Intentional Living Archives

Living like a pilgrim at home is a daily practice, and when we begin to infuse everyday life with spirituality and intention, what once was ordinary becomes extraordinary. Find posts on intentional living below, explore specific practices for intentional living on the resources page, and sign up here to receive updates on new posts directly in your inbox.

5 Tips for Creating a Capsule Wardrobe

In the spirit of our Journey Book Club Discussion on The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up earlier this week, I wanted to share about my own capsule wardrobe as well as tips to help you start your own, too.

What we wear can often be overlooked or undervalued when it comes to spirituality, and it’s true—part of the spiritual journey is about releasing unhealthy attachments to material items. But it’s also true that dressing ourselves can be a creative endeavor, and cultivating a spirit of creativity always leads us closer to the Creator, whom we are forever called to join in co-creation.

As co-creators we’re always soul-creators, infusing meaning into whatever we pursue. This time, the medium just happens to be apparel (which is one of the main ways we present ourselves to the world, by the way). Perhaps that’s why I love the idea of a capsule wardrobe so much. In a way, it seems like an external expression of the internal process of cultivating the true self, setting aside elements of the false self that hinder creativity, dampen joy, and disconnect us from the Sacred which we seek.

You won’t find “capsule wardrobe” in the dictionary just yet, but I define a capsule wardrobe as a minimalist wardrobe that is carefully curated, easily coordinates, and forever sparks joy. If you’re as intrigued by the process as I am, here are 5 tips to get you started that have helped me along the way:

Journey Book Club Discussion: “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up”

The Journey Book Club is migrating to Facebook—the perfect place to interact throughout the month as we read together, sharing our favorite quotes and insights and engaging in some lively discussion. This will be the last Journey Book Club post here on the blog. To continue to read/follow along (and find out what we’re reading next), click here to join the group.

I hope it comes as no surprise to you that I truly enjoyed The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.

Although in many cases Marie’s method can seem a bit over the top (I won’t be emptying my purse each day anytime soon or affirming my clothing on a job well done), I’m a great supporter of anything that emphasizes how much even the ordinary things in life—in this case our possessions and surroundings—impact our wellbeing: mind, body, and soul.

In fact, even though tidying up is often a practice associated with spring cleaning, perhaps Ordinary Time is the best season in which to begin the practice of tidying up as it causes us to truly look at the items and spaces that can be often overlooked in our busier seasons and choose to take action in a way that will lead to life and growth. And, since spiritual practices are regular rhythms that cultivate life, leading us closer toward our true selves and the Divine, I think it’s safe to say that the KonMari method can be approached as a spiritual practice. After all, the central tenet of her method is to only keep items that spark joy, and as a fruit of the Spirit, isn’t joy a sure-fire way to measure our connection to the Sacred?

It’s the middle of August, and as summer winds down for many of us it’s time to put the suitcases away, harvest what remains of summer’s bounty, finish our summer reading, and return to everyday routines.

It’s all just so…ordinary.

We are, in fact, in the middle of Ordinary Time—the season in the Church’s liturgical calendar that lies between the feast of Pentecost and the season of Advent (some churches recognize two seasons of Ordinary Time—Ordinary Time I between Christmastide and Lent and Ordinary Time II between Eastertide and Advent). It’s a long season, too—the longest, in fact. It seems fitting, though, because most of our days are simply ordinary—we wake up, shower, go to work, care for families, run errands, make meals, go to sleep…and do it all over again.

There’s no invitation to keep vigil, like with Advent, or to fast, as with Lent. There’s no specific call to celebrate, as with Christmas or Easter. And, oftentimes there’s no great burst of insight or inspiration, as marked by the Feasts of Epiphany and Pentecost.

But it’s also in the everyday that life happens—challenges presented, lessons learned, obstacles overcome—each new occurrence taking us beyond our edges and presenting the opportunity for more growth. If Ordinary Time has an invitation, it’s to stay present to these elements of daily life, engaging them with intention and looking for the Sacred hidden within. What so often seems ordinary then has the power to become extraordinary.

Here are 10 practices to make Ordinary Time extraordinary:

1. Turn a mundane task into a time of prayer

2. Go on a personal retreat

3. Make something (How about daily bread?)

4. Begin a Sabbath practice

5. Spend time in nature

6. Settle in with a book that has the power to transform (I have a few suggestions)

7. Read the Bible in a new way

8. Live like a pilgrim in everyday life

9. Cultivate a Morning Ritual

10. In line with our current Journey Book Club selection, get rid of objects (and commitments) in your life that don’t spark joy (more on that next week!)

GO FURTHER…

Which of your own spiritual practices help make Ordinary Time extraordinary?

PS: How liturgy guides you on a daily journey (+ a great list of resources!)

3 Spiritual Practices You’re Already Doing (introvert edition)

I have a new post up on Quiet Revolution today about how introverts can turn 3 common practices of self-care into spiritual practices. Not to worry, extroverts—I plan on doing an extrovert edition right here sometime soon to balance things out. Subscribe here so you don’t miss it!

3-Spiritual-Practices-Youre-Already-Doing_SOURCE_getrefe

Image from Quiet Revolution

If you identify as an introvert, it’s likely that you’ve personally experienced the misconceptions of introversion and have been fighting these assumptions for much of your life. You know them well: introverts are reclusive, stuck in their heads, and—let’s not forget—shy.

Because we live in an extroverted culture, these traits are often deemed as negative. If you’re spending a lot of time alone, lost in thought, or are uninterested in engaging with anyone, something must be wrong, right?

But to us, these introverted traits are essential parts of our makeup. We need time alone to recharge our batteries; we process our experiences internally; and we prefer to stand at an arm’s length rather than jump right in. When we become aware of these tendencies, they become not simply traits—but acts—of self-care. Seeking out alone time becomes a practice of solitude; internal processing becomes a vehicle for self-discovery; and standing on the outskirts makes us keen observers.

As introverts, we know that the practices of solitude, self-discovery, and paying attention are part of our daily lives, and when we pursue them with the intention of connecting with the transcendent, they can become spiritual practices as well. Here’s how you can turn three acts of self-care you’re already pursuing into spiritual practices…

Read the rest of the post at Quiet Revolution »

Our Daily Bread: The Recipe

bread-recipe

For over three years now, we’ve been making our own bread.

And, I should clarify—when I say “we” I mean my husband, Kyle. He’s a web developer, and so at the end of the day (or even on breaks in the middle) he’s eager to get out of his mind, leaving code-land behind and instead using his hands to create.

Over the years he’s turned to many things to help him transition—roasting coffee, brewing kombucha, curing bacon—but more than anything, while he was away on the Camino it was making our daily bread that he missed (and he wasn’t alone—I had to buy bread while he was away! Can you imagine!?).

You see, making bread has become a ritual for Kyle—a regular rhythm, and, dare I say, a spiritual practice. It calls him to leave the complex behind and return to the basics—for what’s more basic than bread? And it invites him to remember his first love—food—and encourages him to learn the ins and outs of what brings him delight (which, of course, is always a place where we can experience Sacred Encounter).

And so, today I offer you this recipe of our daily bread—from our family to yours. May it call you, too, to return to the basics, and remind you that delight and the Sacred can be found in even the most simple of places.

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