Well, the world has certainly changed since I posted my last blog…nothing like 
I’ve ever seen in my lifetime. And so now we are all charged with ‘social distancing’ as the norm for the coming weeks…or months…or more.
As I was outside last week digging up the ground in my backyard for a small garden (first one I’ve had since coming back to Mississippi), I found myself feeling grateful and very comfortable being at home. The day seemed to slow down in a way that felt strangely familiar and satisfying. Hmmm….felt like I was living like a monk. And rather than feeling the demand to have everything happen right away, I heard the phrase differently in my ear….right away dissolved into write a way. So here is a brief offering of pen to paper.
Some of you may know that I am an oblate with the Sacred Heart Monastery in Cullman, Alabama. From the website at Sacred Heart, here’s the definition of an oblate:
“Oblates of St. Benedict are Christian women and men who enrich their way of life by associating themselves with a Benedictine community. They offer
themselves (the meaning of oblation) in service to Christ by choosing to incorporate the values of Benedictine spirituality into their daily life. Oblates are not vowed religious nor do they live at the monastery; rather, they bring the spirit of Benedictine life to their own homes, churches, and workplaces.”
I realized that perhaps this new ‘social distancing’ was drawing me more closely into a traditional monastic order of the day, which is a balanced combination of work and prayer…Ora et labora…the Benedictine motto. And that felt peaceful and meaningful, offering an opportunity to savor being intentional and ‘in the moment.’
I’ve been amazed (but not really surprised) at how the music and creative communities have found beautiful ways to bring their gifts and talents to the world in this crazy time through the miracle of technology. Our spirits are lifted through SONG and I hope we will all share the sheer determination to make music and dance in the midst of what seems like madness.
With all the wonderful sentiments out there on social platforms and broadcast media, I hope this little note brings you encouragement. I have news about a special project of which I had the pleasure to be part that has recently been released, and I will send that out soon. Until then, allow me to share a couple of things that have really spoken to me over the last few weeks. One is from the Rabbit Room, a group of like-minded thinkers that fosters Christ-centered community and spiritual formation through music, story, and art. This article was shared by Rev. Darian Duckworth…it’s titled “Love In The Time Of Covid-19,” written by Lanier Ivester, and the piece below is called, “So That’s,”by American editor/novelist Peter DeVries.
“So that’s it,” Dr. Cameron said, greeting me at the elevator. “Your daughter’s temperature’s been normal now for two days, so it’s probably let up. She’s just walked in the hall without any pains. She feels a lot better. Give it another day and you can take her home. But anyhow, we’ve eliminated everything serious.”
That was the happiest moment of my life. Or the next several days were the happiest days of my life. We could break bread in peace again, my child and I. The greatest experience open to us then is the recovery of the commonplace. Coffee in the morning and whiskeys in the evening again without fear. Books to read without that shadow falling across the page. Carol curled up with one in her chair and I in mine. And the bliss of finishing off an evening with a game of rummy and a mug of cocoa together. And how good again to sail into Tony’s midtown bar, with its sparkling glasses, hitherto scarcely noticed, ready to tilt us into evening, the clean knives standing upended in their crocks of cheese at the immaculate stroke of five. My keyed-up senses got everything: the echo of wood smoke in Cheddar, of the seahorse in the human spine, of the dogwood flower in the blades of an electric fan, or vice versa….But you can multiply for yourself the list of pleasures to be extorted from Simple Things when the world has once again been restored to you.
©From The Blood of the Lambs, Peter DeVries. Distributed by Warner Books, Inc., a subsidiary of Warner Publishing, Inc., New York.
Peace and a song to you…along with a ‘virtual’ hug from six feet away,
Tricia
