Spiritual IV--More Than a Pouch of Saline

In and after New Orleans I rode this wave of spiritual momentum; I felt closer to God, closer to myself, closer to humanity (family, peers, the suffering, etc.). The momentum lasted for a few weeks, and then it begin to dwindle, like I was afraid it would. No doubt I was different than pre-New Orleans, but I wasn't immersed in a religious community anymore "goin' 'bout the fatha's business" (to quote homeowner Ms. Barbara).

We need a spiritual IV every once in a while; a significant amount of time where we can forget about the world that has dehydrated us and focus on The Refresher. For me, that was coffee (much better than saline) with an amazing woman and pastor. While finding the gray is important, isolation can be just as important as integration. Taking time to let go of the pains of everyday societal burdens and being refreshed, re-energized is really helpful for me. To ride the color analogy, gray is great and necessary, but we need our large doses of white too. It's like a mini wave of momentum; one big wave was great, I'll hope for another one soon, but little waves more often are more helpful and fulfilling. Ah crud, it reminds of practicing (less time more often is more effective/efficient than big marathon practices less often). 

Advice: don't wait until you're dehydrated to start drinking. I got that from Fitness Tip #12 on an Arrowhead bottle, but I think it works.