A Practitioners Perspective
by Heather Epps, RScP
It is amazing just how many choices there are to be made on a Sunday morning, just to single out one day of the week. I can choose to sleep in and cuddle my cat. I can choose to arrive at the Center early enough to join Sacred Cup. I can choose to arrive later for just the service, or I can choose to watch it online live or later. And, that is just Sunday alone!
Really, there are many more choices I must make every day. One of my favorite sayings is you are free to make whatever choice you want, but you are not free from the consequences of your choices.
I believe my soul is here to experience life, so I am reluctant to label my choices as good or bad. Instead, they just are. There are consequences I enjoy and those I do not enjoy, and sometimes a choice can give me both and, in those situations, choosing can be harder.
My spiritual practice of living intentionally leads me to consciously consider my options and to consider what is in my best interest. Sometimes this means enduring short-term, less desirable consequences to have greater long-term benefits. Sometimes it means choosing something that I know is not in my best interest but meets my current needs or energy levels. My personal power comes from acknowledging that I have control over my choices. Not labeling or judging them gives me freedom from self-judgement.
In my early accounting classes, I learned about doing a “benefit/cost analysis” for any potential business decision. We can do this same thing in our personal life if we intend to have a life of our own choosing. The invitation is to consider the benefits or good possible outcomes a choice may have, then compare those to the costs or potential negative outcomes. Balance the two to determine the best choice.
Spiritual journeys are forged, one small decision at time, all adding up to the sum of our lives. Choices are powerful.
It is also helpful to conduct a self-evaluation and ask ourselves how happy we are with any given situation. If we find ourselves to be unhappy, we can make different choices to influence the situation. Here, I must remember that I can’t control everything that happens, but I can always control my thinking and my responses.
Then, there is an integrity check. For example, if I chose to sleep in on a Sunday instead of watching the service in person or online, I likely promised myself that I would catch the video later in the week. My integrity check is about following through with the plan that was part of the choice I made. Rigorous self-honesty is not easy, but it is part of intentional living as I evolve and improve.
We often describe life as always spiraling upwards, and the spiral leads us back around to similar choice points over and over. If we don’t make better decisions the next time around, we are stagnating. Better choices lead us to higher ground. Better choices often require spiritual practice.
Practice includes prayer and meditation, but it also includes taking the time to contemplate everyday choices and the outcomes of those choices. Contemplate your daily, small choices and look for things in your life that are less than satisfying. Consider how you can change your thinking or your choices to improve them. Each little choice counts!
And, if you wonder what should guide your choices, love is always the answer! Things always seem to turn out better, every time we spiral around upward in love.