In Episode 45 of the 1life podcast, host Behka White discusses the concept of self-renewal, particularly focusing on spiritual renewal. She defines the spirit as the nonphysical part of a person, the seat of emotions and character, and emphasizes the importance of nurturing this aspect of ourselves. Behka references Stephen Covey's 7th habit, "Sharpen the Saw," which advocates for a balanced approach to self-renewal in four areas: physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual.
The episode then delves into spiritual renewal, highlighting five ways to connect with a higher power: service, values clarification, inspirational literature, meditation, and nature. Behka focuses on the aspect of service, explaining how serving others can be spiritually renewing, even when it's physically or emotionally demanding. She suggests that all individuals are already engaged in service in various capacities, such as through family, work, or community involvement.
The key message is to recognize and acknowledge the service we are already doing and approach it with a mindful awareness of its spiritual dimension. Behka encourages listeners to view their service as a form of ministry, attending to the needs of others with compassion and understanding. By embracing this perspective, we can find spiritual fulfillment and renewal in our everyday acts of service.
Welcome to the One Life Podcast with Becca White. I am your host and this is episode 45 Self Renewal. Since Sundays are dedicated to spiritual awareness and growth, I thought we'd begin with a definition. The spirit is defined as the non-physical part of a person which is the seat of emotions and character, also called the soul. In the seven habits of highly effective people, Dr. Stephen R. Covey's seventh habit is "sharpen the saw." He says, "Sharpen the saw means preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have, which is you. It means having a balanced program for self-renewal in the four areas of your life—physical, social-emotional, mental, and spiritual. As you renew yourself in the four areas, you create growth and change in your life. Sharpen the saw keeps you fresh so that you can increase your capacity to produce and handle the challenges around you. Without this renewal, the body becomes weak, the mind mechanical, the emotions raw, the spirit insensitive, and the person selfish. Not a pretty picture, is it? Renewal is the principle and the process that empowers us to move on an upward spiral of growth and change, of continuous improvement." Covey suggests we renew ourselves daily in the four areas of life. Today, we are focusing on spiritual renewal. So how do we renew our spirit? We renew our spirit by connecting to and with the source of life, our higher power. Covey suggests five ways to do this. Service, values clarification, inspirational literature, meditation, and nature. Of course, there are endless additional ways, and you are probably already doing many of them. Today, I want to focus on service. Service doesn't always feel like renewal because it can be physically exhausting, mentally taxing, and emotionally draining, but it is spiritually renewing. How can this be? Jesus said, "Inasmuch, as ye have done it unto the least of these, ye have done it unto me." Whenever we serve, we are connecting to God and to our brothers and sisters here. Today's invitation is not to do more service because I know you are already doing service in your life. If you are married, you serve your spouse. If you are a parent, your whole existence is spent serving your precious people. If you teach, you serve your students. If you coach, you serve your athletes. Every person is serving in some capacity. Today's invitation is to recognize and name the service you are currently doing in your life, and then do it with an eye toward God. Here, we can find spiritual renewal. I propose, additionally, that your service is your ministry. Ministering is learning of and attending to others' needs. We all have a ministry that we are called to in our families, in our communities, in our workplaces, in our social settings. My hope for you is that you may find spiritual renewal in your service, in your ministry. We only get one life. Let's make it our best. [BLANK_AUDIO]
