Devoted to What?
I admit that when I heard today's New Morning show was on Devotion, I just figured it would be all about devotional practices in the world's religions—things like chanting, fasting, bowing, whirling, praying, or veneration of saints. So I was more than a little surprised—and delighted—when Timberly opened the show by admitting that she is devoted to her daughter. And then in the on-the-street interviews, people said they said they were devoted to their families, dogs, baseball, riding bikes, and laughter. People in the features were devoted to the legacy of a mentor, the creative process, and sea turtles.
This, I thought, is a very fresh way of looking at devotion. So what am I devoted to? My husband. My cats. My website. My friends. The memories of my parents. It's not the same question as asking "What is my passion?", though it's similar. Devotion is about giving myself to something bigger than myself.
As I take this show into my day, I'm also reflecting on how we can learn from our various devotions about how to improve our devotion to God. One of my favorite definitions of spirituality is by Brother David Steindl-Rast. He says:
"Sometimes people get the mistaken notion that spirituality is a separate department of life, the penthouse of our existence. But rightly understood, it is a vital awareness that pervades all realms of our being. Someone will say, 'I come alive when I listen to music,' or 'I come to life when I garden,' or 'I come alive when I play golf.' Wherever we come alive, that is the area in which we are spiritual. And then we can say, 'I know at least how one is spiritual in that area.' To be vital, awake, aware, in all areas of our lives, is the task that is never accomplished, but it remains the goal."
The same process applies to devotion. I know how to be devoted in one area of my life. Let me take those feelings, those types of activities, those commitments, and bring them to my relationship with God and everybody and everything around me.