Trinity’s Spiritual
Life Web page gets at this issue with
questions: “What inspires you? What deepest ideals vitalize, engage, or
challenge you? How does your spirituality manifest itself?” I might add, “What
do you consistently trust? What do you count on? How is that trust
strengthened? What erodes it?” College is the beginning of a shift, from
responses that are taught by families, religious communities, and other
mentors, to responses that you work through and claim on your own authority. Life and character habits, for good or ill,
though still pliable are beginning to take shape in ways that will impact you for
the rest of your life.
If your answers to such
questions are rooted in the shorthand of a particular religious tradition, how
is your maturation as a person being reflected in your faith development? What
would it be like to expose yourself to your tradition’s sacred writings in a
systematic way (for instance, see the “One Year Bible Online,” “Weekly Torah
Portion,” and “Quran resources” on the right
bar of the Web page). Or how does your
tradition or denomination describe its vision for human living? Google it, and
see where you agree or disagree.
Perhaps your spirituality has
burst the constraints of a particular tradition, or never was particularly
linked to one. What words would best communicate what you trust? Check out Spirituality
and Practices for a broad treatment
of human values. For a more lighthearted approach, take the Belief-o-matic
assessment. If Socrates is correct, that “the unexamined life is not worth
living,” then perhaps a corollary is that we are better able to relish life by
examining it – not in an objective, arm’s length way, but life as we are living
it, full of mistakes and grace, passion and purpose. And if you are looking for
someone with whom to talk, don’t hesitate to contact me (Chaplain
Nickle).
