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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Renewing Our Spirit Top Priority

Michael Gurian The Spokesman-Rev

When I was in my early teens my father worked with Indian tribes in New Mexico. A word I often heard our native friends use was “renewal.” Individuals “went on Vision Quest for renewal of vision.” Communities engaged in Sun Dances “to renew the tribe.”

Last summer Clayton Small of the Northern Cheyenne tribe and I talked about the renewal tradition. He was going back to his people in the Midwest “to renew myself, my family and the healing energy of the planet.” This was no small task. It involved fasting, praying, ritual, ceremony and tradition. He went back, fulfilled his goal, and returned to his home, work and neighborhood in Spokane.

Upon his return, Clayton and I talked about the many kinds of love one person’s renewal gives the whole world. I would have talked with him again this summer about it, but, as life would have it, he has moved to New Mexico, near where I first heard the word “renewal” many decades ago.

Now as another summer ends, I ask myself, “Have I renewed myself this summer? Have I worked to renew the energies of my family, my community, the land around me?” It’s a good question for each of us to ask. It includes, “Have I taken a day off?” but implies far more.

To renew is to regenerate, refresh, rejuvenate.

The woman lying out on a beach reading a mystery novel, vacationing finally after a long year, is rejuvenating her spirit with adventure and relaxation.

The man awakening in his middle life to an emptiness inside himself, finally seeking help after all these years, is regenerating himself.

The children splashing through fountains, sprinklers and public pools are refreshing themselves and the energies of everyone who enjoys their glee.

Summer is nearly over. Have you done anything you can to renew the very energy of being alive? Before you know it, life will be even busier than it is right now. Take at least a few days to do it now.

Focus on abundance rather than deprivation, on what you have rather than what you lack. Once a person in renewal begins giving thanks for all she or he has, it’s hard to stop.

Sort out relationships, be honest about the ones that are working and the ones that are not. Many relationships are meant to last no longer than they last.

Make decisions you’ve put off. A decision yearning to be made sits like a huge monster in the room sucking up energy.

Recommit to your ongoing responsibilities. Every marriage, friendship or other relationship needs some form, whether spoken or not, of renewed vows.

Let go of those responsibilities you’ve already fulfilled.

Forgive what and whom you must forgive in order for your spirit to be free.

Sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labors.

Actively embrace the rituals that make your life whole. If life is a dance, rituals are its music.

Cleanse your living and working space. Throw out old papers, old discs; give away books you no longer need; make room for new physical and spiritual material in your life.

Seek new visions. See different things than you saw the year before, new ambitions, personal insights, ways of raising your children, old traditions discovered anew.

“You deserve a break today!” croons the McDonald’s ad, “So get up and get away, to McDonald’s.”

For many of us, that’s all we ever get is a break. We call “zoning out in front of the TV” renewal. We vacation, but come home more tense after the vacation than before we left. Make it different this year.

If you haven’t taken a vacation, take it soon. Plan one that isn’t packed too much with “things to do.” Let it be relaxing.

If people say you work too much, believe them.

Take not only a vacation, but also a few minutes every day to walk, meditate, pray, journal, rejuvenate and refresh. Go to the mountain, the desert, the ocean, the park, the river - the landscape that speaks to you best. Listen to your soul there.

That’s where I’m heading now. See you in two weeks.

xxxx

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Michael Gurian The Spokesman-Review