In the glow of the Epiphany, light still intrigues and warms me. And light through windows especially calls me to attention, as does the full moon which right now seems to announce a different kind of growth from that announced by the sun. One can feel the tides pulling and so too our desires as the moon pulls at us.
This chair, in the library of our cathedral is a place to which I often go in the mornings when I need to read commentary on scripture for an upcoming sermon. It is warm and gentle a place and the room has a very kind karma about it which I find soothing and encouraging of study and reflection.
Reading with natural sunlight over my shoulder is dreamy, and prying open the tin-can of scripture, to see what delicious morsels are inside, takes some measure of courage if one is planning on being open to its application to conversion-of-life.
The thing is, there is just so much to do. As I write this I write on a holiday, a day which extends the sabbath into a second day of rest. And yet there are bills to be paid, dishes to be washed, messes to be put away in my home and in my soul. There are books piled up to be read and letters longing to be written to friends whose friendship needs watering, fertilizing and weeding. There is dust in the sunlight which last night’s candles strategically hid from my dinner guests, but not for long. And Kai needs to run and swim somewhere.
But I wonder if sitting in a big chair in the sunlight to consider my life and my loves, my sins and my hopes, my failures and my dreams, my aches and pains in body, mind and spirit and the work of making friends and nurturing the ones I cherish is not a good plan for this day. and I wonder if a holiday (which comes, etymologically, from a “Holy Day”) might not just be a day off, but rather an element of every day. What if one’s Rule of Life were to include a phrase or two about rest and consideration (mindfulness) in each day? What if my Rule of Life gave me permission to find 5 minutes each day to sit in a big chair and just consider my life; asking the three main questions:
1. What is going well?
2. What is not going well?
3. What needs to change?
