For centuries we have known that mankind has been seeking a closeness with the Divine, a supreme being, a creator whether through the calling of God (Yahweh), Jehovah, Adonai, Allah, Abba Father, Buddha, El Shaddai, or Baha’i, to name a few. Countless deities help us deepen our understanding of man’s spiritual journey and our place in the universe.
My journey toward God has led me to years of searching and reflecting through life’s daily challenges, brokenness, and joys. What has brought me to this place in my life is the depth of my life experiences and relationships. Many of those relationships have come and gone swiftly, some stayed a while before moving on, and then there have been a few that have remained close and constant. All have clarified who I am and my place in this world and supported me in my journey to self-realization (for better or worse.)
While I make every effort to live each day in gratitude and joy, the daily events in our communities and around the globe are often filled with conflict, hate, terror, and abuse that cannot be unseen or denied. Those of us who seek hope and long for world peace and harmony struggle to find those connections that lead to meaning, understanding, and compassion. A longing for that meaning has been a way of life for me and has taken on hundreds of ways both personally and in my life’s work, or what I would like to call my last 20 years of “service/ministry.”
As a woman of deep faith in God and humankind, serving the “other” supported my desire to seek connections and understanding and draw on those connections to build inner strength and empathy toward the world and the events around me. What I have learned from service/ministry, especially with young adults, is that they too are seekers of the Divine, seekers of purpose, of meaning and that they care about the “other” in such a way that they make choices to be in the world as people who will step up and be counted. They are not afraid of tomorrow but take a deep dive into “being the change that they seek in the world” (Mahatma Gandhi, 1913). Their resilience, empathy, and strength come from the “other” by reaching out and giving selflessly in love. They want to be that one person in their community and world who can be counted on to care for their neighbours. It teaches them wisdom and it opens their eyes and hearts to find their purpose. It connects them with the Divine in gratitude. Through their hope, I am hopeful; by their belief in humanity, I am a believer; and through their life force, I am ignited to live gratefully, even amidst life’s tragedies, turmoil, and disappointments.
Through the years, I have found ways to connect to the Divine through quiet moments of reflection, prayer, dialogue with self, and with soul/spirit. . . All these connections have given me hope and have increased the strength of my resilience to the world as we/I have experienced it.
Patricia J. Moran has a certificate in Spiritual Direction from a program called RUAH, Hebrew for the Breath of the Spirit. It is rooted in the desert Ammas/mothers and Abba/Father reminding each of us of the physicalness of God’s presence in the world.
Her Spiritual Direction ministry is in Brookline, PA. She is open to phone, online, or in-person sessions. pjmoran53@gmail.com, 412-334-4746