There’s plenty of fodder out there in the news cycle to read. What is going to happen now that the Hillary Clinton Email issue has been set to rest? What outrageous thing is Donald Trump going to say tonight in order to grab tomorrow morning’s headlines? Is Jill Stein really a worthy Presidential candidate? What about the upcoming Major League Baseball All-Star lineup? Did the right players get voted in? Who got snubbed by the vote? Will the movie “The Secret Life of Pets” be a box office hit or flop?

Lots of stories, opinions, and editorial commentary to read. Enough to spend your entire day in front of the computer screen. Enough for someone to forget about the true devotional service that they agreed to with certain Gods and Goddesses. Yes, it is important to read the news from time to time – keeping up on current events that are going on around you is an important part of being connected with a particular area of the world around. But so is morning devotionals. So is spending time outside in the yard, getting the earth underneath your feet. So is time in meditation.

Maintaining a daily practice can be tough. The news cycle beckons. Television programs that entertain and distract are just a channel click away. And sometimes those meditations can be so tedious. Yeah, I totally grok that.

Been there. Even quite recently. Its easy to get caught up in the wash of the news, the desire to sit back and totally veg out in front of the TV, or get completely lost in a good book. The hard part?  Getting back into that cycle you stepped off of.

After all, it was such a nice stopping point, right? You could take your eyes off the ball for a short while. Just relax. No need to place such intense focus on stuff like meditations, or getting that morning devotional picture-perfect-correct. But really, there’s a problem that is going to creep back in. Its the attitude. Yes, the attitude.

See, morning devotionals are not meant to be work. Its your recognition, and respect for a particular God or Goddess. Its your statement that you are willing to be there for particular workings for Them. The devotional is not work. Its a statement. The Gods will let you know when They have need of you. That’s where the work comes in, and that is for a different, but related, post. Back to this not being “work”….

One’s Spiritual beliefs are what they are. What you believe is what you believe. I happen to believe in the Gods and Goddesses. You – whoever might be reading this – may have a belief in something different, or even nothing at all. But whatever the case may be, it shouldn’t be “work” – at least in my opinion. Being in your element Spiritually is something that should feel natural, and welcoming to you. Don’t mistake what I am saying though. Growing in your Spirituality is, and should be, work to one degree or another. That’s actually important. Growing is about stretching your Spiritual muscles, and much like physical muscles, there’s work to be done for that to happen. But just being who you are Spiritually? That should be as natural and comfortable as your skin.

So what has happened with me?? Well, I realized that I can’t always make my devotional schedule every single day. Sometimes, the paying job gets in the way. After all, the bills still have to get paid. And I do like to eat. And sometimes, Life just gets in the way too. And as much as I enjoy being a Solitary practitioner – my family (DNA and otherwise) are a part of who I am. No matter how much I may disagree with them on various issues. So, I try to be diligent about my morning devotionals. And I try not to beat myself up when I miss a day or two for whatever reason. I am quite sure that the Gods and Goddesses can understand when things happen (and when They might be the cause of that mischief and mayhem for their own momentary enjoyment). Plus, as I am not so strident about formal ritual – I have started to realize I can be impromptu about the timing of my devotionals as well. Sometimes, these can happen in the moonlight – rather than when the sun rises.

I’m a Pagan. I’m a Polytheist. And as I am starting to find out, I’m probably a Celt to some degree as well. But I am also flexible. I am not so rigid in what I believe, and what I practice, that my Spirituality becomes “work” instead of being a part of me. And as I grow, and “work” towards where I am striving to be within that framework of Spirituality — I am learning that I have to be flexible with gaining and understanding that growth as well. I am not a fundamentalist to the core. Things do not *have* to be a certain way at a certain time. if I wanted that kind of rote existence, I would have stayed in Catholicism. 🙂  YMMV