Cherished

Cherish is a synonym for nurture. We spend time nurturing the things we value and care about. It is important to cherish ourselves and take care of our personal, physical and spiritual qualities. The deep channels within our heart that guide our lives are so important and each of us carries profound hopes within us that make us who we are.

Thoreau communicated deep thoughts regarding our ability to live lives of quiet desperation. Our culture often robs us of the joys and virtues life has to offer. We get way too busy, shelve our feelings, find less and less time to treasure moments, and in doing so we surrender to circumstances. We talk fast, drive faster, eat quickly and bounce our legs while we busily go about completing the static routines in life. In the rush we forget to acknowledge the things we so deeply cherish. It almost always surprises me when I realize I was captured again by the hustle of the daily and find myself feeling restless. I find myself going through the motions without valuing the beautiful. I don’t mean to – life just catches me and I am missing majestic moments like the blue in the night sky, or the rays of sun in the foggy morning. All of the sudden I notice again the flickers of light in my daughter’s eyes as she smiles over her computer screen. We miss so many treasures around us that hold profound joy even in the midst of the challenges.

I wonder have we shied away from our spiritual sides so much we miss dynamics we would truly cherish. Are we so afraid of our sensitivities and need for belief that we close the door tight to joys we will cherish. Is there a peace we do not find because we are afraid to acknowledge we hold sacred thoughts within us and long to fill a void longing for the beautiful, the genuine ecstasy of life. Surely there is a balance to living the accelerated lives we live and meeting the short and long range goals while we treasure the moments of joy.

It is fascinating to find that cherish is a synonym for nurture. It is ironic how the things we cherish reflect deep channels in our heart. Every human being has spiritual channels – an inner compass to navigate our life journeys. We are good at shelving and ignoring the spiritual cravings we feel. Sometimes we ignore these channels that seem a bit too profound to explore. Sometimes we hide them because to be “spiritual” is often looked at as weakness or sensitivity. It is so easy to hide our spiritual thoughts and beliefs before we fully know them. Is there a God who whispers in the wind and knows our name? Sometimes when we see something or feel something beautiful we define it as a breathless moment and quickly move on to the next moment before we let the spiritual qualities of the experience move us – strengthen us – empower who we really are.