I've already told you that I'm not spiritual, which I think is important, particularly because it manages your expectations. I couldn't very well start a spiritual journey already somewhat spiritual. That would be a very short journey. By starting this spiritual journey at the bottom, I'm giving myself nowhere to go but up. Which is a good thing.
I like Sister Wendy, and I feel unbelievably thankful that I had the chance to actually speak to her, and I have a sneaking suspicion that my thankfulness will only intensify as I get older / wiser / more spiritual. That said, I have a confession to make. I haven't been praying. I'm sorry.
But that's not all. I woke up this morning, and it occurred to me that I hadn't really done one consciously spiritual thing all week. Not really a good start.
So, what is an easy way to be spiritual?
Well, for a hot second, I almost went along with my own hare-brained scheme of not telling a single lie for a week straight, and then I realized that I would get fired and/or have no friends. Not exactly a spiritual sacrifice I was willing to make.
But, being honest made me think of Johnmcd72, and the fact that all he asked of me was that I be honest with all of you. And that seemed fair. If I couldn't be honest with my co-workers ("Good Morning! How are you?" "Terrible. I hate today."), or my boss ("Do you mind staying late?" "Yes."), or my friends ("Did you like my new boyfriend?" "No."), I could, at the very least, be honest to you.
When I was first asked to write this column, I thought that perhaps the HuffPo gods had confused me with someone else. Maybe my sister. This is much more her type of thing. Yoga. Silent meditation retreats. Weird cleanse-y fasts. All good things, but all not my things. And then I realized, if this were my type of thing, it would be a relatively boring column. The fun seems to be found in the newness of the experience, and in my sincere reaction. And this is where we come back to being honest.
Thanks for calling me out, Johnmcd72. I think I can safely admit that, subconsciously or not, I had no intention of being honest. I had every intention of being cynical (still likely), sarcastic (no avoiding that), and relatively superficial (I'll do my best...). My honest (in keeping with the theme) assumption was that this spiritual journey was going to take me nowhere, so I was perfectly content to have to make it up. (My forte is fiction).
And here is where I've already proven myself wrong, because it seems I've already gotten somewhere; I now have no intention of making anything up. If all someone was asking of me was honesty, I couldn't very well lie my way through a spiritual journey, could I?
Let me tell you one thing: There is nothing more difficult for me than to write something personal in a public forum.
But there it is. My first (baby) step in this journey: I'm being honest with you about the fact that I was not going to be honest at all.
And really, now that I've successfully managed your expectations, I don't even have to get very far to have this journey considered a success! (Just kidding.) (Sort of.)