Krista and others:

I do agree that if we are able to live in the wholistic way Sr. Julie proposes, in addition to what I said earlier, we would most definitely have a higher regard for our bodies. It would be SO freeing. Now I’m just reflecting out loud here, but the thought that just struck my mind while writing the above comment is that although we are “whole” human beings, when we die, our “souls” live on but our physical bodies don’t. Any ideas on how to reconcile that?

Hoya and others:

I completely relate to what you wrote. For me, the biggest struggle is living the “spiritual” life in a world that clearly takes us away from it. I’d love to live a sort of retreat-like existence but then there is the kid that needs to be driven to the movies, the dinner to cook, the phone calls to make, the article to write, the contractor to negotiate/argue with. We are pulled in so many different directions. Even if we make our work our prayer and live with an awareness of God in our hearts, it’s still difficult. I personally call it the Martha-Mary dichotomy.

dee

I’m not sure if this is entirely related or not, but what you wrote got me thinking about how often I divide myself and my life into discreet little categories. I have my family life, my academic life, my work life, my social life, and yes, my spiritual life. At one point I realized that I am (or at least tend to act like) an entirely different person based on which of these settings I happen to be in at the moment. Granted, the spiritual “me” is the one that is most interested in all the other “me’s,” in the sense that I pray about and for my family, friends, work, etc. But still, there are times when I feel all divided up, and it can get to be exhausting putting on all these different shows for all these different people and situations. I think we all might do this subconsciously to a certain extent, but it is certainly much more attractive to think about my life, your life, her life, his life, our life together, as one integrated whole which comes from God and is “for-God,” as you said. The real question is how to live that kind of life in a world which teaches us to categorize, divide, and separate. Any ideas?

Believing in the “for-Godness” you discussed could have enormous implications for an individual’s view on themselves and others. If every part of us, i.e., our whole selves, is the “capacity for God”, the “soul”, we would no longer tend to pick and choose what we like about ourselves and others. We must love, or at least accept, everything. At this point, we love our frizzy hair, math ineptitude and expanding waistline as well as our artistic talent, helpful nature and small, straight nose. As a more wholistic expression of God, the “other”, even the “other” of whom we are not particularly fond, becomes more palatable. We can transcend many of our judgments knowing God has put God’s seal of approval on the each and every one of us. We become less driven by ego and more by our identification with the Christ within us. Overall, this possible transformation is a positive development – as long as we keep our feet on the ground, recognize the evil and injustice there is in this world and do what we can to remedy it.

dee