We could call this the “intangible” practice, because it focuses on the inner work of developing character, living in reality and seeing ourselves for who we truly are, but it’s also the “tangible” practice, because we embody our “inner life” in the world around us.
Develop the “disciplines”
As we’ve said, faith traditions emphasize prayer, fasting, rest and pilgrimage, because they help us practice our humanity, and heighten our awareness of God and of our calling to care for God’s good creation and for each other. It’s no accident that globally recognized icons of service to the suffering and oppressed were people intimately familiar with the disciplines — Jesus of Nazareth and Mother Teresa, to name two. Their secret was to structure daily life around the disciplines, rather than the other way around. We encourage you to do the same, whether you follow an already established routine or tailor your own.
Check out the following selected resources to help your discipline of prayer:
- Online — The Book of Psalms, Celtic Daily Prayer from the Northumbria Community, Prayer and Song from the Taizé Community, The Book of Common Prayer from the Episcopal Church, The Divine Hours compiled by Phyllis Tickle, The Jesus Prayer…
- Books — Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers by Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, Can You Hear Me? by Brad Jersak, New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton, The Way of a Pilgrim by Anonymous…
- Community — If your local faith community doesn’t already have an active prayer group, you can start one! Feel free to use our Listen/Learn/Live process if you need a structure for your group.
Here are some general ideas related to the discipline of fasting:
- There’s an art and a science to fasting. It can be a powerful way to identify with the needs of others, from the extreme of a hunger strike to the simple act of going without a meal for some special purpose. Those of us without health restrictions would do well to at least skip a meal now and then, and devote the time and money we would have otherwise spent on that meal to needs we care about.
Consider also the discipline of rest:
- It might surprise you that “rest,” also known as “keeping the Sabbath,” is a discipline. It’s especially important for Story-Sharers, because the reality of need will always be bigger than our ability to meet that need. Regular “rest,” which includes getting enough sleep as well as the more traditional seventh “day off,” helps keep us from burning out or developing an unhealthy messiah complex. (Even Jesus took time to get away and rest!) Find healthy ways to “rest” that fit your personality and actually re-energize you.
Finally, here are some ideas on how you might explore the discipline of pilgrimage:
- We’ve used the metaphor of “pilgrimage” quite a bit to help explain the life of a “Story-Sharer,” because there are so many parallels between living out a calling of service and going on a difficult journey. Some famous examples championed by different faith traditions include pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Rome and Santiago de Compostela. Really any journey to a meaningful place can be seen as a pilgrimage, which is why we believe the idea of pilgrimage extends into the arena of living a calling of service. Make a pilgrimage “of service” to a place where you encounter the particular need that moves you, visit annually the place where you first decided to live a new story, or journey to the place that changed your life in a meaningful way.
- HERE’s an attempt to describe the reality and value of pilgrimage.
Build in reminders
If the central task of a Story-Sharer is to remember who we truly are and why we’re truly here, we need regular celebrations to help us do that in the midst of and in spite of the inevitable interruptions and distractions of life. We highlight four: holidays, meals, gifts and symbols.
- Holidays — Brainstorm new ways to celebrate familiar holidays (here’s a great example), commemorate the day you first became aware of the story of need or the first day you began living your new story, or re-appropriate an ancient holiday (ex. find a way to proclaim “Jubilee“).
- Meals — Celebrate the “sacred” meal (ex. Communion or the Eucharist) to help you remember in whose footsteps you follow, or, like the Community of Sant’Egidio, treat people who are poor or homeless near you to a nice, sit-down dinner.
- Gifts — Learn to see the world with new eyes by looking for needs and meeting them anonymously.
- Symbols — Pilgrims who walk El Camino de Santiago in Northern Spain wear scallop shells around their necks, attach them to their staff or packs, and look for scallop shell markers to stay on the right path. The shell symbolizes courage, vulnerability and camaraderie for pilgrims on the way and for those who encounter them. In the same spirit, borrow or create tokens of “remembrance” to keep your true calling of service and those you’re called to serve in the forefront of your mind and heart — special photos (above your bed, in your car, in your wallet or purse, on your Facebook page), something you keep in your pocket or a cell phone ring tone. Use your creativity to help you remember!
Nurture the greater realities
“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (the Apostle Paul, first letter to the Corinthians)
These “intangible” realities make your calling of service liveable: faith, that restoration, redemption and healing is possible on every level; hope, that the story of need can be rewritten; and love, which makes you care even if you’re not exactly sure why. These greater realities acknowledge the wounds of the world, while disarming the powers that would let those wounds bleed, and dreaming of and bringing about healing.
- For a great example of this, listen to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. How does Dr. King describe the essential forces behind nonviolent resistance and the Civil Rights Movement?
