Daily Prompt Response—Spirituality

Spirituality in my life depends on what is meant by the word spirituality. My mind immediately jumps to religious faith. I am a praying person and am technically Catholic. Fun fact—the first part of my handle on here, Cathy, is a nod to me being Catholic. My real name is not Cathy. But laying claim to this religion doesn’t answer the question well. I can’t say that I’m a practicing Catholic, as many people do when asked about their faith. When my job went south, my husband and I stopped going to Mass out of sheer disappointment in my work situation. Being an employee of a Catholic school means the people I work with are also people who attend Mass at the church connected to the school. I have desperately tried to hold on to my faith through daily prayer. That is important to me, in that, I do recognize God’s influence in my life and feel called to converse with Him daily.

However, spirituality for me lately, has been much simpler than making a show of getting up on Sunday and actually going to Mass. It has existed in the moments every day when my husband gets home from work and we have just finished dinner. We watch television for a short while before gathering up our phones, a book or magazine, and the mosquito repellent devices we recently bought and head out to the backyard. We park ourselves on the chairs under the huge Magnolia tree back there and just sit. Often, my husband will scroll his phone while I read a book. Other times, when the sun sets far enough and the sky begins to truly darken, we tilt our heads back and just stare up at the sky and watch the stars begin to pop out. It’s summer, so watching the lightning bugs flit around is also mesmerizing. Watering our plants with the hose and ultimately our dog as well, also brings us joy. It is these moments, where sometimes we don’t need to talk, that feel almost spiritual to me. He and I are simply existing together at the end of the day. We enjoy this time because it’s uncomplicated and peaceful. I find myself looking forward to it every day. It has become a truly important part of our routine.