Monday 13 December 2010

A Spiritual Trap

For the last several weeks, I have been adding more spiritual practices to my daily schedule. I've been getting up at 5 am to meditate or chant for an hour. It's been pretty good. I feel like I give some time to God right from the beginning of my day. This is a really good thing, right?

Well, for me it was kind of not a really good thing and I just realized that I have been falling into a "spiritual" trap.

You see, my husband leaves for work really early. Our routine for many years is that I make him a cup of tea and sometimes a sandwich to carry to work. Then we visit for a while as he gets ready to leave and gets mentally prepared for his day.

For the last few weeks, he did not get his tea. He did not get his bread. He did not get a visit either as I have been engrossed in my "practices." I have managed to squeeze in a "Bye, I love you. Have a good day!" before the next line of text in my chanting book as he headed out of the door.

I was having a nagging feeling lately that we are not as connected recently as we usually are. It has been a bit easier for us to feel grumpy with each other. And we haven't taken as many opportunities to visit and chat. The ironic thing is that one of my intentions for my practices is that I hope to be better in my roles of mother, wife, and teacher.

But, yeah! Today I woke up to what has been happening! Thank goodness. As independent as my husband is, he does need some thoughtfulness and nurturing from me...especially as he sets off for his day. And I have time later in the day for practices. I do.

So, I have a new practice. I've been really getting into making homemade Chai tea which is yummy, has lots of healing spices, and feels like heaven as it goes down the throat. So, I will wake up and do a 5 minute chant before I make delicious Chai tea for me and hubby to share. Of course, I'll make his sandwich too. But most importantly, I will make the time and space to be present for this very dear man that I love.

Email me for an easy chai recipe if you're interested.