In an attempt to log my thoughts and epiphanies and share them with no one in particular, I've contemplated on creating a blog - nothing fancy, but something to show me the progression of life. And so here it is - we shall start. Perhaps, this will help hone my once favored past time of creative writing.
With a quick 10-min tutorial/advice via bb from my friend gee on which blogs would be appropriate for me, I've decided to start with blogspot. So far it seems fairly easy to use, given that I'm not one to be bothered with the complexities technology sometimes brings.
With a quick 10-min tutorial/advice via bb from my friend gee on which blogs would be appropriate for me, I've decided to start with blogspot. So far it seems fairly easy to use, given that I'm not one to be bothered with the complexities technology sometimes brings.
To my delight, I quickly discovered that blogspot offers spellcheck!! I love checking spelling and grammar in and with everything!!! AND! All the basic functionalities of Microsoft Word (i.e. Ctrl B, Ctrl A, etc.) seem to apply. So that was pretty exciting. However, to my dismay, my favorite font at the moment - Calibri was not listed as an offering.
That's okay, it's not a big deal at this point, and Trebuchet is not a bad 2nd choice.
The prompting behind creating a blog to collect my thoughts can be credited to the book which I'm currently reading. It's called Sabbath, by Wayne Muller and though I'm only a few short chapters in, I want to soak in every part of this book. Each sentence in the book is so purposeful. So purposeful to the point that it made me want to take my own point form notes in a word doc. to capture it all. Now I can see why my mom so strongly suggested the read. And therefore I thought, why not just log it through a blog?
Though there are so many points I want to post, but without re-writing the entire book on my blog, here is what I've gathered thus far:
“Remember the Sabbath” means “remember that everything you have received is a blessing. Remember to delight in your life, in the fruits of your labor. Remember to stop and offer thanks for the wonder of it.” Remember, as if we would forget. Indeed, the assumption is that we will forget. And history has proven that, given enough time, we will.
It is true, we say that we are too busy, with no small degree of pride, thinking that our exhaustion were a trophy, a mark of achievement and a testament to our ability to withstand stress and make it a mark or indicator of true character.
As Brother David Steindl-Rast reminds us, the Chinese pictograph for “busy” is composed of two characters: heart and killing.
How ironic. Killing of the heart is what the Chinese defined as “busy”. How then do we “save” the heart?
Sabbath time is time off the wheel, time when we take our hand from the plow and let God and the earth care for things, while we drink, if only for a few moments, from the fountain of rest and delight.
Sabbath is more than the absence of work; it is not just a day off, when we catch up on television or errands. It is the presence of something that arises when we consecrate a period of time to listen to what is most deeply beautiful, nourishing, or true. It is time consecrated with our attention, our mindfulness, honoring those quiet forces of grace or spirit that sustain and heal us.
Sabbath does not require us to leave home, change jobs, go on retreat, or leave the world of ordinary life. We do not have to change clothes or purchase any expensive spiritual equipment. We only need to remember.
Just so, during Sabbath the Jews, by keeping sacred rest, could maintain their spiritual ground wherever they were, even in protracted exile from their own country. It was not Israel that kept the Sabbath, it is said, but the Sabbath kept Israel.
So let us remember the Sabbath. Let us breathe deeply in the rhythms of life, or the earth, of action and rest. Traditionally, Sabbath is honored by lighting candles, gathering in worship and prayer, blessing children, singing songs, keeping silence, walking, reading scripture, making love, sharing a meal. Just as we must wait until the darkness falls before we can see the stars, so does the Sabbath quietly wait for us. As darkness falls, as the light of the world fades and disappears, we light the inner lights, the lights of home and refuge.
I guess it wasn't a total waste to start typing my thoughts into a word doc. seeing as though I was able to simply copy and paste it here! :)
That's okay, it's not a big deal at this point, and Trebuchet is not a bad 2nd choice.
The prompting behind creating a blog to collect my thoughts can be credited to the book which I'm currently reading. It's called Sabbath, by Wayne Muller and though I'm only a few short chapters in, I want to soak in every part of this book. Each sentence in the book is so purposeful. So purposeful to the point that it made me want to take my own point form notes in a word doc. to capture it all. Now I can see why my mom so strongly suggested the read. And therefore I thought, why not just log it through a blog?
Though there are so many points I want to post, but without re-writing the entire book on my blog, here is what I've gathered thus far:
“Remember the Sabbath” means “remember that everything you have received is a blessing. Remember to delight in your life, in the fruits of your labor. Remember to stop and offer thanks for the wonder of it.” Remember, as if we would forget. Indeed, the assumption is that we will forget. And history has proven that, given enough time, we will.
It is true, we say that we are too busy, with no small degree of pride, thinking that our exhaustion were a trophy, a mark of achievement and a testament to our ability to withstand stress and make it a mark or indicator of true character.
As Brother David Steindl-Rast reminds us, the Chinese pictograph for “busy” is composed of two characters: heart and killing.
How ironic. Killing of the heart is what the Chinese defined as “busy”. How then do we “save” the heart?
Sabbath time is time off the wheel, time when we take our hand from the plow and let God and the earth care for things, while we drink, if only for a few moments, from the fountain of rest and delight.
Sabbath is more than the absence of work; it is not just a day off, when we catch up on television or errands. It is the presence of something that arises when we consecrate a period of time to listen to what is most deeply beautiful, nourishing, or true. It is time consecrated with our attention, our mindfulness, honoring those quiet forces of grace or spirit that sustain and heal us.
Sabbath does not require us to leave home, change jobs, go on retreat, or leave the world of ordinary life. We do not have to change clothes or purchase any expensive spiritual equipment. We only need to remember.
Just so, during Sabbath the Jews, by keeping sacred rest, could maintain their spiritual ground wherever they were, even in protracted exile from their own country. It was not Israel that kept the Sabbath, it is said, but the Sabbath kept Israel.
So let us remember the Sabbath. Let us breathe deeply in the rhythms of life, or the earth, of action and rest. Traditionally, Sabbath is honored by lighting candles, gathering in worship and prayer, blessing children, singing songs, keeping silence, walking, reading scripture, making love, sharing a meal. Just as we must wait until the darkness falls before we can see the stars, so does the Sabbath quietly wait for us. As darkness falls, as the light of the world fades and disappears, we light the inner lights, the lights of home and refuge.
I guess it wasn't a total waste to start typing my thoughts into a word doc. seeing as though I was able to simply copy and paste it here! :)
