Spirituality is universal. A lot of people the world over have faith in some sort of higher power, a god or gods of various descriptions. Because of this, people do devotional acts of one sort or another: prayer, singing, corporate worship, meditation, studying sacred texts, acts of charity and more. The sheer number of people who do these things has always been for me one proof that there’s God.
Devotion and Living Literarily: A Natural Pair
Literary living and spirituality have at least one thing in common. Neither are things I want to just add to my life like putting a sticky note on a message board or a book on a shelf among many other books. They are both ways of living and thinking and being that insinuate themselves into all parts of life. I can live my life, the things I do day in and day out, in a literary way: literarily. I can also live my life, the things I do day in and day out, in a devotional way: devotionally. The point of this blog is that living literarily is an approach to all of life. It’s the same with spirituality: it’s not a piece of life pie but an integral ingredient of the whole thing.
Two Types of Devotion: Big D and little d
Little d devotion involves the actions and pious behaviors that flow from a spirituality. I’ll be posting classic, literary prayers and hymns that are both good writing and good praying. I’m not commenting here on reading prayers versus praying extemporaneously off the top of ones head (or heart). There’s a time and a place for both. For the sake of this blog, I’ll be highlighting the written expressions of devotion and piety. And why not, as with memorizing poems, implant well-written prayers in ones mind? I feel a little richer with every poem, every prayer and hymn I memorize.
Big D Devotion has to do with the underlying, encompassing reality of God who, among other things, is creative. Part of my love for both gardening and words is how their beauty and intricacy reflect the ultimate author of everything beautiful and intricate and life affirming. Living literarily puts me in a position to create. Writing a Daily Sentence, keeping a Family Journal, writing descriptions and essays, memorizing poems, conducting literary events and all the other myriad of literary activities this blog discusses and models are ways of being creative, of creating. As I live literarily I act, in a small but real way, like God. The goal of many faiths, stated in a variety of ways, is for the adherent to become like God in one way or another, to gradually reflect his image, to be the person she or he was designed to be. Living literarily is one way to move toward that.
Ain’t Religious
Spirituality is not necessarily the same thing as religion and devotion is not necessarily the same thing as being religious. For better or worse, the words religion and religious have taken on a negative meaning:
Religion (often prefaced with the word organized, whatever that means) is for hypocrites! I don’t want anything to do with that. Acting religious is acting fake; that’s not for me!
I’m not going to comment on this except to say I’m suggesting an alternate approach. Spirituality and devotion don’t (necessarily or have to) have anything to do with religion. I’m talking about a daily expression of faith and creativity, of beauty and excellence and love, that is born out of the reality of a creator who has created both us and all things excellent, including things literary.
