December 3, 2001
Gleaning Spirituality Whenever
One morning this week, I met a
very good friend for breakfast and fellowship.
He and I had lunch together with our wives about a month earlier, and
afterward agreed that some one-on-one time would be valuable to share our
spirituality with one another. In
fact, there seemed to be a desire or even a need to make this the beginning of a
standing dialogue.
For several hours and too many cups of coffee to count,
we opened up our souls to each other. We
shared common faith, questioned each other, disagreed on different points of
view, and generally had a wonderful conversation. My thirst to glean spirituality from others prompted me to
take a few notes. I wrote my friend
later that day that had I taken all the notes I wanted, I would have missed more
than half of what he said …and felt.
Among the many topics we touched
on was daily spirituality and the challenge to keep the connection with the
Divine aspects of our lives each day. We
both attend churches, he more frequently than I, and agreed that to live a
soulful life we had to go beyond a few hours once a week.
The routine of work, raising a family, and spending precious little time
on hobbies leaves most of us numb when a few moments of solitude are gifted to
us.
Because of my work with Awaken The Soul, I surround
myself with people, books, tapes, websites, etc. that keep my spiritual sensors
on high alert most of the time. It
wasn’t too long ago, however, that I was running a public company that was so
demanding that it sucked the life out of me on an hourly basis.
Nonetheless, I did find ways to achieve sacredness in that hectic past
world as well. This is not to say
that I was at peace with God and the life I led, but I did still connect with my
spirituality and continue to learn from the tough experiences I faced.
Each day, I would begin early in
my office with the door closed for about thirty minutes in what could be termed
prayer, but was more like a running monologue with God, myself, and whomever
else might be within earshot. I
used affirmations that I wrote and repeated them out loud and read a daily
devotional that an employee had given me years earlier. (See Awaken’s July
30th - Just For Today message)
I found other ways to nurture my soul even at the hectic
pace that a CEO faces. Possibly the
most satisfying was my connection with others.
It was working to rise above the drama of the moment and learn something
from someone else about life, comfort a coworker who had challenges beyond our
company, or encourage and compliment others.
Forming bonds between souls in any setting seemed to reinforce my sacred
journey and faith.
The messages I write to this day
are an outgrowth of memos I would send out to people in the companies I ran or
worked for. Most had a message
beyond the numbers or policies. The
people I was fortunate enough to work with were a group of souls that were
unique and deserved to be honored and nurtured.
Finding ways to raise our
awareness to the beauty of life and our connection to the Divine is right in
front of us if we become aware to it. Developing
your own personal way to experience, grow, and celebrate spirituality first
takes desire and then takes the discipline to follow your heart and soul.
I had several encounters this
week that allowed me to experience fellowship with many different people.
To the others I spent time with it may have just been breakfast,
shopping, or a drink. For me, each
one validated my sacred journey and strengthened my faith by keeping my soul
awake.
With respect, acceptance, and love,
Richard
©
Richard D. Olson and Awaken The Soul, 2001; Edited by Janice E. Olson