So the question is... can Spirituality be fun?  At first glance, this question might seem too big to ingest. You might already be trying to nail this one in relation to “smaller” sectors of your life: career, relationships, health, finances. But if you can answer this question for the Biggie-your spiritual life-chances are good it will cascade into the rest of your life.

We all know someone who has a job or career they absolutely love. For instance, I read of someone , let's call her Susie, who recently landed her dream job: Food Artisan Relations Manager. When I visited her Blog to read about the new position, it sounded like an incredible win for everyone involved.

Now, I don’t know the background on Susie’s mental/emotional/spiritual process around landing a dream job, but-like many of us-she may at some stage have had to

(a) change her thinking   (b) change her state of being   (c) get back in touch with some of the “kid” qualities from her childhood.

As kids, we all play games to rehearse becoming adults. Kids have buckets of fun acting out roles or performing tasks that later in life can often feel more like a chore.  What games did you play? I remember playing teacher, store owner, priest, truck driver, sandbox town planner, mother, grocery shopper and cook.

We could probably come up with various reasons why kids can have fun doing stuff we may no longer cherish, but here’s a less common one to consider: until they become socialized (or have it disciplined out of them), kids are often closer to the spiritual realms-in a purely natural way-then we are as adults.  Kids simply don’t have a concept of how “hard” that’s supposed to be and don’t say to themselves “I need X number of years of meditation before I can be that attuned.”

Kids are natural experts. And one of their areas of expertise is . . . you got it! Having fun.

Could there be a connection with spirituality? I believe it’s well worth investigating . . . and here's an easy way to find out in a mere 10 or 15 minutes.  First, take a sheet of paper and write the words “Define Fun” at the top. Better still, gather with a friend (or several friends) in a coffee house and do the exercise together.  Next, write down everything that’s fun for you. Don’t try to analyze your choices and don’t write anything you think you “should” write. Suspend all preconceived notions about what is or isn’t spiritual. Just write down what’s fun for you.  Take some risks!

Now it’s time to read your list out loud with friends. I won’t dilute your experience by trying to describe how liberating this can be. There’s something about doing this kind of exercise in a group that fosters not only mutual acceptance but self-acceptance.  If you’re doing this exercise by yourself, read it out loud to yourself. You may already notice a transformation.  If not, put your definitions away in a drawer for several days. Then, choose a moment when you’re feeling good about yourself and the world. Take your list out and read it again.  Do you notice any shifts in perception?

Also keep in mind that perhaps you’re doing some things that are NOT fun for you out of a sense of obligation. If you reprioritize your time to include more of the items from your fun list, you’ll have less time to think about the obligations that may be bogging you down.  Having fun is part of being spiritual. Sometimes we just need a new perspective on it.  And sometimes we just need to give ourselves permission.  Join us this month as we explore together the wonders and blessings of Fun!    Many Blessings,  Rev. Suzette