Kitchen Sink Spirituality

"LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you guard all that is mine." - Psalm 16:5

I discovered this little spiritual exercise in My Monastery is a Minivan (the book I keep mentioning by Denise Roy). It's something you can do first thing in the morning at the kitchen sink. All you need is a small empty bowl which you will slowly fill to the brim with running water. You turn the water on so that just a tiny steady stream comes out and then proceed to let the water slowly fill up your bowl.

"As the bowl fills, you reflect on the particulars of your life, whatever they are. The people with whom you share your time, your state of health, whatever problems you face, what skills and strengths you have, your disappointments and successes, your worries, your personal gifts, your personal limitations, your home, all your possessions, your losses, your history as a human being. As the bowl fills, you receive your life openheartedly and unconditionally as your portion."

When the bowl is full, you can simply set it next to the sink or on the windowsill over the sink as a reminder throughout the day. At the end of the day, pour out the water and set the bowl upside down on the counter as "a process of letting go, of waiting until the morning light to once again receive all that life holds."

"The kitchen sink is as good a place as any to begin a daily practice. Given that we spend more time there than we do many other places in our home, it can be a powerful space to practice mindfulness and receptivity. There, we can begin to embrace the whole - all that is clean as well as all that is dirty; all the joys as well as all the sufferings - experiencing the wisdom of the kitchen sink and the development of a grateful heart."

Psalm 73:26
"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."