Worship

I recently discovered the remarkable story behind the signs that I see in my neighborhood.? These signs affirm beliefs that I cling to, and I am grateful to the amazing woman who started this movement.?

Every time I walk by one, I smile a little and think “Yeah, that’s us.? I back this and hope for a world where more and more people would.”

I have never witnessed the amount of suffering I am seeing right now.? Even among those of us who are employed, have families still “intact,” or whatever other marker of well-being someone could pick, most are not thriving.

Mental health issues are rampant while rates of divorce, anxiety and depression are skyrocketing regardless of _____.? A day of reckoning requiring us to face down some hard questions about who we are and what we care about has arrived.

Worship is a universal human experience. It is the act of expressing our love, gratitude, and awe for something greater. Worship might take place in a church, temple or mosque, but it may also be in the woods, at the beach, the gym or even our workplace.

When we worship, we are caught up. We are lifted out of ourselves, our own concerns and worries, and focused on something greater.? I have worshiped among people of faith, in solitude, during a sunset or while in connection with my wife, my children, a friend and often in coaching conversations.

Worship is experienced in those sacred places where everything else melts away.

What do you believe?

Hold up V, I don’t do religion.

I am not asking you about organized religion or even spirituality.??

What we are in awe of or the thing that causes us to transcend is what we worship.

What do I hold dear?

Worshiping something that we are not consciously aware of has been explored by many philosophers and theologians. I am not here to call out or in what specifically it is that any of us are worshiping.

What I am challenging is whether we are aware of what is sacred to us.

When we gain awareness of our worship, we can make choices about how we want to live.? This aligned, higher purpose is what I believe is missing for so many of us.

Many of us know something is off, and no thing seems to fulfill because that may not be what we worship.

A few suggestions:

• Pay attention to your feelings. When you recognize strong emotions, such as love, joy, or anger, ask yourself what’s there? If you have a coach, therapist, partner or friend to explore this with, do it so they can help you process, especially those things you may be avoiding.
• Take notice of your dreams. Dreams are a way for our unconscious minds to communicate with us. Sleep is critical for emotional health because we are often working through something that requires further processing.?
• The practice of meditation is hard because of the uncommonness awareness it brings.? Focus on your breath or some other fixed thing to ground while you allow your thoughts to come and go without judgment. Just pay attention to the patterns of thought and emotion that come up.

There is likely a reason why we have not consciously chosen to worship whatever thing keeps coming up. The suggestions above do not include judgment or hierarchy because that will poison your honest appraisal of what is.? We might find that we worship a thing that we are not proud of or things that are harmful, but we might also find that we are worshiping things that are beautiful, inspiring, and life-affirming.

That worship can bring us peace, joy, and hope.? This is a gift and a way for us to connect with beauty, mystery, and power, and for us to grow in our understanding of ourselves and our place in the world.? In this, I invite you to worship.