“You can preach a better sermon with your life than with your lips.”
—Oliver Goldsmith
 

irst, you’ll need to identify the life you want to compose a sermon around.

What does that life look like?

What’s happening? Who’s there? Where are you? What are you saying, doing, and (most importantly) being? How are you holding your body? How are you dressed? How are you moving? How do others interact with you? How do they perceive you? What does your typical day look like?

In this life, how are you feeling? How do you see the world? What are your thoughts like? What do you imagine is possible?

If you’re finding yourself thinking, “The life I want is the life I have,” my encouragement to you is to stretch yourself just a little bit more. I know the “spiritually correct” answer is “what I’ve got is perfect,” but as much as that is 100% true, I would also suggest to you that either you’re growing and developing or you’re stagnating and dying. There’s always a way to step into what’s uncomfortable – if only to see what arises in the process.

If you’re finding yourself drawing a blank, please consider that the voices may be at play. They’d love to block you from seeing anything that could help you. Perhaps you’ve never dreamed of what you want. Maybe you’ve never been allowed to imagine and create. Perhaps you’ve just taken and done what’s been presented to you along the way through life – moving from stimulus to opportunity without much deliberate intention.

If you’re feeling discouragement, then for sure the voices are front-and-center. They’re probably screaming, “It’s impossible, why bother? it’s too late, look at how old you are already, this isn’t for you, it’s too painful to think about…” Keep going. You’ll be fine. Resistance is normal.

If you were able to see that life worthy of a sermon, then consider the steps you’ll need to take to close the gap between where you are now and where you want to be. Imagine HOW you will need to show up to fulfill this life. WHO will you need to be?

Remember, it’s not the end result that matters in this sermon, or what you have to say about it, but rather everything you’ll need to call forth from within you: The parts of you who are excited, enthusiastic, creative, skillful, talented, beautiful, compassionate, wise, centered, and joyful. It’ll also be about all the voices you’ll need to set aside to move forward, to lift off without their weight – to gain velocity!

This is the beauty of spiritual practice.