The Home Altar

Last weekend I spent a significant bit of time on a single garden project. I built a raspberry trellis out of wood, cable, and metal stakes. The eventual goal is to take the somewhat unruly raspberry bush and gently train it up into the cables so it can grow with better airflow, lots of sunshine, and easy access for pollinators.

Since the structure will also allow for the healthy canes to be held aloft, the weedy ground cover that has invaded the patch will be exposed where we can cut it down, hoe it out, and provide protective cover and mulch for the space. All of this work should help to make this patch fruitful and give it room to grow as we let suckers start new canes inside the bounds of the trellis system. The cables are set up in such a way that we can loosen the clamps and add more tension. And the cables are attached to the posts with carabiner clips, meaning the cables can be opened for pruning, harvesting, and adjusting. There is a lot of flexibility within the structure, since we’re partnering with a plant that is growing, changing, and living in it’s own organic pattern.

This structure reminds me of the way a rule of life (whether corporate, personal, or some combination of the two) and a personal spiritual practice work when they are a healthy system designed to both hold space and provide a container for a growing, changing, living self. While there is a defined layout and method of containment, and there is a slow and gentle work of attaching to the apparatus, it needs to be flexible enough to accommodate what is real and true in a given moment of our life and growing.

A rule and a practice should be giving us gentle guidance that points us in the direction of the wisdom we want to embody. It should regularly expose us to the spiritual nourishment that we need, just as the trellis helps the patch access sun, water, pollinators, and good airflow. It helps when our practice meets us at the level of our thirst, breath, hunger, and longing for connections that make us more fruitful. Our rule and practice can guide our growth in ways that provides support and healthy space to what is new, what is emerging, and what is flowering.

It’s even helpful when our rule and practice makes room for the gardeners (our mentors, companions, partners, and even the Holy One) to weed our plot, clear out the things we don’t need or that hold us back, and to provide the safety of mulch and protection for our roots. Moving beyond a self-help model of being our best selves, we can find the flexibility and openness we need to be both our current selves (weeds and slugs and all) and to bear witness to what emerges as we continue the mystery of becoming who we will be.

Practice

Spend some time writing down or studying your rule (the disciplines of loving self, others, and the Divine that you are committed to), and your practice (what makes up your daily and weekly habits of awe, meaning making, prayer, reflection, meditation, etc.).

• What are the parts that bring you in touch with nourishment and support that comes from beyond yourself?
• What parts give you guidelines and boundaries?
• Where do you see space for you to grow and change, and to adjust as you go?
• Who is actively helping you to weed, mulch, and compost the parts of your life and experience that interfere with your well-being, sense of peace, and felt safety that helps you to trust?
• How are you enjoying and savoring this structure? If you aren’t, what feels inflexible, constricting, or unhelpful and would be a great area to explore with a trusted listener?

After your reflection, take time to feel the gratitude for what feels supportive, and to ask for help and self-compassion on the areas that need tending. Send some love to your rule and your practice, noting how it keeps you connected to yourself, to others, and to the Holy One.

Be gentle with yourself, you are worth it.

Peace and Everything Good,

The Rev. JM Longworth, OEF Spiritual Direction and Trauma Care

https://www.sdicompanions.org/sdi-profile/GreenMtFriarOEF/ To book an appointment: https://calendly.com/greenmtfriaroef