GROUPLOVE couldn’t have said it better than my own Spirit trying to wake me up with a good smack of honest truth to the face. Music has that third party way of mediating between us and our Egos – allowing the truth to slyly sneak in. Grouplove presents the perfect non-threatening and playful energy for “Feed Your Spirit” as we delicately confront ourselves about bigger issues within. Like Bishop Robert Barron has pointed out many times, “The beautiful sends you on a mission” as in, out of the 3 Transcendentals of the Catholic faith, BEAUTY is the one that lures us in ever so easily, and inspires us to seek more. I have used things like Music, Nature, Cathedrals, Beaches, Iconic places in Los Angeles, and so forth to feed myself the truth and goodness in ways that were welcoming, loving, attractive, and inspiring. Much of this journey has been through the BEAUTY of what I craved to feel and know so that I could grow a stronger relationship with myself, with people, community, vocation and finally see that it was all God-led and God-centered.
We come to this page with the understanding that we are always going to be a work in progress versus we are a work in progress. It never ends! And that is a positive note, because as we feed the self with writing, prayer, travel, goodness, literature, service orgs, and so on, we naturally shed the parts of us that need to go. It’s like running a marathon with no water, or salt tablets, or music, or things to look at it – much harder right!? But when we accompany this journey of life with the people, places and things that feed our spirit, we are more inclined to KEEP learning and KEEP growing.
In the darkest of times, it is easy to detect what feeds our spirit because in those suffering moments we are open to ANYTHING to lift us up. But what about after you recover? What about those transitional chapters in-between your successes? We must still have our tool kit of a faith-encouraging atmosphere ready no matter where we turn, travel to, or live. No matter what phase, period of life, path, or time we are in, the YOU that is motivated, dreaming, excited, and waking up ready for the day, needs constant inspiration to keep fueling the energy to keep cultivating the YOU you crave to be deep down. We are all craving the same thing, and it is here that you can practice that effort, with me, your running partner and faith-filled friend.
“Feed Your Spirit” is sometimes as easy as a place you go to when you need a boost in the right direction, or it’s a pat on the back of affirmation from a book you just read. I have compiled and categorized all the best places, best secrets, most comforting and warm atmospheres, suggestive challenges, and maybe a few nights of embedded whiskey and billiards. Either way, one of these topics will speak to you and hit you with the honest food for your current state of being. There are days when we think a run will cure the funky negative or self-conscious morning we are experiencing, but often it might just be surrounding ourselves with an environment we’ve already been subconsciously thinking about, and just needed a friend to tell us that it already exists! The following places and activities will provide rest to that anxiety of your wrestling heart and maybe catapult you into praying more, meditating, researching scripture, connecting more with your loved ones, pilgrimages of travel, and overall all into a much more open hearted person who is ready to seize the goodness that surrounds already. Simply scroll and peruse the links below. Maybe one of them will speak to you and excite you! These are all places that have helped me throughout my journey and encouraged me to bravely stay the path of fearlessly evolving!
