October 17: Day 109

STONE THREE CONTINUED
Question: I question every experience, all information, personal motives — mine and others — including the ideas presented by The Religious Recovery Program.

Instruction: Be Inquisitive.

When we meet someone we think we might be interested in romantically, one of our natural instincts is to be inquisitive. Our initial attraction may have been a physical one, but soon after, we find we want to know more about them. Who are they? Where are they from? What are their beliefs? We are looking for love, and there are things about that person that we want to know. When we get down to it, what we are looking for is also compatibility. This is achieved more often through the things we have in common instead of the opposites that supposedly attract us to one another. We begin questioning and observing, and we allow the same questions and act of observing to be done to us. We want to know, but we also want to be known. Love is being able to know another person and love them for who and what they are, but it is also knowing that, at our worst, we will still be loved by them.

When it comes to our spiritual journey, the same inquisitive, probing state of mind is appropriate. Not only do we want to find a religious and spiritual path in which we feel loved, but we also want to find a path that does not judge us, place guilt on us (we do a good enough job of that on our own), or condemn us if we disagree with them. It is important to ask as many questions as we want, because our plan is to give our hearts, our minds, and our love to this journey It is critically important to know for certain, that as much as is humanly possible, our faith will not be abused. It is also important to remember that people make mistakes, and that, ultimately, we are responsible for the spiritual road we follow — or the one we pave.

As you consider your spiritual journey today, think of the analogy of seeking a soulmate. Does this path resonate with your spirit? Does it bring love, joy, and peace into your life? Does it compliment your strengths and give guidance for your weaknesses? Do you look forward to being on this spiritual journey with the people who you meet and share your heart with?