Opening to the Spirit
Today’s word: Recreation
some need more than one job just to pay the bills. Life is not always easy. Still my father even though he was a workaholic, always found time to swim or ski or play games. This often happened on Sunday, but only after church. I believe his recreational activities helped him to cope with his busy life.
The word recreation by definition means to create again some experience or emotion that once existed. In the song I referred to, God is recreating the first day, the experience referred to in Eden, or paradise. I wrote a sermon once called “Even God takes a holiday”, using the example of the creation story where God rested on the seventh day. Recreation is a gift from God, and God set the example for us. As summer draws to a close, I hope you enjoyed your vacation as much as I did. I also hope you find time for recreation every week.
) Re-creation, as opposed to recreation, seems to be drawing me into reflection today. To re-create is to start over again.
Like Noah and the Ark we may discover our known world completely submerged but we have an ark and we have an impressive passenger list. We have history. We begin a process from somewhere other than a blank slate. To re-create means we come to this activity with baggage. Like coming for a makeover, we arrive with preconceived notions of what is possible and what is not. We arrive with fears and insecurities about what we know worked in the past and what has not.
When we are looking to rejuvenate an area of our lives, we may go through a sorting out process. What do I keep and what do I let go of in order for a transformation to take place? We may think we know our talents and our weaknesses. Yet the act of creation is never really predictable or controllable. To become part of a re-creation and allow ourselves to be transformed is to let go of outcome and be surprised. In Christian terms we say that the Holy Spirit nudges us in unexpected directions. To be part of a re-creation is to get our ego out of the way so we do not impede the process. It is the ego that worries about what people will think. It reminds us of the expectations that have been put upon us and it warns us that taking risks might get us in trouble.
In those miraculous moments when we manage this ego-less state, it has been my experience that we can actually feel the pull and connection to all of life. For a brief moment it all makes sense and we know with certainty that we are beloved and we are co-creators.
) Left to your own devices, unplugged and unprogrammed, with time on your hands - what do you do? I overheard it again not long ago, that horrible image phrased as a question: "What do you do to kill time?" Really? Are we so resourceless, constantly online, in charge, behind the driver's seat - we forget whose life it is anyway?
To the young, time can seem limitless. Moments unfilled with stimulating or diverting activities can hang heavy on the hands. My young daughters taught me the value of recreation. Complaints of "There's nothing to do! I'm so bored!" ~ were met with little sympathy. As a busy single mother longing for even an ounce of downtime, my response became predictable, "Boredom is one choice. You know where the crayons and scissors, paints and brushes are!" On a rainy day like today, I'd say, "If you can't go outside, go inside! Crank up the imagination machine. Forget how to use it, and it gets rusty." They'd mutter, "Oh mother!", roll their eyes, and wander off to invent some new game, play or artistic project. On rainy days, one created an alphabet of glyphs for a code language, one a blueprint for her future house, another took up studying classic guitar!
But why wait for inclement weather or a cancelation of plans to renew your spirit. We each awaken to the same 24 hour stretch of time. I keep a list for time for myself, ways to learn and grow and just play.
To paraphrase the wise Anonymous: "Millions long for immortality who hardly know what to do on a rainy Sunday afternoon." The older I get, the more acutely I mark the passage of time - it's the last thing I'd sacrifice to efficiency. Empty spaces in the agenda become increasingly infinite in value. Recreation is our leavening of ordinary time with moments for self-renewal, like flowers we give to the soul. Where do you find and how do you spend them? What do you do to balance making a living with creating a life, and celebrating being alive?
One word, four voices - and now it's your turn to reflect upon the theme: What do you do to recreate your spirit?
Rev. Mead Baldwin pastors the Hatley, Waterville & North Hatley United Churches; Rev. Lynn Dillabough is now Rector of St. Paul's in Brockville ON. She continues to write for this column as a dedicated colleague with the Eastern Townships clergy writing team; Rev. Lee Ann Hogle ministers to the Ayer’s Cliff, Magog & Georgeville United Churches; Rev. Carole Martignacco pastors Uuestrie – the Unitarian Universalists in North Hatley.