SPIRITUAL ATHLETE
In my spiritual growth and development I want to be a spiritual long distance runner - not a sprinter with bursts of psychic speed or a hurdler jumping at every challenge with cosmic force and defiance, nor a decathlon challenger who needs to have multi-faceted spiritual prowess.
A long distance runner isn't the classiest or flashiest hero. There usually isn't an audience to cheer or admire his progress as the terrain is far from the starting gate, it takes too long, and attention spans and focus of would be fans are short-lived. This choice comes as a decision made from the desire to be on a path, a course that continues and progresses, not always predictably but potentially more dependably in outcome and success.
So, how did I transition from an unsuccessful spiritual athlete to a willing neophyte (albeit a slightly aged one) with a flicker of hope and the willingness to begin anew this life long training? I needed and found that I have a Divine Source as my guide and connection between the spirit world and this human existence. I can't say my channel of reception is wide open and clear all the time but the mere knowing it is there is what provides inspiration each day. I prayed for teachers and guides to help me get started. I didn't need to know everything immediately but understanding what practices are necessary to build on by their example gives me a foundation and starting point. I don't need to be them, just learn from them.
So far I have learned that to develop metaphorical and spiritual endurance is to gather simple ideals that endure. Finding techniques to improve my progress require spiritual tools that can be applied and used daily. Nourishment includes finding what provides an internal environment that supports well being and my ability to participate in day to day challenges of real life. Gaining ground requires pacing my efforts at a manageable speed. Trying to get too far too fast could cause harm and discouragement and thwart all my future progress. Simplification of goals and ambitions paces my breaths and movements. And I couldn't or wouldn't be able to attempt this without the gift of surety and knowing that this is a guided path and I am cared for during every moment of effort. And so I have begun.......
In my spiritual growth and development I want to be a spiritual long distance runner - not a sprinter with bursts of psychic speed or a hurdler jumping at every challenge with cosmic force and defiance, nor a decathlon challenger who needs to have multi-faceted spiritual prowess.
A long distance runner isn't the classiest or flashiest hero. There usually isn't an audience to cheer or admire his progress as the terrain is far from the starting gate, it takes too long, and attention spans and focus of would be fans are short-lived. This choice comes as a decision made from the desire to be on a path, a course that continues and progresses, not always predictably but potentially more dependably in outcome and success.
So, how did I transition from an unsuccessful spiritual athlete to a willing neophyte (albeit a slightly aged one) with a flicker of hope and the willingness to begin anew this life long training? I needed and found that I have a Divine Source as my guide and connection between the spirit world and this human existence. I can't say my channel of reception is wide open and clear all the time but the mere knowing it is there is what provides inspiration each day. I prayed for teachers and guides to help me get started. I didn't need to know everything immediately but understanding what practices are necessary to build on by their example gives me a foundation and starting point. I don't need to be them, just learn from them.
So far I have learned that to develop metaphorical and spiritual endurance is to gather simple ideals that endure. Finding techniques to improve my progress require spiritual tools that can be applied and used daily. Nourishment includes finding what provides an internal environment that supports well being and my ability to participate in day to day challenges of real life. Gaining ground requires pacing my efforts at a manageable speed. Trying to get too far too fast could cause harm and discouragement and thwart all my future progress. Simplification of goals and ambitions paces my breaths and movements. And I couldn't or wouldn't be able to attempt this without the gift of surety and knowing that this is a guided path and I am cared for during every moment of effort. And so I have begun.......
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