How Do You Honor the Sacred in Your Life?

What is your relationship with the sacred? 

How do you honor that?

These two questions arise often in my coaching work and the answers I received range from not at all to a little. Every once in a while, I hear answers such as "spending time in nature or in my garden" or "painting in my studio" or "meditation" or "in service to another".

Many people don't consciously think in terms of the sacred in their lives, however it is one of the essential ingredients for a life that feels inhabited in a conscious way. To view one's life and one's day as sacred means honoring it with respect and love AND also viewing it as a precious gift. It requires slowing down, tuning in and being in the present so that we "catch" the beauty of what surrounds us. And as we slow down enough to tune in, we create the space to recognize just how profound each aspect of our lives are.

When we're moving too fast and zoned out on autopilot, reacting to the chaos and putting out fires all day, we fall into the human default of taking everything for granted and not seeing it with fresh eyes and gratitude.

We miss it. We lose ourselves. We forget what matters.  For a time.

What I've learned over the years is that in spite of this tendency to take life for granted and sink into habitual thinking (and complaining), we can ALWAYS start again. Each day, in fact, each moment, is another chance to remember the preciousness of life and cherish the gifts we're given.

Truly friends, one of the best parts of life is the chance to start again at any time.

Life is fairly forgiving. If we fall from grace, we can usually find our way back through forgiveness and gratitude and align again with the sacredness around us. Sometimes falling is the best way to jolt ourselves awake from the grooves of routine and habit into the brazen sunlight of awareness.

Even our mistakes are teachers to point us back to the innocence and spaciousness of an open heart. Life really is conspiring for our highest good, even though it sometimes doesn't feel like it.

My favorite ways to honor the sacred are walking among trees or on the beach, yoga, meditation, reading spiritual books, communing and deep conversation with a good friend or family member, random acts of kindness and of course, writing. Any one of those brings me back to a place of appreciation.

How do you honor the sacred?