I’ve always made exercise a priority. That’s never really been a problem for me, which is probably because everyone’s telling me that I should do it. I’ve yet to find a health-related magazine on the shelves that doesn’t praise the benefits of sweating-it-out a few times a week. But creating time and space for my spiritual life has not always come so effortlessly. 

I think that many of us today suffer from a dry well when it comes to our souls. We’re just not in the habit of consciously keeping an eye on the water level. Now that I’ve started to become more in-tune with this part of my life, I can sense when I need some spiritual recharging.

Just recently, I began bringing my family to a nondenominational church in town. It feels really good to me. I enjoy just sitting in that quiet, contemplative place every Sunday morning, listening to the music, and waiting for the minister to say something that really hits home for me. He almost always does. And I leave there feeling more connected to God, the community of churchgoers around me, and to the natural world outside those church doors. It’s just a good space for me. I look forward to going — and I think that my kids get a lot out of it too. If nothing else, it’s something that we do together as a family. While so much of the week pulls us apart from one another, church brings us together. 

During other times in my life, church wasn’t necessarily the answer to that spiritual calling. My soul has been touched on a long cross-country ski tour through the mountains or even while soaking in a warm bath with some inspirational reading. I have friends who meditate and who practice yoga. Personally, I find some deep satisfaction in being a part of a community of others who are on a similar spiritual quest. But every person is different. And I do believe that your spiritual life is deeply personal.

But I have challenged myself – and I would challenge anyone – to try and find an hour out of every day (and certainly every week) to be still and feel connected to the world that exists beyond our five senses. I think it’s certainly a worthwhile investment of time.