Hi Friend
I have some important decisions I need to make in the near future and it’s been on my mind. So this week I decided to fast. Over the course of my life I’ve fasted numerous times. It can be a variety of things, but for me it has always included removing food. In my younger days, I would fast food for a week at a time. Liquids only. Granted sometimes those liquids included milkshakes.
This time, I did more of a pacing fast. I didn’t eat food after 1pm. I kept my liquids to water, coffee, La Croix and tea. I eliminated social media (except Linkedin for business) and removed watching shows. Needless to say I read a lot. I did yard work. I spent focused time praying. I talked with people on the phone. I sat and thought. It was a useful purging of my soul and brain.
Fasting to me has always been about flushing my system. It lightens my load and cleanses any emotional toxins that have built up. It has a powerful ability to clear my mind. It’s also an excellent practice of self-denial. There’s something about being hungry and not satisfying that craving.
I’ve found it to be an access point to wisdom. I can rummage around in my imagination for days and weeks, but settling on a course that is best, isn’t always simply a list of pros & cons. Wise choices seem to merge knowledge, experience, counsel plus a nudge of the spirit. The release that fasting requires removes hazy uncertainty.
Sit.Think.Pray.Imagine.Run.Consider.Repeat
Self-denial seems pretty un-American. As consumers, we’re wired to go after something we want. And if what we want takes enormous amounts of resources to get it, work that much harder and longer. It’s uncommon for someone to want something, have the means to possess it and consciously choose not to obtain it.
Fasting is a spiritual endeavor with lots of practical outcomes. I find most divine efforts produce very natural results. Fortunately, some of our common undertakings generate holy consequences as well. I’m moved when someone acts in a way that touches my soul, but they’re just being themselves.
Holy Natural
Kindness
Deference
Compassion
Generosity
Sacrifice
Grace
It’s a curious dynamic when an outward expression contains an underlying layer of goodness. I suppose that’s where motive and intent reside? Have you ever been on the receiving end of someone being Holy Natural? Their generosity or grace was offered so effortlessly that it humbled you? It somehow slips past all of our defenses and lands smack dab on our heart. It’s not only endearing, it’s magnetic. Heck, sometimes it’s even healing.
More interestingly, have you intentionally worked on developing or displaying these attributes? The conduit for their expression is often rooted in listening.
The minimal exposure I’ve had to the world of single women, by far their most desired characteristic in a man is kindness. Which seems like such a low bar to me. Apparently the male species exhibits selfish inconsideration with shocking ease. Who knew? 😝
Purposely entering into a spiritual domain positions us for positive terrestrial repercussions.
However, unlike the physical where we can do reps, track miles, count laps, select weights and visibly recognize efforts and results, the sacred spaces lack tangibility. I suspect the evidence of such activity is revealed when someone is being Holy Natural.
Instigating Ideas
1. Try fasting something for a week.
2. Select a Holy Natural Attribute to develop greater in your life.
3. Verbally appreciate someone for their demonstrations of being Holy Natural.
Intermittent fasting was all the rage a year or two ago. It’s a small designated window allotted for eating. It was strictly a dietary strategy. I found it unappealing. I figure if I’m going to do anything that remotely resembles fasting, I want it impacting my spirit, soul and body! Not just the body.
More so, I want to access wisdom. I thought I was going to get to explore us becoming wiser. The words didn’t fall out of my fingers that way. Apparently, Friend you needed to hear more about being Holy Natural. I hope you take a good run at it!