Our parish puts a weekly newsletter in the pews of the adoration chapel. It's called, "The Faith Connection," and it's published by RCL Benziger. RCL stands for "Resources for Christian Living." Benziger publishes religion textbooks among other things.

So...this week there was a reflection on "the discipline of Lent and understanding what is primary and what must be subordinated to our relationship with Christ."

Here is the paragraph that bugged me:

It is a good thing to have time to relax and enjoy the blessings of life. But if the use of our time becomes indulgent, our leisure can turn into selfishness. Then we must let go of our time so that we have time for others.

Sooo.....how many hours of leisure time are we ALLOWED before our leisure becomes selfishness?? A round of golf takes pretty long....????

I teacher kindergarten and this year there are MANY difficult students in my class and they fight all day long...sometimes verbally, sometimes physically. I have accepted this. I do my best to mediate what is worth mediating and try to neutralize what's not worth addressing. I am doing my best to survive. I am doing my best to teach ALL of them and believe it or not everyone is doing well academically and we get a lot accomplished in spite of all the bickering. It isn't easy. It isn't what I would like it to be. It is WHAT IT IS.

Soooo....I guess after battling through another day of teaching I don't deserve to come home and practice my flute (I'm taking lessons). No....I must let go of my leisure time so I can have time for "others."

When is enough enough? How much do I have to "give" in order for the Church to be satisfied? It seems like no matter how much I give, the Church sends me the message that it is never ENOUGH.

Thank you for letting me vent.

Anne

Hi Anne. Good question.

I guess when relaxation turns into sloth or laziness it could be said to be "indulgent." How would one know the difference? I guess if one is neglecting to do what needs to be done, that would be one criterion. It surely doesn't sound like you're guilty of that.

Anne,
LOL! Enjoyed your vent! It certainly can get nutsy sometimes out here.

Hard to believe that the Holy Spirit is a Spirit of freedom.

St. John of the Cross wrote about 'idle tranquility' and the 'holy liberty of the sons of God'.

Often you will hear teachings on the primacy of being over doing. And that we are human beings not human doings.

LOL.

Phil, I recall, in his Basic Spirituality tape recommended procrastinating the non-essential activities that can become tyrannies -- or something like that (I loaned that tape to a friend so I cant check).

Nowadays our lives are typically frenetic and its hard to find a moment to relax.. So it bites when someone writes what you've found to be scrupulous. There have been many saints over the years afflicted with undue scrupulosity.

Nothing like a good vent sometimes! It's kind of like renouncing an evil spirit. Like saying "Bite me! in the name of Jesus".

Yeah, sloth and laziness are real vices, but leisure seems to me by its very essence (I can't find my dictionary just now) to be a timeout FROM activities. It seems to me that sloth is inactivity and not something one can take timeout FROM, since it's an illicit timeout by its very nature.

Anyway. LOL. And as Jesus perhaps would have said: "Rise. Pick up your flute and blow"

Pipingly, yours
Pop-pop

Thanks, Phil and Pop-Pop for your feedback. Just received your the Newsletter for Heartland Center and Sr. Renee Dreiling OP writes:

Parker Palmer in "Let Your Life Speak" makes the statement that self-care is never a selfish act—it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer others.

Just what I needed to hear on a Friday!

Was also happy to read the Sr. Louise is doing well! And Phil, I wish I lived closer. I would LOVE to attend your birding weekend in April. Just up my alley!

But I am also lucky enough to be signed up to attend a retreat with Paula D'Arcy next weekend at Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, IL. I have heard her speak before and read her books, but am looking forward to the get-away and hope the organizers have some "down time" planned into the weekend.

Anne
www.annedonze.com

Anne, I really enjoyed looking at your website. I especially liked Noelle's red winter coat under the "paper doll sets".

Ariel,

Glad you enjoyed the paper dolls and their clothes. Drawing paper dolls is another of my passions (besides flute playing and kindergarten teaching!).

Anne

Hi Anne,

It was nice to browse your website. Those drawings are very beautiful! I just love those little cute clothes. Reminds me of the fierce attachment a mother gets to her child's first clothes and how you never want to give them away or put them away!

I am curious to know how the paper doll thing works. Do you cut out the doll and the clothes and then dress them up and change outfits?

Anyway, I can relate to your issue with selfishness vs. leisure. I just took up jewelry making within the last year and went NUTS with passion for making earrings. It was so peaceful and consuming. I'd sit down and hours would go by as I got into a flow of creativity that is so consuming, I just didn't want to stop. I used to have a loom and was a weaver. That was another creative thrill, making scarves. The act of making something beautiful is such a high, isn't it? Ariel must know what I'm talking about, right?

My creative hobby does feel a bit selfish at times, and my boys have said, "MOM! you're obsessed with making jewelry!" and I do get carried away at times to the point of neglecting my responsibilities. But there's also the peace that comes with using a very different part of my brain; creativity is restorative, isn't it? And musical creativity too, as you know, has an important place in restoring us. And there's pleasure in sharing one's art with others and watching them light up.

I've wondered if God feels a bit like I do when I create, with a gushing out of wonder and awe at the endless variety of beauty...

Shasha, that’s so cool that you’ve been doing some jewelry making. I have a couple of artist friends who do that, and I’m almost always tempted, crow-like, by all the beautiful materials. (When I was very young, my brother told me the sparkly bits of quartz embedded in the macadam of the road were diamonds…so I went out on my hands and knees in the middle of the road to look for the diamonds.) Yes, I do know what you mean about getting into a sort of flow state from creative work.

I’ve also had to learn to deal healthfully with pressure, though, too, to be creative yet meet deadlines. And getting a sort of sculptor’s “I can’t make a mistake or I’ll ruin this” frozenness has been still another challenge that someone else in another field gave me a way to get past.

Fwiw, I’ll share something that’s helped me with various types of pressure, which may be kind of pertinent to this thread. I always have something, somewhere, that needs to be done, or done better, in my life--there is just no end to farm chores, or else things I could do for my elderly relatives, or good causes that need action and support. Being an artist can seem kind of selfish in the face of such things. So, here is a picture from a rabbi that I came across some years ago, which I’ve taken to heart.

The writer was Abraham Joshua Heschel, and I read this probably in his book God in Search of Man. Anyway, in talking about the Jewish Sabbath, Heschel give this illustration: Imagine you’re walking on the sidewalk through a noisy, busy city, till you come to the door of your own house. You’d go up the steps, unlock the door, and go into the quiet, peace, and rest of an inviolate space, a sanctuary, closing the door firmly behind you. You enter stripping off, so to speak, clean and unburdening youself of whatever you were carrying, and none of the noise or stress of the city may slip in behind you or on your shoulders. That sacred space, with the firmly closed door, is the Sabbath---and as Jesus said, it’s a kind gift made by God for our benefit. It’s divinely sanctioned necessary indolence. And it says a lot about God’s character and concerns, as well.

Though we’re not under law, of course, I’ve applied the idea of a inviolate Sabbath space in other areas. When I enter the door of my studio, I think of that sacred Sabbath room---I shed all other concerns like a coat when I close that door behind me. I’ve sort of conditioned myself to associate that space with hard but stress-free activity, kind of like I’ve conditioned my horses to associate a halter with possible considerable energy expenditure but no stress and pushing. The horses put their own heads into a held-out halter, without getting food treats, because they know what kind of master I am. So, I also have taken some care to remember that rest and recreation (even during work) is, first of all, something close to God’s heart (not just mine), rather than stressed out guilt or hurrying, because He is a good Master. It’s actually made a huge practical difference to me to remember that Sabbath rest and shalom are all God’s idea. And I've trained myself so I don't just remember it consciously, but my conditioning of myself in regards to my workroom being a stress-free physical space has really paid off in my automatic reactions to entering my workroom.

Ariel and Shasha,

Glad you both liked the paper dolls and thanks for bringing us back on topic! And Shasha, yes, you cut out the dolls and then put the various clothes on them. I also do magnets--you put the doll on the fridge and then the clothes stay on magnetically.

And remember, too, that God seems to create just for the sheer sake of creating. There are beautiful fish at the bottom of the ocean where it's DARK...where nobody can see and therefore appreciate them.

If all anybody ever did was to "do for others" then no beautiful music would ever be composed and no artwork would ever be created. I don't think that's what God had in mind.

But Jesus, rather than God, seems to give us the message "to serve." Remember....the last shall be first and the first shall be last? So, while God seems to give me permission to be a creator--like He is--Jesus seems to be telling me to "wash feet" all the time. God gives me Sabbath, Jesus goes off into the mountains to pray. It doesn't say that he rested or created--he prayed! God has fun when he creates. Jesus never seems to have much fun, except for a bit of socializing now and then. Jesus wept. Does it ever say anywhere in the Bible that Jesus laughed?

More mixed messages....

Anne

Anne, nothing wrong with being challenged to serve. We are called to be generous with our lives and gifts, and so it's an issue to keep before our conscience. It seems artistic creation is one way to do this, and that needs to be honored. But what else might we do to be of service? It's appropriate that the Church ask us this question, and also that we be discerning in our response. I see you as being resistant to a spirituality that would smother the creativity and goodness of life in favor of doing, doing, and doing for others. I surely agree with you on this.

quote:

Jesus never seems to have much fun, except for a bit of socializing now and then. Jesus wept. Does it ever say anywhere in the Bible that Jesus laughed?

It does say that he rejoiced (Lk 10: 21), and we know he kept a wedding reception going by providing 150 gallons of excellent wine (John 2). He was also filled with God's love and Spirit, which is bound to make one smile, at times, don't you think?

Howard Thurman is quoted as saying “Don’t look at what the world needs and do that, instead look at what gives you life and go do that, because what the world needs are people who have come alive”

How many of us know people who are not fully alive and who toil endlessly for the church.
I believe that most often the church asks us to just look at what is presumed as needed and we are encouraged/invited to meet those needs regardless of our gifts and no matter how equipped we are, Instead we need to discern our gifts and discover through prayer and meditation and life itself what makes us come alive, and then ultimately serve our church out of our aliveness, and not out of duty or the need to serve.

No wonder so many people get burn out in service for The church, instead of allowing by grace the Holy Spirit to show us our gifts and thus inviting us to share those with our brothers and sisters.

Amazing grace.

Thank you, Clare.

I used to send a greeting card to high school graduates. It said something like this:

Do what you love. It's what the world needs from you. It's what you were meant to do.

Anne

Clare,

Your post was wonderfully appropo. DYNAMITE!

Pop-pop

p.s. (Ariel's was quite nice as well, I thought, but ... shhh).

Ariel,

What kind of work do you do in your studio?

Anne

Anne--

I'm a sculptor, mostly, though I also do some painting (watercolor, oil, and acrylic), and drawing.

In sculpture, I do fairly realistic work of animals, plants and people in wood and stone, and most of the wood I use is claro walnut burl from California. It's hard work, but I like it. I've been using various species of burl wood for more than a decade, but I haven't gotten tired of taking a rough, dull looking block of wood, sculpting and then polishing it until the intricate patterns and colors in the burl grain shine out into what's called "chatoyancy" (a "cat's-eye" shimmering effect). It's always a surprise, and even humbling.

Have you tried any of the colored pencils that can also be used for watercolors? I love walking past the colored pencils at art and craft stores, with all the many pencil colors arranged together like a rainbow.

quote:

Originally posted by pop-pop:

p.s. (Ariel's was quite nice as well, I thought, but ... shhh).

Pop-pop--

I heard that.

I'm starting my vegetable garden. The lettuces, swiss chard, spinach and arugula (I just like that word) are going in now, and I'm deciding on what kinds of tomatoes, peppers, and squash to plant later. So, my question to you is, do you have any preferences?---heirloom tomatoes or modern varieties? (For pelting purposes.)

Ariel,

Sounds fascinating! Thanks for the further explanation. I'm glad you have a refuge of sorts.

No, I've never tried the watercolor pencils. Just haven't felt inclined. But I can get a really nice effect with the regular ones. I use prismacolors on smoothe bristol.....do LOTS of building up of layers and blending. It's kind of slow tedious work but I keep getting better, so no desire to switch to another media.

Today I joined a flute choir. Five people showed up. One was a college biology prof and the other three had all studied flute at the Master's level at Florida State. Needless to say, I was the least accomplished flute player there. But we read through a whole bunch of music and I mostly was able to keep up. It was lots of fun and I'm definitely going to commit to being a part of it.

We're going to do some performances at a veterans home, assisted living facility, hospital, etc. THERE NOW....we will definitely be doing "for others" and being "of service." Won't we Phil

Anne (Whew---glad I was able to bring that art discussion back on topic! )
www.annedonze.com

Ms. Shady,

LOL! For pelting? .... being typically on the receiving end...I prefer grape tomatoes! Definitely.

Years back I had a great time at the Minnesota Ren Fest south of Minneapolis. There was a tomato pelting exhibition there that would be right up your alley! The fair is held late in summer and there are lots of overripe tomatoes available For a dollar you get 5 or 6 for throwing at a guy with a red bathing cap protruding his head through the bull of a five-foot diameter circular wooden target. He had a large repetoire of saucy taunts and jibes for his throwing customers. Quite the tease and taunter! The angrier he got some of the men, the harder they threw and typically with ever degrading accuracy. Was a kick to watch. Tomato blood dripping everywhere. Large tomatoes they were -- not grape.

You're right about the sound of arugula! It is neat! And can remind one of the old model T car horns -- AROOOGULA, AROOGULA!

I love arugula -- the adult more than the baby. And what would also be nice to plant -- thai basil! Hard to find in supermarkets, but lovely in salads. Mache is a delicious salad green too, that is not often found in stores, and so would be nice to plant.

I saw a show on public TV where a guy plants his greens and tomato plants in six inch PVC pipe three feet high and also in stacked cinderblocks 2 - 3 feet high. There is no room for weeds to grow, just the plant! And, the chucks and rabbits can't get to the greens to eat them away. He doesn't have to bend. He walks by with some water.

Should I invest in a red bathing cap, then?

The cross is supposed to be a symbol of love -- not a gunsight BTW!

Dodger.

Grape tomatoes it is, then, Sunnyboy. I would aRUgula the day I really caused you injury.

I've been to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire a couple of times, and I can easily imagine a saucy tomato toss tempting taunter. Watch out for Peter Piper at the PA Ren Faire if you ever stray across the border of our neighboring states. I heard Pennsylvania's Peter Piper picked a peck of Pop-pop pelting peppers...you may become an unwitting exhibition yourself.

Thai basil--that's a good idea of something to try growing.

love and arugula--Ariel

Serving God is our leisure time, because it makes us happy. The rest is just this world stuff that we have to deal with.

love,

tuck

quote:

Serving God is our leisure time, because it makes us happy.

And what exactly does THAT mean??

Anne