You’ve made resolutions every year: lose weight, clean more, eat less, exercise more, cuss less. The list could go on and on. But perhaps in 2019 you are looking for a resolution that is more meaningful. Are you looking for a resolution that will feed your soul?
Maybe you’re a recovering fundamentalist or an exvangelical and there was a time in your life when you made resolutions to have a “quiet time” (if you don’t know what a quiet time is, consider yourself lucky) every day or read through the Bible in a year. Perhaps those resolutions were too strict. Perhaps they made you feel like a failure for stopping in the 5th chapter of Leviticus.
Whatever your reason for looking for a more meaningful resolution, we’re glad you came to us to help spur your thinking. New Year’s resolutions can tend to take on a life of their own. They are intended to be a means to an end not an end in themselves. They are a way that we can begin transformation in our lives.
Here are a few to begin your thinking:
Engage in spiritual community: One of the greatest temptations of spiritually curious people is to be a lone wolf spiritual seeker. There is a degree to which you have to be independent and take your spirituality into your own hands. But, it is absolutely vital to have a spiritual community to help you grow in ways that you cannot do by yourself. It can look like a church, but certainly doesn’t have to. It could be a study group, book club, theology on tap group, yoga class. Engage in some collective gathering that will give you an opportunity to be yourself and try out new ideas without the threat of judgment. Spiritual communities help with discernment. They obviously offer communal support. Some even offer support in the form of casseroles (looking toward the Lutherans, here). Find a spiritual community that will support your journey of crafting your own faith. And you may even learn something!
Give back: Churches and other religious folks have not been great about talking about giving back. For many, giving back has meant giving a certain percentage of your paycheck to one church so that they can do with it what they deem needs to happen. Those days are mostly gone. While it is still important to fund faith communities that are making a difference in their communities, giving back can mean so much more. Giving back can mean giving time. This may take the shape of volunteering with a local non-profit. Giving back can mean giving attention. Perhaps you want to be more intentional about being present. Maybe this means spending time with dogs at the animal shelter or senior adults in the assisted living facility. Giving back can create a meaningful pattern of selflessness in your spirituality this year.
Be brave: Our world needs more brave people. Courage is in short supply in the religious world, especially. The faith we hope to craft here at The Holy Craft is a faith that is lived. It is a faith that takes courage. Recovering fundamentalists or exvangelicals might cringe when they read these first few sentences. It may bring up memories of being manipulated or shamed into sharing your faith. Courage in spirituality does not always mean getting someone to believe in Jesus. Spiritual courage might look like attending a protest. Or it might look like writing your congress person. It could look like advocating for a marginalized group. Spiritual courage may even be as simply as sharing your story or being yourself. Spiritual curious people have a tendency to not share extensively their journey with others (for fear of judgment, unwarranted opinions, mansplainers, etc). What would it look like for you to be spiritually brave this year?
Read: The best way to expand your mind and open your world is to read. Books invite you on adventures for your mind. It is particularly important to read authors that you have not read. More knowledge is always a tool. If you are needing a good place to start, check out our Top 10 Books for Progressive Spirituality.
Practice kindness (especially for yourself): If the faith we are crafting is not making us kinder, we are doing something wrong. Sometimes the most difficult person to be kind to is ourselves. Give yourself grace. Make space for you to do the things that make your heart sing. Don’t dwell on your failures too long. Let them be fuel for your growth.
Remember that this list is by no means a to-do list. Here at Holy Craft, we want to help you craft a more meaningful, spiritually engaged life. Use these as a starting point, but don’t stop here! What are some of your resolutions?