The Holiness of Everything

“Human beings may separate things into as many piles as we wish - separating spirit from flesh, sacred from secular, church from world. But we should not be surprised when God does not recognise the distinctions we make between the two. Earth is so thick with divine possibility that it is a wonder we can walk anywhere without cracking our shins on altars.”

Wrote Barbara Brown Taylor in her book, An Altar in the World.

It seems that holiness and humanity couldn’t be further apart from each other. Whole faith traditions and church services and spiritual conferences are focused on purification rituals - things we can do and become to once again unite with holiness. But then, those traditions themselves tend to keep its subjects in a loop of achieving and proving and striving... attaining holiness for a moment, only to lose it, and be chasing it again. God chasers was a ‘thing’ when I was growing up - the idea was that we were to be people who chased God...

But how can you chase a God who longs to be found? A God who finds itself in humanity at every opportunity? At every moment? Through all things and all people? In burning bushes (yesterday's post) and sunrises and ocean and music and film and love and faith and hope a smile from a stranger and the breeze blowing through your window and the smell of your grandmother's apple pie that she bakes every year as summer hardens into autumn?

“Human beings may separate things” - we may separate the human and the holy, but God never has. “Earth [and our bodies and lives and hearts and situations] are so thick with divine possibility that it's a wonder we can walk anywhere without cracking our shins on altars.”

Dear one, you don’t have to chase God to find god, you don't have to achieve or earn or prove or work to become holy.

God has already found you (you’ve never actually been lost), and holiness is your base note - the foundation, the fabric of which you were woven together within your mother's womb (what a holy place to be made). Divine possibility is the air we breathe, the earth we walk on, the skin we touch, the blood in our veins.

If you can’t seem to place your memory of these truths, stop looking outside of yourself for the proof and validation, and instead, look within.

Rumi said:

“There is a force within, which gives you life – seek That.
In your body lies a priceless gem – seek That.
…if you want to find the greatest treasure
Don’t look outside, look inside, and seek That.”

When Moses came upon a burning bush while he was out looking after his sheep and discovered that God was speaking to him in the midst of this shrub aflame, God said to him:

“Don’t come any closer. Remove your sandals from your feet. You’re standing on holy ground.”*

I think it had less to do with propriety and more to do with the nature of holiness. Holiness doesn’t need you dressed in your best, your shoes clean and polished, your clothes fresh from the wash. Holiness meets you when you’ve been looking after sheep for days in the middle of the desert covered in dirt and earth with knotted hair and grubby skin.

Holiness says,

"Don’t hide that from me. Bring it in close. Let me be with you as you are. You don’t need to wear your shoes to tread here. It is safe."

In some sections of the Christian tradition, sacredness is elevated to a position beyond the self... we have to leave our bodies, our desires, our situations and thoughts and ways and words, and even our homes and jobs and streets and neighbourhoods, and go somewhere more holy, profess holier things, think holier thoughts, do holier deeds, wear our holy clothes, buttoned right up to the top, shoes shined, hiding all our bruises and scars and hurts and hang-ups. That's the place holiness has been shoved.

But all along, since the beginning, even here and now in this, holiness is breaking free from the shackles of perfection and is burning in our deserts and streets and homes, lighting the way, illuminating the fact that all we need to do, to find holiness, become holiness, enter into holiness, is remember that

we
already
are.

Mindful Prompt: Close your eyes and focus on your breath. Draw it deep into your belly, connecting with the core and foundation of who you are. As you breathe in, imagine the word “Holy” and as you breathe out, speak it out with your breath.

(This post is an excerpt from The Practice Co App series called "The Holiness of Everything", available to download for iOS and Android! It includes daily devotionals, phone wallpapers, a daily mindful prompt and more. Start with a “non-auto-subscribe” free trial (I’m not a fan of apps that do that!) or choose a subscription to get access to new daily devotions and series as they come out.)

Much love from  Liz Milani.
Instagram: @thepracticeco