{"id":7432,"date":"2020-10-09T19:37:52","date_gmt":"2020-10-09T23:37:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/?p=7432"},"modified":"2020-10-09T19:37:52","modified_gmt":"2020-10-09T23:37:52","slug":"embracing-what-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/life-lines\/embracing-what-is\/","title":{"rendered":"Seeing every day as an opportunity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When I arrived at Pyramid Life Center<\/a> in the Adirondack Mountains last month to lead a retreat, I was excited but nervous. As is always the case when I lead a group, I want to be sure I give participants what they need, the spiritual nourishment they\u2019re craving. Most times when I wrap up, I\u2019m a bit depleted from putting out so much spiritual energy over the course of a few days, but this time I was energized and uplifted, riding a spiritual high that was fed by the 30+ people who engaged in the retreat so fully they left me awed and humbled and inspired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

I was lucky enough to be seated at meals\u2014due to Covid our movements were restricted in the dining hall\u2014with a lovely woman named Margie, who left a deep imprint on my heart and soul. A retired occupational therapist, she practically glowed with peace and grace, holiness and joy. When I asked about her life, she leaned in as if sharing a secret and said, \u201cEver since I retired, I\u2019m like a kid in a candy store. I wake up every morning and say, \u2018What am I going to do today?!?\u2019\u201d At that moment I leaned in and said to her, \u201cI want to be you when I grow up.\u201d And I do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I watched as she headed out on challenging hikes, often leading the way for others, or hauled her lightweight kayak to the lake at all hours to paddle through mist and fog, at sunrise and sunset, capturing photos of lilies and spiderwebs, shimmering water and deep green mosses to share with our community. She recounted tales of a week spent in an Italian village north of Venice last year and showed us the beautiful hand-painted necklace made by a Benedictine nun she met there. This is a woman who draws you to her, and you never want to let go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How easy it would have been for me to miss out on the joy and beauty that is Margie. Had we not been seated together at meals\u2014the Spirit at work, for sure\u2014or had we been too busy to connect at different times that weekend, we might have walked away not knowing what we missed, but, oh, what a loss that would have been.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does all of this have to do with anyone other than me and Margie? Everything. When we take the time to notice, to listen, to share, we discover kindred spirits who lift us up and help carry us forward, especially during these challenging times. So many of the people on my retreat\u2014some of whom I\u2019ve known for a long time\u2014taught me beautiful lessons, leaving me in laughter one minute and tears (the good kind) the next. We were a group of mostly strangers at the start but a beloved family by the end. We don\u2019t have to go on retreat to find that; it is always right there for the taking. We just have to open our eyes\u2014and our hearts\u2014to what\u2019s around us every single day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you willing to embrace the life you\u2019re given, looking for every last opportunity to learn, to experience, to give? Can you step beyond your fear and worry to see the beauty and joy that is just below the surface, maybe outside in God\u2019s great creation, maybe sitting next to you at a lunch table, maybe in the next cubicle at work? Can you wake up tomorrow, clap your hands together with joy and anticipation and say, \u201cWhat will I do today?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This column originally appeared in the Oct. 7, 2020, issue<\/a> of Catholic New York.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I arrived at Pyramid Life Center in the Adirondack Mountains last month to lead a retreat, I was excited but nervous. As is always the case when I lead […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[121],"tags":[311,70,591,93,94],"class_list":["post-7432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life-lines","tag-acceptance","tag-life-in-my-50s","tag-pyramid-life-center","tag-retreat","tag-spiritual-friendship"],"yoast_head":"\nSeeing every day as an opportunity – Not Strictly Spiritual<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/life-lines\/embracing-what-is\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Seeing every day as an opportunity – Not Strictly Spiritual\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When I arrived at Pyramid Life Center in the Adirondack Mountains last month to lead a retreat, I was excited but nervous. As is always the case when I lead […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/life-lines\/embracing-what-is\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Not Strictly Spiritual\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Mary-DeTurris-Poust\/105157722861796\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-10-09T23:37:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/NSS-yoast-opengraph-img.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@marydtp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@marydtp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mary\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/life-lines\/embracing-what-is\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/life-lines\/embracing-what-is\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mary\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/#\/schema\/person\/98535137020dd532c92ce7cbb6d163f1\"},\"headline\":\"Seeing every day as an opportunity\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-10-09T23:37:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/life-lines\/embracing-what-is\/\"},\"wordCount\":623,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"acceptance\",\"Life in My 50s\",\"Pyramid Life Center\",\"retreat\",\"spiritual friendship\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Life Lines\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/life-lines\/embracing-what-is\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/life-lines\/embracing-what-is\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/life-lines\/embracing-what-is\/\",\"name\":\"Seeing every day as an opportunity – Not Strictly Spiritual\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-10-09T23:37:52+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/life-lines\/embracing-what-is\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/life-lines\/embracing-what-is\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/life-lines\/embracing-what-is\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Seeing every day as an opportunity\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/\",\"name\":\"Not Strictly Spiritual\",\"description\":\"Discovering the Divine in the Everyday.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Not Strictly Spiritual\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/NotStrictlySpiritual-logo-web-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/NotStrictlySpiritual-logo-web-1.png\",\"width\":427,\"height\":244,\"caption\":\"Not Strictly Spiritual\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Mary-DeTurris-Poust\/105157722861796\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/marydtp\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/marydtp518\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/#\/schema\/person\/98535137020dd532c92ce7cbb6d163f1\",\"name\":\"Mary\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Seeing every day as an opportunity – Not Strictly Spiritual","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/life-lines\/embracing-what-is\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Seeing every day as an opportunity – Not Strictly Spiritual","og_description":"When I arrived at Pyramid Life Center in the Adirondack Mountains last month to lead a retreat, I was excited but nervous. As is always the case when I lead […]","og_url":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/life-lines\/embracing-what-is\/","og_site_name":"Not Strictly Spiritual","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Mary-DeTurris-Poust\/105157722861796","article_published_time":"2020-10-09T23:37:52+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":675,"url":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/NSS-yoast-opengraph-img.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Mary","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@marydtp","twitter_site":"@marydtp","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mary","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/life-lines\/embracing-what-is\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/life-lines\/embracing-what-is\/"},"author":{"name":"Mary","@id":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/#\/schema\/person\/98535137020dd532c92ce7cbb6d163f1"},"headline":"Seeing every day as an opportunity","datePublished":"2020-10-09T23:37:52+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/life-lines\/embracing-what-is\/"},"wordCount":623,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/#organization"},"keywords":["acceptance","Life in My 50s","Pyramid Life Center","retreat","spiritual friendship"],"articleSection":["Life Lines"],"inLanguage":"en","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/life-lines\/embracing-what-is\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/life-lines\/embracing-what-is\/","url":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/life-lines\/embracing-what-is\/","name":"Seeing every day as an opportunity – Not Strictly Spiritual","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-10-09T23:37:52+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/life-lines\/embracing-what-is\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/life-lines\/embracing-what-is\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/life-lines\/embracing-what-is\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Seeing every day as an opportunity"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/","name":"Not Strictly Spiritual","description":"Discovering the Divine in the Everyday.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/#organization","name":"Not Strictly Spiritual","url":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/NotStrictlySpiritual-logo-web-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/NotStrictlySpiritual-logo-web-1.png","width":427,"height":244,"caption":"Not Strictly Spiritual"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Mary-DeTurris-Poust\/105157722861796","https:\/\/x.com\/marydtp","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/marydtp518\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/#\/schema\/person\/98535137020dd532c92ce7cbb6d163f1","name":"Mary"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7432\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}