Friday, June 01, 2007

A New Month

It is a new month! It hard to believe it is already June. In my kitchen I have a box full of Christmas coffee mugs sitting in a corner. I have been putting them away since last December. I suppose at this point it could be considered proactive for me to leave them out for another six months in preparation for Christmas 2007. If you wait long enough even procrastination can be transformed into being proactive.

I have flipped the pages on my calendars. Now I have new pictures to stare at in moments of fatigue, confusion, panic, or simple daydreaming. One of my calendars has pictures from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I buy one of these calendars every year because I love the nature photography. It adds an element of peacefulness to my little self enclosed cubicle world. Whenever I feel the need I can look at the nature scene of the month and retreat in my mind to a quiet and beautiful place. On my other wall is a calendar from Holy Spirit Monastery in Conyers, Georgia. It was sent to me by my friend, Brother Chaminade. He is a monk that I met in France. We hit it off and have remained in contact with one another. He does a better job of writing to me than I do writing to him. I do send him my daily thoughts so he knows what's up with me. Being familiar with monastic life I am also aware of his daily life. I appreciate the fact that he is a silent presence in my life and that he is one more person who remembers me in prayer. I like having both calendars. One keeps me in secular time and the other keeps me in sacred time. The truth is that they are one and the same. Even when you try to live with a spiritual consciousness, those of us in the world must also be about our daily tasks and responsibilities. The spiritual journey and it's hoped for enlightenment is simply becoming more aware of what should be obvious. The world is full of the greatness and goodness of God and each moment is pregnant with grace when anything and everything is possible.

Why do these four day work weeks seem six days long? It has been a long week. I am finally feeling better but I am weary. Because of my long illness I have not slept well. The combination of medicine and fatigue have kept me in a daze for much of the last two weeks. I look forward to the weekend and the possibility of extra sleep. I will have to get up early on Sunday to visit the monastery. I go there once a month to meet with a small group of like minded folks. It is sometimes difficult to drag myself out of bed but I enjoy the drive there and the time I am with my friends and the monks. What I really need is a few days at the monastery alone so I can really rest and get renewed. I have had some world class naps in the silence and solitude of the monastery. It is place to renew not only the soul but the body as well. Like life and spirituality, the body and soul cannot be separated. Both need attention in order to be balanced.

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