I make no claim to be a great guitarist or even above average. But I do want to improve.
To that end, last February, I began an online guitar learning program. Each weekday, I receive a bite-sized lesson that asks only 10 minutes of practice time. If I want to practice longer, I can. The power of the program is that it is habit based. Small, repeated behaviors accumulate into significant progress.
There are some other learning tools, but this is the core.
I assume that most of you reading this article have a relationship with the focus of your faith or, if not, are curious about what such a relationship might mean for your life. I also assume that most of the former already devote at least 10 minutes a day to some sort of devotional, prayer, faith-based reading or combination thereof. You know the benefits of such a habit. For the latter, I recommend giving such daily practice a try.
At the end of last year, my guitar course suggested an exercise called Guitar North Star. For one week, we were given daily questions, the answers to which might help us ascertain what guides us in our quest for guitar improvement. Because this popped up between Christmas and Epiphany, my thoughts immediately went to a different star that guided some folks from the east who were searching for “the child who has been born king of the Jews.” (Mt 2:2). That led me to wonder, what guiding ‘star’ do we follow to find what we seek in our lives of faith?
Would the questions in my Guitar North Star exercise benefit us as we seek to improve our relationship with the divine?
Here are some questions I adapted from the Guitar North Star for five days of journaling. If you’re willing to give it a try, grab a pen and paper (or crank up the computer).
Day One: Why do I want to improve my relationship with the focus of my faith? What is the real reason I seek a spiritual life? Repeat those questions and see if you can find even deeper motivations and reasons.
Day Two: What experiences do I hope to have as my relationship improves? Pretend you can have anything you want and as many different experiences you desire.
Day Three: How might developing a stronger relationship help me grow? What growth do I desire?
Day Four: How do I want my relationship with the focus of my faith to contribute to others? How might my journey benefit others. Who would I like to impact? Family? Friends? Coworkers? Strangers?
Day Five: Take your sheets, fold them and place them with your devotionals. Whenever you feel like you’re in the wilderness or your efforts seem in vain, take out your journal and read your answers to remind yourself what is important to you. You may even be surprised that some of your desires are being fulfilled.
Now, I guess I better get started.
