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‘Soul Maintenance’ key to quality living

By Rev. Charles Moreland | September 9, 2007 |

I’ll always remember my 16th birthday, and events that happened some 55 years ago. On this auspicious occasion I received my driver’s license and soon after, my first car. I paid cash for the car and the expensive (even then) insurance. I held a job after school and on weekends, so I could afford the car and upkeep. But I digress…

I named this ‘46 Plymouth Coupe ‘The Blue Goose’. And yes, it was blue. My father offered his mechanical skills in the ongoing maintenance, which kept the Blue Goose running in the cold of winter and heat of summer. The Blue Goose faithfully got myself and four friends to school every day; it was a reliable car. And as my father gently reminded me, “a dollar’s worth of maintenance may save you ten dollars (remember, this is 1946) in repairs later.”

Now, new car owners rejoice because it is possible and even expected that today’s cars will provide thousands and thousands of miles of reliability with a minimum of care and maintenance. A popular consumer’s magazine in their September issue offers suggestions on how to drive a car for 200,000 with a disciplined, sensible and sensitive maintenance program.

The principles implemented for preserving a car and sustaining its long life also applies to us spiritually. With due diligence, disciplined living and daily recognition of our spiritual resources, we are capable of quality performance. Daily and weekly spiritual maintenance is healthy, both physically and mentally beneficial and rewarding. Such discipline gives us months and years of confident living.

To improve and maintain my physical being, my overall health, I exercise daily at the a local athletic club, something I find is also spiritually renewing.

To strengthen myself and release my spiritual potential, I make time daily for meditation that includes reading. Later in the day I find that reading newspapers can be an epiphany.

Directing care and attention to our spiritual development provides lasting benefits on our journey through life. Just as cars have the potential benefit of 200,000 miles of service and comfort, we too, with a committed maintenance program,have the potential benefit of being healthy and productive through all our months and years.

Good living is best achieved through spiritual upkeep.

About Rev. Charles Moreland

Rev. Charles Moreland, retired, has lived in Clarksville for seven years and holds great pride in his adopted city and its people. His one objection in Tennessee is the Hall law of taxes on dividends and savings. Charles served in the U.S. Army Chaplaincy from 1966-1986, retiring to serve as a United Methodist pastor near Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He serves on the Boards of Directors for the ARP, Roxy Theater and MCDP. Though retired, he is a regular speaker at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. His five grandchildren, ages two to thirteen years, live in Evansville, Indiana. He is a veteran of the Vietnam War and served in Germany and Korea while on active duty.

Email: MLPmoreland@aol.com

Sections: Spirituality
Topics: Maintenance, Meditation, Spiritual Development

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