Lists of Loves
Today I'm thinking about how making lists can be a spiritual practice. I don't know about you, but I make lists all the time, usually "To Do" lists. I have lists on little notecards in my purse. I have a list on an Excel spreadsheet on my computer titled "To Do with Time Needed." I have lists of books I want to read stored in my shopping cart in an online bookstore.
On
New Morning,
Chinwe Grace Osuagwu suggested that we can discover our passions, and thereby stoke the fire within us, by making a list of 100 things we love. My immediate reaction to that, like Timberly's, was "100! How about 5?" Osuagwu's response, though, was very helpful. She said the purpose of the exercise was to stretch yourself, to see if you might discover new things about yourself beyond the obvious. So it requires more time. So you have to unhitch loves that you typically put together. So you may need to look for loves in different areas of your life (what do I love in my family life, at work, in nature, in my history, in myself?) Somewhere in all that, Osuagwu maintains, you will come upon your passions, and from there you can discern what you are called to do to be of service to the world.
Put this way, making a list is indeed a spiritual practice. The activity connects us with our true selves, with others and the whole Creation, and with God. And it's something that you do need to practice over and over again.
My favorite book about journaling is
The New Diary, by Tristine Rainer. She recommends that you regularly make lists in your journal. She explains: "A list can perform any of the functions of the four natural modes of expression. It can enumerate feelings, sense impressions, intuitions, or thoughts without using complete sentences. Lists are time-savers and time-condensers. ... A list will help you focus, tame, and comprehend wayward parts of your experience."
My own journals are full of lists: Moments of Happiness. Fears. Things To Do (perhaps too often I make these). Gratitudes. Places I'd Like to Visit. Today I'll start on a new one: 100 Things I Love. But first, I'd better get some things off that To Do list to make time for this one.