Sunday is always a great day to reflect on the previous week and to prepare for the upcoming week. It’s a great time to get centered again, spend time in meditation, prayer, or worship.
My wife and I started sharing passages with each other on Sundays. We each get to share with the other whatever resonates with us in that moment and from any book or media of our choosing with the intent that it further our spiritual knowledge.
Today’s Sunday Share is about accepting yourself and the power of ritual.
Accepting Yourself
My Sunday Share is based upon Rule 4 from Richard Templar’s Rules for Life.
In my experience, there’s a fundamental concept to self-development and/or happiness in general – accepting yourself. You need to be accepting of yourself as God made you. We all have different capabilities and limitations, different appearances, different experiences, and different upbringing, etc…
Those differences can also be strengths and they make us unique. There can never be another YOU. This is a very empowering thought! Remember, change your thoughts, change your life.
So really ponder that, meditate on it, and/or pray on it. There can never be another YOU. God made you the way that you are. You have a special something about you that only YOU can share with the world.
Once you come to grips with that concept and believe in it…then you have a great foundation to shine your light bright in the world.
The Power of Ritual
My wife’s Sunday Share is from an episode of The Spark called the “Power of Ritual” which can be found on the Calm App. The guest Casper Ter Kuile shares how we can take mundane habits and transform them into something special by being intentional.
Transforming routine into a sacred ritual can really boost your happiness. As an example, we have horses that need to be cared for every morning and evening. It’s easy to look at this morning and evening routine as a chore.
Thinking of this task as a chore can really set your day off to a bad start, especially if any little thing goes differently than planned. Such as, when the fence goes down and you have horses running around! 🙁
Often times it does feel like a chore, however I’ve transformed my way of thinking to make this a more positive, meaningful task. I like to make this a gratitude practice and really slow down and get into the moment.
In the mornings, I notice the moon and stars and enjoy watching my dog run around the barn to sniff for all the critters.
In the evenings, I love to watch the sun set or even just feel an immense amount of gratitude for the fact that we were able to buy land and have horses that need to be fed.
My wife and I have family time at night where we like to unwind after the work day and watch some TV shows. We’ve also started this weekly Sunday Share that I think we’ll continue.
Everyone has some routine that can be transformed into ritual. Be present in the moment. Keep an eye out for the rituals that already exist and really be present in the moment. Make those moments sacred. This is another practice to put in your tool bag and change your life for the better.
We need those moments of just reconnecting to how we want to show up in the world.
– Casper Ter Kuile, #TheSpark, Calm App