The Meditation Project

I recently watched the movie, “Julie & Julia” (a 30 year old woman named Julie blogs about cooking every recipe in Julia Child’s book “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” within one year). It is one of the few times I can say that I liked the movie better than the book. The risk, commitment and joy that the movie portrayed in Julia Child’s life inspired me.

“Julie & Julia” has me thinking about finding mid-life meaning as Julia Child was 36 when she learned to cook! I turn 40 this summer and hitting that milestone makes you think: “So… this is what I’ve done so far” and “Am I living the life I want to live?” My answers have mainly been positive. But like most of us, I was hoping for more incredible accomplishments, amazing feats of character… then I remind myself that it is really the steady, day-in and day-out actions that get you somewhere.

The blog in the movie made me remember that I have an unrealized commitment. George Anderson, Head Pastor at my church, Second Presbyterian, asked me to start a blog that linked to the church web site. He asked me to write about my faith life in general – whatever I wanted to write about.

“Julie & Julia” helped me begin by giving me the idea to write about a specific task or goal. What do I want to “master”? I would like to master the art of “showing up” consistently for the spiritual life. After all, if you don’t show up you can’t even begin to accomplish anything. Also I have been interested in starting a meditation practice for a while, hoping for a way to deepen my experience with God. So, my chosen task is daily Christian meditation. I will have to figure out exactly what that means as I go along through research and trial and error.

How will my life change if I do this? Will I suddenly be overtaken by joy? I am pretty sure the answer to that is no- I expect there to be plenty of stops and starts in this process. But eventually, will I have more patience with my kids? Will I become a more disciplined spiritual person? Will I find that I am calmer and more centered? Will I find a new joyful attitude? I wonder. I pray and hope that this will bear good fruit.

If you would like to share your experiences or ponder questions - please respond as conversation is welcome. I will post weekly by Monday morning.

Rhesa Bailey