The Nodes of Life Part 1
May 16, 2025
The Nodes of Life Part 1
Join us for this week’s Daily Reflections on “The Nodes of Life.”
Some of us spent a lot of years checking off the boxes. We let obligations dictate what we did. But now we want our values to dictate what we look forward to. We want our lives to be made of experiences we cherish. And we hope that our life purpose is interwoven with everything we do.
That’s why we feel it’s important to have wonderful things to look forward to that become defining moments of our lives. We can observe “defining moments” in nature. For example, we see that plants have nodes— the part of a plant stem from which one or more leaves sprout, which forms a thickening around the stalk. Nodes mark the end of one growth cycle and the beginning of another. They are demarcation points between the last and the next leg of its life. As the sun “encourages” the plant to grow, it does so from one node to the next. Our lives also have nodes. Yes, we, too, have points that demarcate our lives. If we are growing, each leg of our life takes us higher and expands our consciousness. Each period of growth works toward the next.
Goals, benchmarks, and things to look forward to inspire our journey and beckon us to continue growing. Of course, birthdays are built into our lives; these special occasions mark another year and can be considered nodes. Birthdays can be dreaded, unacknowledged, or they can be nodes to which we look forward. The same is true for anniversaries and other special occasions. But these are not enough. We need things to anticipate all year long as well as every week and every day— things that inspire, comfort, please, delight, and transform us— things that satisfy our curiosity, bring out our creativity, and launch new voyages into unknown territories— things that when accomplished, put another inner ring in the tree trunk of our lives.
Every day needs several mini nodes. These are the times during the day that we look forward to. These can be simple things … just time in the yard, chatting with a friend, or engaging in a creative activity can give the day a series of “umphs.”
Some of us are content to sit there and let life bring us the next node, which, as life goes on, is frequently a challenge, loss, or crisis (shock points.) Oh, many naturally built-in nodes in life are very positive, like new friendships, births, vacations, and favorite holidays. Yet, unless we have various positive things to look forward to and savor, we may be sitting ducks for the negative ones to overwhelm us. Positive things, help outweigh the not-so-positive things that inevitably come.
Nodes have their own connotation for those who seek a spiritual life. Spiritual nodes are the benchmarks of our spiritual growth. They can’t be planned because they come to us in the agonies and ecstasies of life’s experiences. But these nodes are critical. They mark each leg of our spiritual journey.
So, we have many types of nodes: planned and unplanned, spiritual and temporal, positive and negative. This week, we will reflect on the nodes of life.
Spiritual practice: What are the nodes that have demarcated the last five years of your life? What are the nodes that have demarcated your day thus far? Give some reflection on the changes in you that are signified by the nodes?
Self-inquiry: What did the last node of your life indicate?
Dear God,
For growth and life, I am so grateful because it’s all to come closer to you. Amen
