taylor uses: "spiritual treasure". It allows each of us to decide what we are seeking: peace, awe, wisdom, oneness, compassion, forgiveness, humility....? If we know where we are headed, even if the path is shrouded in fog, we are more likely to find our way there. Perhaps we want to merely open ourselves to whatever truth is willing to show up in front of us.

I am convinced, though, as she is, that body and spirit are not separate, that the spiritual path does not lead away from the body but right to it. How can we have spiritual experiences if not through our bodies? How else would we be sensing these powerful realities?

I keep finding that my day-to-day life is teaching me if I am willing to pay attention. It is the simple things that can speak to our souls: making the coffee, raking the lawn, recycling the trash, laughing at jokes, walking the dog, doing the dishes, writing those we love, making friends and, yes, sitting still. May you seek and find your spiritual treasure during this season of Lent and beyond!

Peace—Pastor Linda