  Spiritual
This week: Just Breathe Edited by: Shannon  
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Welcome to the Spiritual Newsletter. I am Shannon and I'm your editor this week. |
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Nurses are givers. We're notoriously co-dependent, and oftentimes have difficulty setting boundaries and saying no when others are in need. It's our nature. It's what we do, sometimes to our own detriment.
In "Batter Up!" I spoke about my husband's rollover accident that totaled our vehicle and landed him in the hospital. A week later on April 3 my best friend's 28-year-old son succumbed to cancer. Then on May 14 a dear 53-year-old friend of mine was found dead on his bedroom floor, leaving behind a wife and three sons, two of whom still live at home.
I felt overwhelmed. I still work 12-hour days as a nurse, giving of myself to those who need me, but I needed some tender loving care. The well was running dry. How can I take care of others when I can't even take care of myself?
I love reviewing here on writing.com. I'd receive review requests and accept them, but couldn't concentrate enough to complete them. They would expire, then I'd feel guilty for not getting them done. They kept coming in and I kept accepting but not completing them. I easily cranked out my two newsletters each month because I love to do them, and the writing is therapeutic for me, but when it came to critiquing other people's work ... fuggedaboutit. Something had to give.
Like most writers, I am an introvert. I need alone time. I crave it. It recharges and restores me, and I knew I needed some now. Reading, writing, taking a walk in the woods, riding my bike along the river, hiking a mountain trail or riding my 4-wheeler in the hills, camping, fishing, taking long hot baths, listening to beautiful music. I pampered myself by integrating as many of these spiritual practices (and yes, they are spiritual practices) as I could into my daily life, and they rejuvenated my soul. Oh, I also stopped accepting review requests. It's a temporary change, but one I felt needed to be made.
Sometimes we just need to stop and breathe. When you're feeling drained and all used up, ask yourself, "What do I need right now?" Take a few moments to look within and really think about it. We get so wrapped up in day-to-day living and taking care of our children, our patients, our coworkers, our friends, our spouses, our houses, our bills, our parents, our pets--taking care of everyone and everything else that we forget to take care of ourselves.
You deserve time just for you--time where you can ask yourself, "What do I want to do, right now, just for myself?" It's become part of my spiritual practice, and I implement it at least once a day.
What about you? How do you practice self-care and rejuvenate your soul? Please share your experiences with me and I'll highlight them in next month's newsletter.
Thank you for reading.
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I hope you enjoy this week's featured selections. Please do the authors the courtesy of reviewing the ones you read. Thank you, and have a great week!
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I am very happy to say that this is the most feedback I've received for a Spiritual newsletter. People love to talk about their faith, and I'm honored to share their comment with you.
The following is in response to "Religion vs. Spirituality" :
bonzo1964 writes, "I am a Christian Taoist! I was a Christian first...accepted Jesus at the tender age of 12, but I feel like I always knew Him. My husband is a Taoist. I read all his books, watched him live his life with grace and fluency, and after many years of study, I have discovered that the Tao, the life force, and God, are one and the same. So I call myself a Christian Taoist! I have been blessed in so many ways by both that I would feel like a traitor if I denied either one. There is no name for faith, but faith. I believe in something greater than what we see here on earth, and it's because of the beauty we are privileged to share here on earth, that I believe in an afterlife and a loving God who made the best world He could and entrusted it to us. What we do with it is up to us. He want's us to study, learn, grow, and most importantly, to love. To love our lives, our bodies, our family, our friends, our God, whatever we conceive Him to be, and to be kind above all things. In our home, I am the Christ centered person with Tao proverbs to help me grow, my husband is the Taoist and has been for many years, and my daughter believes in Buddah. We all get along perfectly, love one another, and do good for others as we are able. It has blessed my life so much to receive the gifts of these people from my God. I have lived 67 long years, have 3 wonderful children, a husband for 38 years, and 7 grandchildren! God is always busy with answering our prayers. All we have to do is believe. I am fulfilled in my faith, and have no need for others to support me and carry me through life, because God gives me the strength I need and the wisdom to use it wisely! This is my story and I am happy to share it with those who ask." That is beautiful! I love that you studied and researched and created a faith that works for you. I, too, have taken bits of several different faiths and blended them into my own personal belief system. I think it's wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing. 
ANN Counselor, Lesbian & Happy  writes, "As an intelligent adult I began to question various teachings, supposedly based on the Bible, and to ask questions. I decided I could no longer follow the lead of hypocrites and unquestioning believers in the churches where I sought truth and faith. Then came the evangelical and Catholic damnation of individuals who voted differently than they believed. Preachers and church leaders have continued teaching things that are not true and are often not in the Bible. Even worse, they have twisted words of the Bible to fit their purpose. I have chosen that I do not need nor want to be involved with any church, Catholic or any denomination or religion. That decision was a good one. It set me free from the influence of hypocrites and lies. I found it better not to participate at all even though I know that there are some good people in churches and other organized religions. Some do follow The Golden Rule, 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you', but too many follow the negative dogma and lies of the radical religious and political leaders. Since then, I have chosen to believe that God is, that God is the Creator of all that there is, that people are born into this world of humanity to learn how to get along, show compassion, and do what they can to make the earth and fellow human beings better and better. I believe that we live life after life, learning and doing the positive things that help our spirit to show goodness, as our Creator intends. I believe that on The Other Side, the spiritual side of life, that every individual judges themselves by how they treated fellow human beings, not whether they followed dogma of the Bible, Koran, Mormon or Catholic doctrines. This belief has allowed me to live without accepting the judgments and criticisms of other people, to live in a positive and compassionate way toward fellow human beings, and to know that my spirit and the spirit of other people were created for peaceful and loving reasons. No other person is any better than I am and I am no better as a spirit created by God than any others. I live in freedom and peace, with love and kindness toward my fellow human beings. The faith by which I live honors God as my Creator who asks that all of us follow the single rule that all man-created religions have included in their rules: 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.' Would that all humanity lived with that belief as their daily practice." I understand how/why you would choose the path you did. I think some people get so wrapped up in being "right" (I'm right; you're wrong. My faith is the one true way to God; your religion is a cult. I'm going to heaven; you're going to hell) that love, compassion, and kindness get forgotten and certainly aren't practiced. This is the exclusion I was talking about in the last newsletter. I respect anyone who takes the time to do some serious soul searching and puts some thought into what they've read, what they've heard, what they've seen, does it work, and does it jive with what they believe to be true. Thank you for sharing your story. Namasté.
Dan Sturn  writes, "Nice newsletter. Religion versus Spirituality . . . . like mass versus space, form versus function, or meter versus free verse!" Thank you, Dan. I'm glad you liked it. 
Zeke writes, "As a Christian, I share your view of our Savior Jesus, while at the same time respecting other beliefs." Thank you, Zeke. I respect and appreciate your opinions and comments as well as your continued support of my newsletters. Thank you for reading. 
Elfin Dragon-finally published writes, "I do believe spirituality and religion can be and are two completely different things. Religion is what men make to be closer to God. Spirituality is our own relationship with God/Jesus. When people ask me what religion I follow I usually make it clear I don't follow one. That I'm a Christian and it's a way of life, not a religion. I follow Jesus and His teachings, and word of the Bible. Although, when I was younger I went to an Assembly of God church who's pastor trained mostly through a Baptist seminary (it wasn't like most Assembly of God churches), so told people I was a "Bapticostle". If I have to put myself in a religious category, I suppose I still put myself there. Somewhere in the middle of Southern Baptist and Pentecostle. It may seem strange, but you get the bible teachings of Baptist with the spiritual teachings of Pentecostle. It's a good blend and I think more people should try it.  " Bapticostal. That's great! I grew up in a strict Baptist home (very subdued and inhibited, dirge-like hymns, etc.), and I can still remember the first time I went to a Pentecostal church with a friend. I was maybe 15 or 16. People were clapping and singing fast-paced songs ... it was completely different than anything I'd ever seen before, and it appealed to me because it was so different. I love hearing about how people merge and morph different belief systems into a single practice that works for them. Good on you, and thank you so much for sharing! 
Jeff  writes, "My spiritual/religious identity has changed over the years too. I was raised Protestant, but without any real connection to it. Our family only attended church sporadically, and never really explored or discussed religion/spirituality in any detail. Eventually, I transitioned to agnosticism in what I saw as a natural extension of having never explored or experienced faith. I counted myself as an agnostic for most of my life from young adulthood onward, until a couple of years ago when my wife and I first started attending church regularly. We attend a non-denominational Christian church weekly, and I found myself once again shifting my beliefs, this time to a theist perspective... that is, belief in God and his direct relationship to the universe and all things in it, but without identifying with any one particular religious system. I truly believe that a benevolent higher power exists, but I can't fathom one that would discriminate between people who each believe in Him in their own way. " LOVE this, Jeff, and I agree! Thank you! 
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Spiritual: June 11, 2014 Issue [#6364]
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