Hey same! Part of the reason I'm on substack is because I'm trying to engage in more thoughtful content and be more thoughtful myself. I've been trying to walk/hike with my kids more too, instead of chillin in the living room for an hour in between one appointment and the next. Thank you for sharing.
Secondly, all of us are overwhelmed with life today and not being able to focus is not a personal failing or a health issue. Think of all that has happened to us collectively since the Orange Menace came into office in 2016. We have been physically assaulted by the COVID plague and by violence in our streets and halls of power. We have been emotionally assaulted by wanton murder by "law enforcement," by violent images of war and natural disasters.
What matters now is tending to our humanness, our human relationships. I, too, have been a past "mover and shaker," full of details about my little church-world and its sordid politics and scandals. Today I am more detached spiritually and emotionally, not from compassion fatigue, but from a deeper sense of the ephemeral nature of life, the universe and everything. Suffering still exists and must be care for, but the pain lessens when shared.
Now I can sit on our covered patio with my husband and enjoy beautiful weather, big, fascinating Texas skies and the frolic of life all around us. Our two little dogs chase rabbits and squirrels and birds and butterflies on the lawn, a glorious mixture of buffalo grass and innumerable weeds. The Shumard red oak we planted in 1997 in gratitude for my cancer survival is now 30 feet tall, wonderfully shaped and full of green leaves.
The deep questions seeking answers are still there, and are still unanswerable, but are woven into the fabric of our living. If COVID taught us anything, it taught us that we were addicted to life in the fast lane, and that there is more to life than increasing its speed and its accumulations.
So take a deep breath and relax into the eternal now. You are loved, first by God and then by many others. You are precious, and the very fact of your existence is a unique miracle in a wondrous universe. Let all else fall away like drops after a rain, and go forth in joy.
When you were substitute teaching you always had something interesting to share. The lives of youth who were learning how to become adults (because you held them accountable.)
You still have an interesting job, meeting with those who are dying and their families and making a difference in their lives. Recently we haven't heard about musical times with them. Awakening their souls to memories of days and people who were important in the past, perhaps those who have been gone a long time and who are waiting for them. Your spirituality, shared with them, is the key that is unlocking that gate they are reaching out for on their journey.
Sometimes we just are where we are. Life changes. The body and brain change. Also Covid, grief, parenthood, elder parents. The community and landscape around us changes and/or we move. We are formed by what's around us, not just what's inside us. The power of human will is not as great as we imagine. For everything there is a season, perhaps. Anyway, I feel you - my writing is not what I wish it was. Change, grief, Covid, etc. Maybe we are all doing the best we can.
I also find that composing a speech or an essay while walking seems to work.
Regarding the banality of the internet, it’s a mild addiction. But we cannot just stop using it. Someone who smokes can give go cold turkey. But someone who is overweight cannot just stop eating. The same with the internet ― some use is fully justified, but browsing is a waste of time.
One response that I have found helpful is to purchase book anthologies on Kindle ― all of western literature for $9.99, that kind of thing. Then start to read the material, even if you have never heard of the author.
For example, I just finished reading Kingsley’s The Water-Babies, written in 1863. It’s a strange book. So, after reading it I went to the internet to better understand it. In other words we use the internet to help with a specific issue ― something to do with carts and horses.
I have a brindle dog, too! In fact, my Lazarus looks like he and Duke could be related, though we're 'way down in Louisiana. He helps me do reality checks.
I understand what you’re saying and it happens at some point to everyone. Let me point out to you that you have a perfect guru in the name of Duke. Talk with him, but mire importantly, listen to him. You can say I’m crazy, but I do believe nonhumans among us can teach us about the nature of life. Mark Twain writes about it.
Hey same! Part of the reason I'm on substack is because I'm trying to engage in more thoughtful content and be more thoughtful myself. I've been trying to walk/hike with my kids more too, instead of chillin in the living room for an hour in between one appointment and the next. Thank you for sharing.
Thank YOU! I appreciate this response. Thoughtfulness is the name of the game for me.
Keep at it!
First, this Dog Mom thinks Duke is adorable!
Secondly, all of us are overwhelmed with life today and not being able to focus is not a personal failing or a health issue. Think of all that has happened to us collectively since the Orange Menace came into office in 2016. We have been physically assaulted by the COVID plague and by violence in our streets and halls of power. We have been emotionally assaulted by wanton murder by "law enforcement," by violent images of war and natural disasters.
What matters now is tending to our humanness, our human relationships. I, too, have been a past "mover and shaker," full of details about my little church-world and its sordid politics and scandals. Today I am more detached spiritually and emotionally, not from compassion fatigue, but from a deeper sense of the ephemeral nature of life, the universe and everything. Suffering still exists and must be care for, but the pain lessens when shared.
Now I can sit on our covered patio with my husband and enjoy beautiful weather, big, fascinating Texas skies and the frolic of life all around us. Our two little dogs chase rabbits and squirrels and birds and butterflies on the lawn, a glorious mixture of buffalo grass and innumerable weeds. The Shumard red oak we planted in 1997 in gratitude for my cancer survival is now 30 feet tall, wonderfully shaped and full of green leaves.
The deep questions seeking answers are still there, and are still unanswerable, but are woven into the fabric of our living. If COVID taught us anything, it taught us that we were addicted to life in the fast lane, and that there is more to life than increasing its speed and its accumulations.
So take a deep breath and relax into the eternal now. You are loved, first by God and then by many others. You are precious, and the very fact of your existence is a unique miracle in a wondrous universe. Let all else fall away like drops after a rain, and go forth in joy.
When you were substitute teaching you always had something interesting to share. The lives of youth who were learning how to become adults (because you held them accountable.)
You still have an interesting job, meeting with those who are dying and their families and making a difference in their lives. Recently we haven't heard about musical times with them. Awakening their souls to memories of days and people who were important in the past, perhaps those who have been gone a long time and who are waiting for them. Your spirituality, shared with them, is the key that is unlocking that gate they are reaching out for on their journey.
Sometimes we just are where we are. Life changes. The body and brain change. Also Covid, grief, parenthood, elder parents. The community and landscape around us changes and/or we move. We are formed by what's around us, not just what's inside us. The power of human will is not as great as we imagine. For everything there is a season, perhaps. Anyway, I feel you - my writing is not what I wish it was. Change, grief, Covid, etc. Maybe we are all doing the best we can.
I also find that composing a speech or an essay while walking seems to work.
Regarding the banality of the internet, it’s a mild addiction. But we cannot just stop using it. Someone who smokes can give go cold turkey. But someone who is overweight cannot just stop eating. The same with the internet ― some use is fully justified, but browsing is a waste of time.
One response that I have found helpful is to purchase book anthologies on Kindle ― all of western literature for $9.99, that kind of thing. Then start to read the material, even if you have never heard of the author.
For example, I just finished reading Kingsley’s The Water-Babies, written in 1863. It’s a strange book. So, after reading it I went to the internet to better understand it. In other words we use the internet to help with a specific issue ― something to do with carts and horses.
Duke is magical and wonderful and you're not too bad yourself. I'm delighted that you're walktalkwriting. Wondering if I should try that technique!
I have a brindle dog, too! In fact, my Lazarus looks like he and Duke could be related, though we're 'way down in Louisiana. He helps me do reality checks.
Handsome dog!
We all need breaks in our daily lives. Also hospice work can be overwhelming and burn out is high. Just take care of yourself & Duke.
Can I go off-topic and ask your community to comment on the role of ChatGPT in communicating the church’s message?
In the post ‘An Artificial Sermon’ at https://faithclimate.substack.com/p/an-artificial-sermon I asked ChatGPT to respond to the following request to do with next Sunday’s gospel reading,
Write a sermon based on the gospel from John 3:1-17. Include a heart-warming personal anecdote.
Its response was good. So, what are the ethics to do with a preacher having ChatGPT write his sermon?
We all have our favorite Bible verses. I think that the most important for many of us is going to be Pilate’s response to Jesus, “What is truth?”
BTW: How do you know that this comment wasn’t written by ChatGPT?
I understand what you’re saying and it happens at some point to everyone. Let me point out to you that you have a perfect guru in the name of Duke. Talk with him, but mire importantly, listen to him. You can say I’m crazy, but I do believe nonhumans among us can teach us about the nature of life. Mark Twain writes about it.
Sorry. Sent before I found the quote from Twain. I’m needing a change, myself!!🙃