living from the inside out

Spiritual resource to share: a quiet and passionate happiness

Finally! I had been trying to reach an old friend from WAY back ever since my family and I moved back from the East Coast to the Midwest. And... after two years and many phone calls later, I found her!

We shared a love of getting out into the world and doing stuff - whether it was traveling, being an activist for some cause, or having outdoor adventures, we loved it! M's take on it always included the world and she did some mighty admirable things... she worked in Sudan with the American Refugee Committee, presented papers in China re: advances in physical therapy and skiied across Iceland (or was it Greenland?) on some environmental project. She was active helping others in the community and always mindful of having enough time for herself, a book, some company and a cup of tea.

Her wedding to a remarkable guy was most memorable. Each of the communities in which she and her husband were involved were so easy to distinguish: there were many from the Hmong community, the Catholic community with nuns in their habits, a number of folks in wheelchairs, the outdoor enthusiasts with their oddly lined summer tans, and other races and all ages. What a hoot!

(After finding myself taking notes on our conversation, I realized I need to get M into blogging. She's got so much good stuff to share!!)

Even after all these years, and all the changes that years give us, she was the same wise, humble, and fun person I have always known her to be.

So what have we learned from these many years? We realized that for both of us, it was the external things that helped define who we were. Our passions and commitments were played out in big ways. We both sought these experiences out and thrived in challenging situations.

It was M's thought that now she finds she is learning to live from the inside out. I had to agree. There are no major trips or pressing projects demanding me to challenge complacency, doubt or inability. That is something that is requiring inner strength to meet those kinds of challenges.

We are both parents of teen-age kids ready to claim more and more of their independence, which adds a demand for a whole new level of inner strength! Our current role with our kids is to be there for them, but also to learn to get out of the way. They are learning to make more choices, all the while we are still in the safety boat as they start off on their own journeys.

I know a lot of you reading this have had intensely challenging and spiritually rewarding demands placed on you by others, or other institutions. So now, when these external demands are gone, we are left with defining ourselves from our most still and quiet moments. Our happiness comes from a source within us, our inspiration comes from quiet moments with God. It was there all along when those external events demanded it. It is even here now.

I like this idea of living from the inside out. It feels more like being the fountain than playing in the fountain. And, for me, this is my time to understand more the spiritual fountainhead of all the passions and loves that have played out in the first part of my life.

For all of you adventuresome friends reading this - whether you are rising to the challenge put to you, or cultivating your own inner strength, it is wonderful to know that the adventure of spiritual living just keeps going.

God expresses in man the infinite idea forever developing itself, broadening and rising higher and higher from a boundless basis. - Mary Baker Eddy

To share your thoughts on this or to explore this idea further, please feel free to be in contact with me, add your own comments below, email this article to a friend, or add to the healing finds and sites on the web to the right.