Friday is my annual physical exam. I don’t particularly enjoy it — although I like my doctor. It’s something one does, to be sure you’re okay overall. Preventive maintenance.

So I have to get up abominably early, w/ NO caffeine & no breakfast, and go get needled, poked, & prodded. Plus answer the same dumb (but necessary) questions I hear every year to 18 months (I’m not as timely w/ these as I should be!).

But I do it. Pretty regularly. The odd few months when I forget, but I make it a kind of priority.

And I’m wondering: what would happen if I did that w/ my spiritual life? My emotional well-being? What if regularly — at least once a year, for cryin’ out loud! — I sat down, and reflected (as seriously as my doc does) over the state of my spiritual & emotional health? What if there were ‘tests’ I could take? W/ metrics by which I could measure my overall condition in both these fairly subjective areas?

As a bonafide old hippy dippy chick, I read my tarot cards periodically. For sure the first week of each year. But also when I’m feeling uncertain about life, or paths through now into forward. And while I trust the Jungian mechanism I believe makes tarot cards ‘work’ for those of us who read them, I wish there was something else, too. Something like a kind of spiritual blood test for low blood sugar, or hypoactive thyroid… 🙂

There certainly are times when my spirits are lacking the spiritual equivalent of blood sugar — the whole what have I done??? when I contemplate the upcoming move. The fear that my younger son won’t recognise blood poisoning from the nail he jumped on until too late. The consuming anger at people who try to legislate classism, racism, sexism… I could use a test to make sure I’m at least annually ridding myself of these toxic residues!

So here’s to the idea of a beginner’s heart check-up/ check-in. One where I try to remember the basics of my wisdom tradition: compassion, right speech & action, love. Kind of like sleep, exercise, healthy food. If you take care of the basics? The checkups won’t be so bad… 🙂