The Mundane Way

In her book Leaving Church , Barbara Brown Taylor writes that part of what Sabbath looks like for her is living as though all her work is done. I like this as a guiding principle for Sabbath observance. I would set next to it the principle of doing the opposite of what I normally do, as a way to bring balance and rest. Since I spend much of the week sitting and looking at a screen, Sabbath for me might include walking around outside for a while. Since I spend my work days doing mentally taxing work, Sabbath might include mentally restful activities: doing puzzles, playing board games, or reading something light and entertaining. Perhaps most pertinent for me, since I spend most of my waking hours trying to improve myself, Sabbath must include rest from that heavy labor and the willingness, for twenty-four hours at least, to call my self good. To know myself to be beloved as I am. True Sabbath requires an interior rest, the cessation of the inner striving to do and be more than I am...

Mainstream American culture is addicted to security, convenience and comfort. Ads of all kinds bombard us endlessly, promising products and services that will please, excite, satisfy, comfort or reassure us just the way we like. In short, they're selling a fantasy. Life is not always comfortable, secure or convenient. It is often messy, uncertain, fragile, confusing and unpredictable. What is the cost of our dependence on comfort, security and convenience? In addition to the strain on our wallets, what is it costing the earth, our bodies, our communities, our souls? I don't want to get extreme about this, but it might not hurt to allow myself to experience a bit of discomfort or to live with a minor inconvenience rather than buy something to "fix" it. If c onsumerism is the belief that the solution to every problem or the fulfillment of every need ends with a purchase, I could try instead to imagine solutions and satisfactions that don't involve acquiring anot...

“...anything beyond need tends to become burdensome. If you have it, you have to take care of it!” Peace Pilgrim Simplicity of living is a worthy goal, but how does one already loaded down with possessions go about it? Perhaps it’s different for each person. Some may be able to rid themselves of most of their stuff without much trouble. Others may need to unburden themselves gradually. What comes to me as I consider Peace Pilgrim’s statement is that the first step may be simply to observe for myself the truth of what she says. Do I see how some of my unnecessary possessions have become a burden, either because of the upkeep they require, the money I spend to hold onto them, or the energy I use fussing over them when they break? In what other ways do my possessions become a burden? How do they weigh me down or cause me trouble that could be avoided if I didn’t have them? What would I stand to gain by giving them up?