From knitting to walking, people find ways to enhance spiritual life

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This article was published 05/02/2022 (1340 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Do you play Wordle? More and more people do. For many, it’s become a daily ritual, a few minutes respite from this pandemic life.

When people of faith think of rituals, they tend to think of things like prayer, pilgrimage, reading religious texts. But other repeated activities can also enhance spiritual life.

Seeing the popularity of Wordle made me wonder what other rituals people are engaging in to help get them through this trying time. I posed that question on Facebook and got many answers.

Knitting came up several times.

“Knitting is my meditation,” said Kathie Gillis. “I do it many times a day. I weave intention into each stitch. If it’s a gift for someone, each stitch has a mantra for them, like a prayer. From pandemic perspective it keeps me connected to the recipient, as well as feeling productive outside of my job.”

At the same time, “the repetitive motion keeps me in constant meditation, which also allows the freedom to keep the person in my thoughts and send blessings, intentions of healing, abundance, deservedness,” she said.

Added Susan Warkentin: “I love knitting very simple designs and I have taken to knitting prayer shawls for people going through difficulties. It gives me purpose while also giving me time to think and pray for the person I am knitting the shawl for.”

Walking was also popular.

“My husband and I pray while we are walking, and since often in the park it’s lovely and quiet,” said Val Pierce, adding that during their walks they pray for their family, friends and the world.

“We pray about the divisions that are currently growing more deeply entrenched, for our leaders, people who are particularly stressed right now,” she said.

For Haide Wall Giesbrecht, walking in nature is a way to restore her soul.

“I find my spiritual well-being and my emotional well-being improves when I’m in nature,” she said. “I see God’s beauty and wonder at creation through the lens of my camera. It honestly has been a sanity-saver.”

Before the pandemic, Patricia Paddey used to commute to work. Now she works from home, like many others. For exercise and quiet she likes to walk.

“The walking helps purge stress at the end of the day, wake me up at the beginning of the day, and push away from my desk for some fresh perspective in the middle of the day,” she said.

“In terms of affecting me spiritually I would say that I firmly believe we are created body, mind and spirit — the whole package. So if we work to keep the body healthy, then the mind and spirit will benefit. Getting out in nature soothes my spirit and lets me notice God’s handiwork in meaningful ways. The walk helps me process stuff that needs processing.”

For Rob Robotham, walking provides time to pray. “I’m realizing I need God more than ever and that prayer is really important,” he said. “I feel very grounded after doing this.”

Some people, like Laura Marie Piotrowicz, combine jigsaw puzzles and prayer.

“I do intentional prayer over puzzles,” she said, adding “with the intensity of information and uncertainties in the world at large, I have been using puzzles as a means to filter out some of the noise.”

When she does what she calls “prayerful puzzling,” she turns off her phone, lights a candle, reads an opening prayer and a passage of scripture, usually from the daily lectionary.

“I then reflect on that scripture while I am doing the puzzle,” she said. “The puzzle itself is almost like a fidget device, using the part of my brain that is stimulated, and over-stimulated, by the busy-ness of the world, while allowing the more contemplative part of my brain the space, and grace, to delve deeper into prayer.”

After a period of time — she doesn’t set a timer — Piotrowicz gently comes out of the meditative space with a closing prayer.

Doug Koop uses crossword puzzles to cope with daily stresses.

They are, he said, “a form of distraction or retreat from the cares of the moment … they offer a ready retreat from daily stresses. The pastime calms my spirit, focusing my intellect on an abstract problem while another part of my mind floats, my emotions settle, and I gain better perspective on the agitations of the day. Escape? Perhaps. Uplifting? Often.”

Jerrad Peters and Nicolas Greco have been participating in an online daily mass through the pandemic.

“It has connected me with an ‘imagined community of faith,’ said Greco, “all coming together at the same time to watch the same thing. It has been constant in this turbulent time.

Other things that came up were baking, making music, journaling, centering prayer, reading, morning prayers.

As for me, it’s daily walking year-round and biking from spring to fall that’s been getting me through the pandemic. What rituals are helping you?

faith@freepress.mb.ca

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