Lectio Divina

Reading the bible in a year has been my chosen form of meditation for the past six years, although I rarely read every passage every day, and, come December, the book of Revelation and the minor prophets are given short shrift. An Advent book of devotions such as Ann Voskamp's The Greatest Gift, or more often, Phyllis Tickle's Christmastide from her book The Divine Hours have been of better comfort than the Apocalypse. I find it hard to read deeply, or pause to follow a rabbit trail through the unbroken snows of Mt. Hermon, if it catches my eye, because I have a spiritual train to catch. So I have set different goals this year in which I will follow rabbit trails and read slowly - very slowly. The bible is still and always will be the rock and the road on which my pillars stand. Hopefully, this method will allow more opportunity to reflect on other works without the clock reminding me to move on quickly. And with my mind attuned to this new goal, I keep bumping into confirmation from poets, professors, and neurological discoveries indicating this is a better way to read anything.

Along with slow reading, I also aim to engage in slow writing. This blog is a way-marker for me and it is who I am at the moment I write it into existence. But I will confess that I strongly edited myself to remain upbeat and inviting and perhaps, at the time, to generate a persona that was upbeat and inviting, always. The last several years have been a struggle for me to be cheerful. I don't like what age is doing to my body and mind and I am often cranky about it. What I write in the future may or may not have a sunny disposition. I say that not for the reader, but to give myself permission to bring myself to the page, not who I want you to see.

Consistency is not my strong point, it is a supreme struggle. But it is my hope to write regularly what I discover as I read. If you choose to read this blog, even once, I thank you immensely for your time. Attentiveness is so scarce where there is an abundance of meat and sweets on the internet. And God knows I don't make it easy for you when I don't post links to my references because I don't wish to endorse anything here. As always, my blogs are signposts along the way to fellow travelers. Godspeed.