Reverence

According to the online dictionary, the definition of reverence is -

1. a feeling or attitude of profound respect, usually reserved for the sacred or divine.

I used to believe that reverence was something that was confined to church meetings and the teachings of Jesus. Or that it was a word used to describe our feelings toward our elders. While both of these are certainly true, lately I've been discovering the word's meaning at a more grass roots level. I've been bringing it into my day to day life and making it my mantra.

To treat everything with reverence is to turn mundane tasks into tasks full of love and beauty. Washing dishes, hanging out clothes, bathing the children, cooking dinner, gardening, mopping, cleaning the bathroom, buying groceries, decorating our home, helping with homework... The list is endless. If we think about what we are trying to achieve with each task - usually organisation, domestic harmony, cleanliness and beauty etc - we can see that the outcome should be positive. By thinking reverently and putting love into our actions, our happy outcomes are certainly guaranteed.

In our little home, we show reverence at dinner time by lighting a candle and giving thanks for our food. We end our meal by blowing out the candle and giving thanks for our fire light. Just a small gesture, but it is teaching the children that dinner time is not just another hour of the day, but a time to reflect and to honour the food we have been graciously given.

On a larger scale, we honour and revere our bodies by being thoughtful of what we consume. I make clear and conscious choices about what food I purchase for my family - where it is from, how it was made, how close to nature it is etc. In a similar way, we show reverence to Mother Earth by keeping our carbon footprint as small as possible. These two examples show reverence in it's most raw form - respecting the sacred and divine. And what could be more sacred or divine than our bodies and Mother Earth?

It takes a small change of thought, and a desire to want to live a life of beauty before true reverence takes hold. For many, this kind of thinking might be akin to looking at the world through rose coloured glasses. For me, it is my way of creating the harmony, the balance, the love and the respect I need to make my life, one of complete beauty.