There are four questions of value in life, Don Octavio. What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? What is worth living for and what is worth dying for? The answer to each is the same. Only love.
Lord Byron
If you have been following along with my Coming Of Age journey, you are aware that I have been addressing a series of questions on the path to building my personal credo. Each question addresses a different aspect of spirituality in the hope that the answers bring the pilgrims closer to an awareness of who they are and what they are looking for.
In case you missed my previous installments, they can be found here.
On the Nature of a Higher Power
This latest step asks each pilgrim to answer this question:
How is the sacred present in each of our lives?
This is supplemented by even more questions to help frame an understanding of the sacred and its place in the Coming of Age journey.
How do you define sacred?
While this might seem like the easiest of the questions, it is proving to a be a bit of a struggle. I certainly know what I have been told it means, but since I am not a deity guy, I need to look beyond my childhood Catholic catechism.
The best I can come up with is that sacred is a personal feeling about something very special and potentially transforming. It’s being in the presence of a person/place/thing/sound/idea/etc. that transcends basic existence. Words like awe, astonishment, wonder, and reverence come to mind. Also, phrases such as “takes my breath away” and “a feeling of awakening” seem to fit.
While I may find that being in the presence of a particular thing evokes something powerful within me, the thing itself it not what is sacred. It’s the power I attribute to being aware of the thing.
For example, I don’t find a church sacred. It’s no more than a collection of building materials, furniture, and artwork. What I do find sacred is the community that inhabits it, the words that are spoken within its walls, and the deeds enacted by its members. For me, that is where the awakening happens. I am transformed by the deep connections with the people and not the stonework, no matter how beautiful it might be.
It’s also very personal. What others find sacred I might find uninteresting, uninspiring, or even repulsive. I will not believe something is sacred until I have a personal, awe inspiring connection with it.
The passage of time has not
nor will it ever dull the wonder
or the magnetic draw
to the soft, tender shadows
and warm, muted light
The silent breath of the sacred space
to the left of the heart
at the center of the soul
How does sacred relate to spiritual?
I define spiritual as a practice. It is how I live a life of integrity, service, connection, and joy. It’s being in tune with a set of values that propel me beyond my own petty wants and obsessions.
Spirituality allows me to feel and be present with the sacred. It’s the path that takes me there and the willingness to open my heart to what I am experiencing.
If I am open and willing, the sacred can be life altering. It’s the division between before and after.
Does sacredness direct us in some way?
It’s the voice of change. My sense of spirituality directs me to seek the sacred and prepares me to recognize it when it arrives. The older I get, the more I am drawn to finding those times of awe and transformation. I am the moth, spirituality is the flight path, and sacred is the flame.
How do you experience the sacred?
As I previously wrote, it’s an awakening. I feel it by knowing that I have found myself in a place that is different from day to day life. It might arrive in the form of something I see, but it’s more something I feel. That same something might not feel sacred under different circumstances. It requires my heart, mind, and body to feel the vibration of the moment and allow it to vibrate within me.
How do you know something is sacred?
The only answer I can come up with is, “I just know it.” It may not be something others experience, but it will be clear to me.
I love these words from Minnesota singer/songwriter and fellow Unitarian, Peter Mayer:
When I was a boy, each week
On Sunday, we would go to church
And pay attention to the priest
He would read the holy word
And consecrate the holy bread
And everyone would kneel and bow
Today the only difference is
Everything is holy now
While I don’t believe that everything is sacred now, I believe that everything holds the seeds of sacredness. Like all seeds, they require tending in order to rise up, but the potential to grow into awe is within everything.
If any thing is sacred, the human body is sacred. Walt Whitman
What are sacred experiences?
Sacred experiences are boundless. They can be joyful, but many of my most sacred experiences have been anything but joy. Saying my final goodbye to Mom was sacred, but there was no joy in my words. I will always remember a transformative New Year’s Eve with Linda that was both sacred and immersed in joy. The door swings both ways.
I guess if I had to find a word, the word would be profound. A sacred experience is one that is felt from deep within me. It’s found in the heart, but it’s also felt in the mind, body, soul, and places that have no name.
Birth is a sacred experience. Death is a sacred experience. Standing in a crowd of people singing “We shall overcome” is a sacred experience.
We must join with the tens of millions all over the world who see in peace our most sacred responsibility. Paul Robeson
Fun fact: My dad was a difficult man, but I will be forever grateful for his love of the outdoors and my favorite times with him were spent camping and fishing in northern Arizona. While our trips were mostly family affairs, every so often he would take me hunting with his work and Knights of Columbus buddies. Dad didn’t like to hunt and I never recall him shooting anything on these trips, but he liked the company.
I recall one particular trip where we all sat around a campfire after a long day of tromping through the woods. All the men there were WWII vets and each took a turn sharing his experiences overseas. These were stories they rarely told, but felt comfortable sharing them with fellow combat veterans.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but as an adult I now see how this was a sacred experience. It certainly wasn’t joyful and although I cannot recall everything said, I felt privileged to witness the vulnerability of these otherwise stoic men. Each story was a personal sermon of fear, sacrifice, and ultimately, hope. It was never repeated in my presence and I am forever grateful that I was there to bear witness.
What are sacred practices?
I am not sure how to answer this question. For me, spirituality is the practice and sacred is the moment. Perhaps, though, the question is asking me to describe how I react when I find myself in a sacred moment. If so, I would say:
- Deep listening
- Reverence
- Mindfulness
- Respect
- Opening myself up to transformation
- Joy
- Gratitude
- Great humility
- Veneration
- Wonderment
- Overwhelming love
- Immersion
- Feeling part of something much bigger than I can ever be
While I don’t set out each morning seeking the sacred in the world, I know it’s there. It may suddenly appear as I spend time with a grandchild or when I read something that reaches into me and shakes up a preconceived notion. It can arrive through the senses or be felt in ways that cannot be adequately described.
The sacred moments that often have the most meaning are the ones that take me by surprise. The silence of a snowy winter walk. An unexpected act of kindness from a stranger. Being present in a great time of need. Generosity when it is needed the most. The first green of spring. A candlelight vigil for a fallen community member. Preparing food for loved ones or strangers.
Next Steps
This is the final Coming of Age question, but by no means have I reached the end of my journey. I still have to create my personal credo and that is going to take some serious effort. I am also tempted to go back and re-answer the previous questions. Even in this short amount of time, I am already finding new and different ways of looking at my spiritual life. There is always so much more to ponder — so much to learn and unlearn. I expect this will be the case until my time on earth is finished. And then there is yet another journey.
Thank you for reading and following along with me. Your willingness is cherished.
No heart shall be that hardened
no soul could be unmoved
there will be no dreams unanswered
and no wish shall be denied
A sacred divide
between the doctrine of hope
and the somber presence of mind
a fertile goddess more comely than the imagination
of this a simple poet
or rather, an optimistic, but grounded fool
Can You Hear Me Now 
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