When I started this blog, the stated purpose was to post
about maintaining balance in my life and my attempts to use all of my
gifts. I was, at that time,
missing teaching, missing science and worried about forgetting the many things
I had learned during my 25 years in the field (if you count back to my first
job after college). I left the
field of science gradually, with stops and starts, because I was not willing to
work full time - which would mean 60-70 hours per week as either an assistant
professor or research associate.
Although I loved the work, I wanted to have time for other pursuits:
raising children, keeping in shape, reading and church.
As I pondered my dilemma and my inability to find a
satisfying part-time position, I decided to write. Writing, I thought, would help to satisfy my mind, which is
very demanding and hates the mundane.
My writing took the form of a novel, which is still in progress. This
created a new dilemma. If I’m working on writing a book, what should I write
about in my blog? If I write about the book or post excerpts: I would be
posting first or second drafts that are still in development and no one would
have to or want to buy the completed book.
Fortunately, my brain has been working on this problem and
has realized that I should go back to the original stated purpose of the blog,
which continues to be a subject of thought, contemplation, and internal discussion
for me.
Maintaining balance in my life translates into balancing
three main aspects of my life. You
might disagree, but I think that everyone should strive for balance in these
three areas: body, mind and spirit.
So, that is what I will be writing about, beginning with the last.
Today is Ash Wednesday, a day of repentance for Christians.
It is the first day of the season of Lent, which lasts 40 days (not counting
Sundays) and is marked as a time of preparation, a time of greater prayer and
self-discipline, a time to draw closer to God in anticipation of the
recollection of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. Lent, although more somber, is similar
to Advent, which precedes Christmas.
My spirit told me to return, in this blog, to the subject of
balance in terms of body, mind and spirit. The idea popped into my head as I
was driving. The words flowed so
easily and clearly, but now I struggle to find them. That is because my mind is trying to do the work now and it
has a tendency to push my spirit away. The idea came in response to thoughts
about a news story I heard on the radio. I was contemplating the biological
differences between men and women and how they affect our paths in life.
However, the specifics of those ideas will be saved for a post about the body.
I mention them here only to illustrate the working of the spirit.
The spirit, or soul, requires freedom from the things of
man, human things. When we are solving problems or doing physical work, our
minds and bodies take center stage. They crowd out the spirit and can leave us
exhausted. In the Christian
church, there is a connection between water and the spirit, song and the spirit
and I find that connection holds when I am going about my day-to-day
activities. Great ideas and wonderful thoughts flow freely through my mind when
I am washing dishes or taking a shower. My spirit soars when I hear or sing
beautiful music. I feel the tingling I associate with the spirit when I am in
the natural world: at the beach; in the woods; holding a baby; making love to
my husband. My soul rejoices in these things and fills me. Things made by humans, like cities, and
jobs created by our human luxuries, like vacuuming and straightening the
basement, crush my spirit and stifle my soul.
When my soul is nurtured by God’s creation, prayer and the
wisdom of God’s word, it penetrates my mind and body and I become more aware of
things my spirit tries to tell me.
Some call it intuition, others consider it paranormal, I hope and pray
that it is a connection to a higher power that loves me, knows me (and you)
completely and, because of that vast knowledge, sees a path through life that
will bring me greater fulfillment of purpose than the other paths I might
choose. This higher power, God,
wants to help me to find my path and slowly, surely keeps nudging me in that
direction. It doesn’t sound
scientific and my mind doesn’t like it, but I feel it in my heart and
soul.
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