Assessments

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daily practice, inner strength, Lent, navigate, persevere, routine, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

So now again it is March—and raining. The capricious month is back. Has it come quickly for you or does it seem as if we have been dealing with unexpected happenings for a very long season? “In like a lion, out like a lamb,” we say. I think the lion has been with us for a very long time. Can you go back in memory to early March of last year (for us 3/12/20)? Could you have even conjectured what was brewing? And how have you navigated events since then? Have you settled into a routine that allows you some sense of achievement or is lassitude a constant companion? Who and/or what are you missing that has been impossible or restricted over these past months? Have there been any benefits? How has your spiritual life survived/thrived?

So many questions…so many changes. Should we say today: “Happy New Year,” just hoping against hope that the vaccines that have been approved will be an answer for us if we continue for a specified time to follow the protocols of mask-wearing and hand-washing and social distancing? (That seems like a BIG IF). Are we up to the task ahead of us? (Perhaps we are lucky that it’s Lent, the season of disciplining ourselves for the good of the whole.) If we’re still waiting for our “start-up” practice to begin in earnest—for our inner strength to kick in—perhaps we ought to add a prayer practice that will get us back to a routine—even if it’s just “Good morning, God! Thank you for this day!” when we wake up and “Good night, God. Thank you for this day” before we sleep each night.

We seem to be on the verge of better days. Let us hope for that but persevere no matter what is ahead of us. God bless us all!

From Day to Day

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COVID19, day night, listen, pay attention, psalm 19, routine, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, time

I met Sister Paula in the kitchen awhile ago and we began musing on this “time out of time” that we are experiencing now. It started simply enough with both of us looking back to the weather systems of our childhood. I am certain (well, not really…) that “April showers bring May flowers” was a true statement then. Now, just past the middle of April, it’s snowing and yet it threatens the daffodils and forsythia and all the already-flowering trees that have been blooming for weeks but will undoubtedly be gone soon if this weather continues.

We moved on to talk about the virus that is taking the lives of so many people. The division in our country and the world about how to deal with it is monumental. This week the divide is about economy vs. possible infection rates. Eventually our question came round to levels of consciousness that play into how to proceed.

Our cat was waiting in my bedroom for my return and, because I was still drinking coffee when I came upstairs, I agreed to share my seat with her for awhile. That made it impossible, of course, to create a blog post. As I sat with her on my lap and did nothing, I thought about what I ought to do today. It’s Saturday but now that doesn’t seem to mean as much as it did two months ago. The routine of the days has become quite different. Some would call it restrictive while others name it full of opportunity. I prefer the latter, having the leisure of sitting quietly with the cat, watching at least one of the many online offerings of conferences by spiritual leaders and/or old movies that I never take the time for, making phone calls…

As I sit here, Psalm 19 runs through my consciousness: Day pours out the word to day and night to night imparts knowledge…Through all the earth their voice resounds and to the ends of the world their message.

It strikes me that these are not empty days; rather we make of them what we will, or simply experience them as they pass. I wonder if my ability to discern will deepen – in the days, during the nights or both. It seems that it’s time now – more than ever – to pay attention, especially to the subtle voices speaking all around and in us.

Wise Words from Eleanor

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A Deep Breath of Life, Alan Cohen, Eleanor Roosevelt, give, happiness, routine, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I feel as if today is the day to take a deep breath and “get back to business.” Routine is a thing of the past these days but there are things that can be routinized like prayer, sleep patterns, and food intake. Since those activities are often disrupted at holiday time, it takes a bit of effort to get back to normal. A quote from Eleanor Roosevelt in Alan Cohen’s daily reflection (A Deep Breath of Life) will help, I think. Maybe it will offer you an opportunity as well.

Do whatever comes your way to do as well as you can. Think as little as possible about yourself and as much as possible about other people…put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give.