Respite

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had this conversation lately.
 
Commute—(15 second walk to the desk). Zoom all day. Commute. Answer email until late. Sleep (hopefully). Repeat.
Weekends: Crazy too—non-stop, masked-up, still over-programmed, kids/grandkids sports, drama, dance, music—all from a social distance.
And church. Church? Sure, Facebook Live! Yeah, I know, right? One more thing.
 
It never ends.
 
I watched the movie Sound of Metal over the weekend. It’s a great movie. It was up for the Best Picture Oscar won by Nomadland (a worthy winner!) and it’s about a heavy metal rock drummer who loses his hearing and worries about losing his life because of it.
 
One of his teachers tries to get him to embrace his deafness and learn to just “sit.” He says that when you can just sit in the silence, you discover the kingdom of God. Wow!
 
Makes me wonder--
When was the last time you really unplugged?
Like really unplugged.
Turn off the phone. Radio silence. Go dark. No technology.
Nothing.
 
Solitude.
 
It’s one of the Spiritual Disciplines in Richard Foster’s book The Celebration of Discipline. This book is a classic. He gives us a number of Disciplines to try—things to bring clarity to this crazy jacked-up existence. Prayer, Fasting, Meditation, Study, Simplicity, Submission, Service, Confession, Worship, Guidance, Celebration are all chapter headings and good ideas for capturing the Spirit in and around our daily lives. And Solitude is one, too.
 
Solitude.
 
Sit. Be. Repeat.
 
Imagine several days of that!
Full-on hermetic, monastic, cloistral life.
Even for a few hours.
 
Maybe it sounds boring.
Maybe it sounds selfish.
Maybe it sounds divine!
 
Maybe we can capture a moment here or there. I know a lady who can’t find space to be alone except in the coat closet at home. It’s dark, it’s quiet, it’s perfect.
 
If you can’t carve out a few days, maybe you can carve out a few moments. Combine a little solitude with meditation, with prayer.
 
Try this from Thich Nhat Hanh*—use only as directed.
 
Breathing in, I calm my body,
Breathing out, I smile.
Dwelling in the present moment,
I know this is a wonderful moment!
 
Breath in.
Breath out.
Repeat.
 
Again.
 
Again.
 
Again.
 
Again.
 
You’re welcome…
 
Grace & Peace,
Scott
 
Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life by Thich Nhat Hanh, Bantam, 1991.
 
Richard Foster, The Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, HarperOne, 2018.