“So, what is it you plan to do with this one wild and precious life?” That quote from the poem “The Summer’s Day” by Mary Oliver is what Barbara Davis tries to answer each and every day. “I believe the answer comes only a bit at a time and we need to stay awake and invite new surprises and signposts every day.” Barbara will also help you find a deeper understanding of your purpose in life. She is a certified Spiritual Director through the Spirituality Network of Central Ohio and First Community Church in Grandview Heights. Barbara will listen prayerfully to help the individual seeker to notice the sacredness of their life experiences.
Life experiences are what have molded Barbara’s career. The sudden death of her daughter Leah as an infant broke her open in ways she probably never would have fathomed. “Leah’s brief time in our family has defined many, no most, of my major life decisions about career and how I want to participate in the world.” Among those are the Heart to Heart Food Pantry, leading a weekly prayer quilt ministry called Prayers and Squares Quilt Ministry, and making numerous mission trips to Kenya to the Rafiki Children’s Center.
Barbara’s support system is her husband Terrance, her two sons Jamie and Greg, and her grandchildren. Barbara also has support from her “community” and refers to the term “Ubuntu.” It means “I have meaning only because I am a part of a community. Whatever happens to you happens to me. We cannot know who we are without such a connection.” Barbara is certain that she would be adrift and searching for meaning without her community. “Without individuals who sign up to participate in weekly volunteer activities with me-to make quilts; to present an environmental forum; to go with us on mission trips to remote and sometimes challenging places, there would be no way to have had the rich experiences that give me hope for the future.”
To keep balance in her life, Barbara takes retreats at least once or twice a year. One retreat was 30 days long and mostly in silence! “I try to maintain daily practices that help me to remember what is important! I see a spiritual director once a month and I play and do creative projects with my grandchildren any chance I get.”
Barbara’s plans for the future are to continue to be involved in the many causes that call to her, but the common thread of all of her engagement is a deep concern that we need to wake up to the destructive behaviors that are driving everyone in the western world. “I believe that the best ways to move forward with my hope to change these behaviors is to be a more conscious consumer myself and by companioning others in looking at their own behaviors.”