Category: Simplicity

Clarity~

7/13/2016

    Here is my cottage-by-the-sea post of yesterday. On this prayerdiary blog I want to tell you how easy it was to let go of those New Age books, and at the unexpected relief I felt in doing so. The topics still intrigue me—past and future lives, energy and chakras and more, but they are all there to ponder from a Christian perspective. In these winding down years of mine, I don’t have to read everything, but it definitely helps not to have the books staring me in the face. Clarity of material possessions helps clarity of mind.

    My husband and I are in the midst of a major purge of stuff. It started when our grandpet had a series of accidents on our wall-to-wall upstairs carpet; that led to the shameful confession that couldn’t remember when it was installed because it was so long ago--at lease twenty years, maybe thirty. It is time to get rid of the rug and think about hardwood floors.
    This has ended up primarily being a book purge; many New Age—past lives, astrology, ‘para’ this and that. Just the thing for someone at the put-and-take. Fewer books means fewer shelves; so far we’ve emptied four.
I’ve been writing about simplicity on this blog for close to seven years. Passing these books on to interested readers opens up simplicity on many levels. When we decide to move, we will have already done some downsizing. If we stay here forever, it will be a BIG help to our kids. In letting go of all those ‘para’ books, I have released all obligations to pursue such topics. Simplicity on the material, physical plane; simplicity on the psychological, spiritual plane.

Simplicity and prayer~

12/8/2015

In order to offer balance to my last post, today I report that I am not out of sorts, and it’s not because my coffee was just right this morning. It’s my attitude, but more specifically my openness to God. How easy it is to forget God when the little or the big situations in life take front stage, when I try to take the lead role, when I try to give God a bit part, or worse than that, when I kick God off the stage. No God on my Playbill.
     I am trying to lead all of my life with voluntary simplicity, a term elaborated on by Duane Elgin’s in his books “Voluntary Simplicity” and “Promise Ahead: A Vision of Hope and Action for Humanity’s Future.” “Simplicity is not about a life of poverty, but about a life of purpose,” he tells us. Voluntary simplicity is not only about simplifying our possessions and circumstances, but about leading a life of meaning, which by its very nature is spiritual.
     This idea trusts me back, once again, to God’s call to me to pray for people, a call that all too often languishes as one of many acts in the play that I am leading. It’s an isolated scene in the midst of others, leaving me out of sorts. When I think of prayer as my vocation, however, all the scenes and acts come together as one play about God working in my life. God, as playwright, director and lead actor, but definitely needing me in a supporting role.
     I have more to say about this, but I don’t know what. It’s a process, and I need to be with it, pray with it. I guess I’d say I need more rehearsal time.

Be still and know that I am God~

6/22/2015

Here’s what I posted on my cottage-by-the-sea blog. I want to add that although there is always something more to say about prayer, there is also nothing more to say about prayer. As the psalmist tells us, Be still, and know that I am God.

"I’m home from one of the most satisfying pilgrimages I have ever made to Scotland and Iona. Maybe the reason has to do with the internet access that was undependable, and when available, very weak. Posting a single picture was slow; posting a slideshow, usually impossible. Then to top it off, I left my computer plug at the hotel, forcing me for the last two days of the trip to conserve my phone battery—no picture taking—and computer battery—no writing.

"After my initial frustration, when I accepted how it was, I found I was relieved to be excused from my self-imposed obligation to post every day. I noticed that I stopped thinking about what to write, and in doing so, my thinking shifted and even stopped. I was in the moment, with nothing to say, which is still how I’m feeling now that I’m home.

"I wonder how this will play out in the next few weeks? Will my commitment to keep the blog going continue? Will I have anything to say? Life at home for the next three weeks will be anything but solitary, silent or simple, but when activity abates, what will I have to add to what I’ve written in the past five years? Can I truly be alone in simple silence? Tune in and see. "

Carrying silence, solitude and simplicity with me wherever I go~

5/6/2015

Finally, I’m back to posting. I took a break while finishing Very Grateful, which is now off to the copy editor and then on to production. I was surprised at the relief I felt the moment I wrote my response to my editor’s final suggestion. It had to do with ending my cottage-by-the-sea days. This past winter would have been my sixth season, but the owner became ill and wasn’t able to go to Florida, so I stayed home.

In that final writing i discovered that I don’t need the cottage any more, that I can carry silence, solitude and simplicity with me wherever I go.

This realization wasn’t an answer to a particular prayer, but I believe it was a response to the prayerful work I have been doing to keep God in the forefront of my life. Oh, I fail miserable, but every morning I pray for God’s presence to be with me throughout the day, and so even though I’m not conscious of it all the time, I believe it is there. The more intentional I am about it, the more certain it will be.

It is a comfort to believe and come to know that our intention and effort at prayer continues to work in us whether we are aware of it or not.

More lessons from Christmas~

12/26/2014

and Women.

More lessons from Christmas this year: too much chatter, not enough silent spaces. The nativity stories in Luke and Matthew seem to suggest that a balance surrounded Jesus’ birth. The Gospel message is one of both—conversation and activity, and silence and simplicity. Throughout his life Jesus called for both-- feed the poor and pray. He never suggests that more conversation the better but again and again he tells us to go off by ourselves and pray. In John’s Gospel he rebukes Martha for her excessive activity, while acknowledging that Mary has chosen the better part.

My Christmas had activity and silence, and for that I am very grateful; but sometimes I felt there was too much chatter. I understand that life out there in the world has to be active and conversational. Leaders must speak up and take action. Not everyone can retreat to Mt. Athos and lead a life of prayer. Feeding the poor takes planning, conversation and action. However, I wonder if we need the amount of chatter, gossip, critique, judgments that we all engage in in our personal lives? I wonder if we are adding to the negative energy out there in the world? What if everyone remained silent, for say a half hour? My Christmas lesson is to practice more of that.

Feeding the poor~

9/7/2014

This afternoon I’ve agreed to assist the youth group at church in making meals for some of our older members who can use a little help. This goes along with my commitment to visit those in the church who can’t get out and about.

I also want the young people to get a sense of what it’s like for someone who has given up driving, who is now cut off from easy visits to the supermarket. Of course, it’s not just a question of transportation. If someone gives them a ride to the store, it takes a great deal of energy to purchase the ingredients for even a simple tuna casserole: they have to make a list, remember to take it with them, make the purchases, bring them into the house, and put them away before the cooking even begins. This can be a big ordeal as people get older. And what about the men, who, into their eighties all at once have to start cooking and being the person in the kitchen?

Leading a simple life is complex. What might be a simple task for some of us, is incredibly complex for others. Jesus tells us to feed the poor, but he’s not just talking about those with no money. There are people right in our midst who are poor in energy and capabilities.

Off to the cottage~

11/16/2013

Tomorrow I’ll be settling in again at the cottage. For those of you who are wondering, What cottage? here’s the quick story. This is the fourth winter season that I have rented a cottage right on the ocean. It’s an hour and a half drive from my home, so I can easily go back and forth, and that is just what I do. Usually I’m at the cottage during the week and at home on the weekends.

I love the silence, solitude and simplicity there. I watch the sunrise every morning--even when it’s cloudy. Also, in no particular order, I pray, read, write, enjoy jigsaw puzzles, walk the beach, and gaze at the ocean. I check my email twice a day, morning and evening, and I don’t talk on the phone. Sometimes I cover the clocks and live a timeless day.

It is in this simple, silent life of solitude that I let go of the chatter (read judgments) in my head. Then, I can pray for others, which is why I go to there-- to pray and to be with God.

Mary for all ages~

9/22/2013

I’ve always been attracted to the wooden Madonna and Child statues crafted in Umbria, and lately I’ve felt a particular affinity toward Mary—maybe because I am a grandmother and Mary doesn’t look like a young virgin in her teens.

Umbrian artists seem to know that regardless of age we continue to experience the possibility of birthing anew; our reproductive power is not the only creative power that we possess. Life is much more expansive than that.

Deep peace to you~

6/10/2013

Deep peace of the running waves to you

Deep peace of the flowing air to you

Deep peace of the quiet earth to you

Deep peace of the shining stars to you

Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you

Praying for peace~

2/19/2013

On my way to silence, solitude and simplicity yesterday, a truck with a window sticker, “Obama sucks” passed me on the highway. How do I respond? If I were into road rage I could have passed him, flashing my ‘Obama/Biden’ bumper sticker. Of course I wasn’t going to do that. I don’t want to be upset; I want to respond prayerfully; I want to add positive energy.
My first step was to stop the chatter in my head about what such a negative message might mean. I didn’t venture into praying to change his (or her) mind politically. Rather, I started praying that peace surround him; I prayed for a change of heart so that he wouldn’t express his feelings negatively. Positive energy begets positive energy. Peace begets peace.