Sacred Survival

When you think about the Sacred or the Spiritual, what comes to mind? A church? A temple? A certain place in nature? An especially meaningful meditation? Leaving offerings to a deity? Part of my personal practice includes lighting candles and incense. There are so many ways to be spiritual and to experience the sacred.

But what about when we're in survival mode? Have we lost the Sacred?

We all go through challenging times, whether it's being homeless with nothing left to your name or enduring such profound loss and upheaval that you wonder how you're going to make it through another day. These experiences can leave us thinking, What next? I don't think I can take one more bit of bad luck.

At times like these, one of the first things to go is our spiritual practice, save for the occasional plea to whatever deity may be listening that we need a little help over here.

Who has time to sit and meditate for an hour a day when you're hustling to pay another bill? Who has the ability to sit through a church service or other public gathering when you're mourning a deep loss and just want to sob and wail in the privacy of your own home? Who can focus on reading that book that will teach you more about the practice you love when your body is exhausted and crying out for rest?

If you're in survival mode, consider this your permission to set active spirituality aside for a while.

You don't have to light that candle. You don't have to read that book. You don't have to do any of it.

There is something inherently sacred in simply surviving another day.

There is something sacred in stretching yourself to work that extra hour or, conversely, taking a day off to truly rest. The ancient Greeks even had more than one deity associated with rest and sleep: Hypnos and Pasithea. The God of the Old Testament commanded rest as well. The need for rest is deeply embedded in our humanity.

Whether you're running a metaphorical marathon just to survive or retreating into a hermit's cave for a little while, you are valid, and you are still a spiritual being. You are surviving, and that's a sacred act in a world that often showcases the beautiful, polished side of spirituality while ignoring the gritty realities of everyday life.

Come back and do something Instagram-worthy when you've recovered and have the energy for it. For now, rest, work, or simply keep putting one foot in front of the other. Do whatever you need to do to get through this season.

As always, I'm here to offer guidance and energy work if you need a timeout from the grind.

Meghan