When you awaken to your spiritual life you enter the fullness of life--a fullness that's not outside you, but inside you and all around you. And you'll find that you're not hiding yourself away in some interior cul de sac, avoiding the demands of daily obligations and roles. Spirituality is not navel-gazing; it involves you in the whole.
image by John Ragai
The heart is the abode of God . . . not exclusively, of course. The whole earth is full of the glory of God. But our bodies, our beings, our lives are a shrine. And when the light of God shines from within us, all things around us are affected.
The Butterfly Effect, or the ripple effect a single butterfly's wing movements on the whole cosmos, is now common science. It shouldn't surprise us then to hear St. Seraphim of Sarov say, "Acquire inner peace, and thousands around you will find their salvation." It's one thing to hear such words coming from a monk. It's quite another to hear them coming from someone like Dag Hammarskjold, General Secretary of the United Nations (1953-1961), and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize (1961).
Hammarskjold said, "Understand through the stillness. Act out of the stillness. Conquer in the stillness."
This was spoken by someone deeply involved in global politics and who lived a very busy and demanding life.
"Acquire inner peace." St. Seraphim of Sarov
"Act out of the stillness." Dag Hammarskjold
"The Reign of God is within you." Jesus
From this inner stillness, our outer actions acquire a power that affects not only our lives but those around us.