I have managed to MOSTLY stay off the computer, and emails, and the phone, this week. True confession, I did sneak a peek at the Lenten materials yesterday and watched the preparation webinar. I’m glad I did. I feel almost prepared for the next 6 weeks.
Here’s a partial list of my “accomplishments” this week …
Finally got to a physiotherapy appointment and didn’t have to hang my head in shame for not doing the exercises. And my knee actually feels a bit stronger and less painful. Also got to aquacise. As my pool companion has been known to say, “I am feeling virtuous!”
Listened to a few podcasts, which I loved. Why don’t I do this more often? I started working backwards through Krista Tippett’s On Being podcasts. If you haven’t listened, give it a try. On Being is (from the website) …
.. “a conversation that has been building for over two decades with wise and graceful lives — across spiritual inquiry and science, social healing and the arts. You likely know us through … our Peabody award-winning show that began on public radio — now podcasting special seasons. We can be found in ears, and in conversations that matter, around the world. We are animated by humanity’s ancient questions, newly alive in this century: What does it mean to be human? How do we want to live? And who will we be to each other?”
Tippett interviews poets, scientists, artists, humanitarians, social activists … it’s a feast of information and hope. This week I listened to interviews with Joan Baez (it was wonderful!) and author and visionary Adrienne Maree Brown, where I learned about what mushrooms can teach us about compost and new life.
A closely associated podcast you can find on the same website is Poetry Unbound, with Padraig O’Tuama, former Director of the Corrymeela Centre. Poetry Unbound is a … “Short and unhurried, … immersive exploration of a single poem … Pádraig Ó Tuama greets you at the doorways of brilliant poems and walks you through — each one has wisdom to offer and questions to ask you”.
And, from one extreme to the other … I finished my Chief Bruno mystery, and started the latest in a wonderful series I started last year … the Parker and Pentecost series by Stephen Spotswood. Set in the 1940s New York City, it features a scrappy circus runaway with knife throwing skills, Willow “Will” Parker, and unorthodox private investigator Lillian Pentecost, whose multiple sclerosis prevents her from keeping up with her old case load alone. There are five books so far in the series and I have loved them all. Pure escapism. Can’t wait for the TV series or movie.
And, I think I broke the back of my knitting project (while listening to podcasts) … which I have been at since last summer. Usually I knit to relax but this pattern I chose is ultra complicated and up until this week I could only do a few rows at a time before I would put it down in frustration. I have ripped it out and started over several times now (which I have come to view as a spiritual practice itself!) … but this week … I think I got it! It will still probably take me a few months to finish … but at least it’s not causing me grief every time I pick it up. My great aunt Nina, who taught me how to knit when I was a kid, would be proud.
I also managed to get through a few of the piles of papers in the spare room, and clear a bit of space in the basement. And I had several visits with friends over coffee or lunch. So it’s been a good week.
And yes, I will be watching the Oscars this Sunday night … even the red carpet before the show. There are still a couple of the “big” movies I haven’t seen … don’t think I will get to them before Sunday … but I’ll be people watching along with millions of others.
I will probably post a bit more often during Lent … there are some great resources and reflection questions in the social media materials and the journals, so stay tuned next week as Lent begins!
