In the first quarter of the 21st century, there continues to be much turmoil in the world including disturbing trends in economic disparity, religious conflict, political unrest, and spiritual yearning.听 In spite of living in Victoria, one of the world鈥檚 most desirable communities, there is no way to avoid the pervasive angst that fills the daily newscasts.听 In our own village, we witness the depersonalizing effects of poverty, homelessness, addiction and violence.听 Left unhealed, these maladies can become dehumanizing and affect us personally as we become demoralized and pessimistic about how to make things better.听 Then we withdraw and things get worse.
听I would wager that there are many people like myself, who are retired (or thinking about retirement), or perhaps are still busily engaged in making a living, who ponder the notion of 鈥渕aking a meaningful life鈥�.听 Is this the life I intended?
In her book The Age of Active Wisdom, Mary Catherine Bateson听 (Alfred A. Knopf. 2010, New York, N.Y.)听 makes an interesting observation:
鈥�(As we get older)鈥 think the religious thing is a factor with many people, even if they don鈥檛 go to church 鈥� the Day of Judgment.听 Maybe it鈥檚 not about going to hell or to heaven, but there will be some sort of judgment made on your life.听 鈥榃hat did your life mean?听 What did you do?鈥欌�澨�
For many who have stopped claiming a particular religious affiliation, those known as 鈥渟piritual but not religious鈥� SBNR (The Times 91原创, Nov. 09, 2013), there remains a spiritual yearning to find meaning in life.听 SBNRs choose not to have that meaning dictated by a religious dogma. Nonetheless, they continue to search for a meaningful connection to their 鈥渋nward self鈥�, their diverse neighbors, or life work. 听Each seeks a sense of the eternal, or 鈥渨hat endures鈥�, or the meaning of this life in some aspect of their life 鈥� a career, helping worthy causes, artful expression, parenthood, volunteering, etc.
For many years I have followed a personal journal method that I took up early in my career as a United Methodist Minister.听 Yes pastors, Rabbis, Imam鈥檚 and priests also struggle with these very human doubts and yearnings for a meaningful life.听 Through the journaling method I found that achieving a sense of my vocation is inseparable from an I and Thou (Martin Buber) connectedness to my friends and family, my work, and my community.听 It turns out that these relationships are major components of my primary work of art 鈥� my own life.听 In my personal, spiritual reflection, I sense something left to be done with my life.听 I cannot imagine a better place (here) or time (now) to seize that opportunity.
So, in the new year of 2014, I am renewing an old 鈥渧ocation鈥�. 听Retirement was good, but there is some 鈥渕ission鈥� remaining in me. 听I vision an opportunity to explore some new, imaginative means of engaging those I know in my village in a spiritual exploration. Beyond the limits of 鈥渘ever enough money鈥�, there await more imaginative ways of addressing the physical and spiritual needs of our fellow Victoria citizens. With the imagination of both the unimpoverished, as well as those of great need, we can do better.听 Surely there are creative ideas beyond the box of economic strictures.
Solving the world鈥檚 problems begins with my own, including my relationships with those in my village.
W.H. Bill Israel is a Community Sabbaticant working on a Fellowship project at The Centre for Studies in Religion and Society at the University of Victoria.听 He is a former Chair of the Board of Directors for the United Way of Greater Victoria and an ordained United Methodist minister.
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