Nourishment (relaxing on a beach in NS a few years ago with some soul-sisters)
Today my thoughts are on what feeds the heart, mind and soul. I just picked up my copy of 'Community and Growth' by Jean Vanier and reading the chapter on nourishment has touched me in a place (my heart) that I really needed to connect with. I've been carrying a sense of weariness lately, lacking in inspiration and motivation. As I write this, I am avoiding the pile of dishes in my sink, the dirty laundry and the many other jobs that need attending to. But I'm glad to take this time for some nourishment and reflection.
Jean Vanier writes that "we are in danger of living superficially, on the periphery of ourselves. We tend to react to immediate stimuli, to demands from individuals who confront us and the need for 'urgent' action; we tend to flee from the treasure hidden within us. When for one reason or another, we become aware of it, or when it is touched by an external event, we are nourished. We are nourished by everything that stirs that which is deepest in us and brings it to consciousness. This may be a word, a reading, a meeting, or a suffering: all these can awaken our deepest heart, recentre us, strengthen our faith, and renew our hope".
I think it's time to turn off the computer and go take care of my house. When my space is clean and organized, I feel so much more creative and energized! When I get home after a long day and my place is a mess, I'm so much more likely to crash on the couch for the entire evening with my computer for some mindless online distraction. Too much time spent passively, looking at a screen makes me feel zombielike.
'Community and Growth' was written before the time of so much online distraction. When it was originally published in 1979, Jean Vanier warned that too much television "when looked at without discernment or because one has nothing better to do" is like poison for the "spiritual life and the life of love and compassion."
"Television provides images and information and stimulates emotions but cuts people off from relationship. It is possible to look at television with great passivity, just swallowing it in; this maims the capacity to react, which is inherent in relationship. Television may stimulate the imagination but generally does not feed the heart."
So with this in mind, I am going offline! At least for a few hours anyway. After I clean up, I'm meeting a friend for a restorative yoga class. And since starting to write this, the rain has stopped, the sun is out and the cicadas are back in noisy-action. I love the way Life moves (and moves me along with it)!
Today my thoughts are on what feeds the heart, mind and soul. I just picked up my copy of 'Community and Growth' by Jean Vanier and reading the chapter on nourishment has touched me in a place (my heart) that I really needed to connect with. I've been carrying a sense of weariness lately, lacking in inspiration and motivation. As I write this, I am avoiding the pile of dishes in my sink, the dirty laundry and the many other jobs that need attending to. But I'm glad to take this time for some nourishment and reflection.
Jean Vanier writes that "we are in danger of living superficially, on the periphery of ourselves. We tend to react to immediate stimuli, to demands from individuals who confront us and the need for 'urgent' action; we tend to flee from the treasure hidden within us. When for one reason or another, we become aware of it, or when it is touched by an external event, we are nourished. We are nourished by everything that stirs that which is deepest in us and brings it to consciousness. This may be a word, a reading, a meeting, or a suffering: all these can awaken our deepest heart, recentre us, strengthen our faith, and renew our hope".
I think it's time to turn off the computer and go take care of my house. When my space is clean and organized, I feel so much more creative and energized! When I get home after a long day and my place is a mess, I'm so much more likely to crash on the couch for the entire evening with my computer for some mindless online distraction. Too much time spent passively, looking at a screen makes me feel zombielike.
'Community and Growth' was written before the time of so much online distraction. When it was originally published in 1979, Jean Vanier warned that too much television "when looked at without discernment or because one has nothing better to do" is like poison for the "spiritual life and the life of love and compassion."
"Television provides images and information and stimulates emotions but cuts people off from relationship. It is possible to look at television with great passivity, just swallowing it in; this maims the capacity to react, which is inherent in relationship. Television may stimulate the imagination but generally does not feed the heart."
So with this in mind, I am going offline! At least for a few hours anyway. After I clean up, I'm meeting a friend for a restorative yoga class. And since starting to write this, the rain has stopped, the sun is out and the cicadas are back in noisy-action. I love the way Life moves (and moves me along with it)!
