Some Days, It's Melange. Some Days, Bitter Spice

I had to work this weekend (I know, what's new?). I asked the young lawyer working with me what she was going to be doing on Saturday evening and she said that she and some friends were going to see Eat, Pray, Love. Then she sighed: "It'll probably just make me feel terrible, that I'm working all weekend instead of doing something spiritual with my life." I don't proselytize. I joked back, "It would make me feel terrible that I'm going home to eat leftovers instead of great Italian food." But her comment stuck with me.

Taking time off and going on a spiritual journey around the world is a lovely idea. If you can afford it. If you don't have obligations that preclude it (Children come to mind. Aged parents come to mind. Providing for my old age, so that Son doesn't have to, comes to mind. Putting in the time to become expert at your chosen craft, as my young friend is doing, comes to mind.) And there's something about going for broke and throwing yourself into one foreign situation after another that grows you in amazing ways.

But, you know, most of us aren't going to take that trip. Our spiritual growth will have to come from the daily practice of Chop Wood, Carry Water, from those moments when we look up from [scrubbing the floor, reading the cases, planning the webinar, putting out the fire] and see the ordinary in a new light, from that hundredth time we get up in the dark to get on the treadmill and suddenly see that it doesn't take you away from The Work; it IS The Work.

Here's a delightful article about how to Eat, Pray, and Love in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Extra credit to the author for understanding how the rules of capitalization work.

If you wrote the same story about your town, what would it say?

In DC, it would say: Otello (not i Ricci, trust me on this), the Space Window at the National Cathedral, and, well, you know.

In comments, Jan says:

I do not plan on seeing this movie! I too find the whole concept shallow beyond measure! To run off to find such ideas -- what nonsense! Find those qualities in your own home (paint, clean, and create your own genuine space that gives pleasure every single day -- fill it with objects and artworks that make your heart sing); till your own earth or garden in whatever space you can or support your local farmer's market and support initiatives in your community that will support earth-bound projects; try different cusines at home and around your area; entertain your circles of friends and family; maintain and widen your own deep Magical practices. Craft in all ways. Read. Find out about the issues in the news.

I think that about sums it up.