Freeing the Creative Spirit
"This practice is unfailingly reliable when we need to re-center ourselves in God's love. Since the spiritual journey tends to take us through stages of centering, de-centering, and re-centering, a practice that brings us back to the center is invaluable. Here is what you do:
"Think back over your life, reflecting on people who have played a loving role in your life. Think of them as gift givers, and list them as they come to mind. Perhaps one of these gift givers helped you just by listening to you, while another gave you wise advice, and someone else said something beautiful or inspiring that you will never forget. If a child made something for you, be sure to include him or her, as well as people of all ages. It may be that some of the people on your list never knew that they gave you their love, and there may be people whom you met only once.
"Keep in mind that people with the least material wealth may have the most to give away. (Elders sometimes belong in this category.) Maybe a person who belongs on your list opened a door for you to a better job or improved a relationship, or provided an opportunity for you to know yourself better, find your worth, get in touch with your real values, or to forgive or repent. One of the most important goals of this exercise is to discover what a large number of people have cared for you and served your needs.
"When you prepare your list, write down the person's name, your age at the time, where you were, and what the gift was. When you have ten gift givers on your list, you may realize that there are many more people whom you could add. I suggest that you stop for now, as you have completed only the first half of the practice. You can always come back to it again and again.
"Make a new list. This time, look back over your life for ten occasions when you were the gift giver, recording the name of the person, your age at the time, the place, and a word or two to describe the gift. Allow yourself to open your heart widely and see how much you have given to others, possibly without realizing it.
"When you complete the two lists, reflect on the meaning of these events. What have you learned from this exercise?
"Bring the practice to a close by spending a few minutes in prayer, thanking God for the twenty men, women, and children whom you have remembered today, and for the grace of being a gift giver yourself."
