Idle chitchat; the Rule of Life should be peaceful; links!
For a wife and mother, the Rule of Life should be quite simple.
We really don’t have to make what we do first thing in the morning into a test of character, launching ourselves into time management before we have a chance to breathe.
Goodness knows enough necessities will present themselves right away, and unless you live entirely alone, others have to be attended to. For mothers, there’s hardly a moment to spare!
Even if you do have to head out the door right away, try to make some time at some point in the morning for this First Moment of Gratitude.
Another aspect of that grandfather’s Rule that I loved is his appreciation of nature: the garden, the weather, the birds. Some of us are about to be hit with a snowstorm; others have had plenty of gloomy days; I think some readers here are in high mid-summer!
But Nonno is right. It’s all a gift from God. Everything given is good. Sometimes the best way to start the day is with simple, uncomplicated thanksgiving for things as they are.
I think maybe picking up our phones and scrolling has substituted for something we actually need in our approach to the day. We tend to think in dichotomies, to present ourselves with stark either/or’s — but whose are they?: either wake up early to perform some onerous, stressful duty, like intense meditation imposed by some devotion that might be rather overwhelming, or zone out. So naturally, we are tempted to zone out.
Perhaps, though, what we need is attentiveness to what must be done (certainly it wouldn’t do to ignore the clamoring hungry babies and/or animals) and also some time to slide gently into wakefulness, with peaceful gratitude and quiet praise. Even if that moment comes a bit later.
I would also argue, in this hectic world of ours, for prioritizing sleep. I wrote about the Rule of Life here, and to quote myself,
If the Rule of Life that someone else is following allows her only a handful of hours of sleep a day (and I recently saw this), I can assure you that this rule is not for you. Without knowing you at all, I can guarantee you that it’s not for you!
Sometimes having a few minutes (or 20) to knit or read or wander out in the garden, if that’s the season, with our tea, are better opportunities for prayer than forcing ourselves to “think higher thoughts” (often, unhelpfully, someone else’s thoughts) in some strained way that ultimately suggests we are relying on our own efforts rather than on God’s grace.
Anyway, I liked Nonno’s approach.
Idle Chitchat Corner
I am almost done with clearing out the Christmas things, and that of course feels like a hopeful harbinger of Spring!
I’ve started the long tidying/post-decorating deep cleaning process. I had to pull my living-room rug way back and address some moth issues. The floor under where the tree had been needed to be scrubbed! And the Chief is repairing where the curtain rod support got pulled out.
I think I will leave those twinkle lights there, though…
And the orange garland, which easily transitions to springy decoration or maybe I’m just rationalizing.
Isn’t it interesting how different the color looks in here in every photo?
Here is my progress on my Syncopation Socks. The small gauge means it takes a while (and is a bit hard on my hands), but they are satisfying, I think! I had a little hiccup in the stitch count for the heels, but so be it.
Today I aim to put the buttons on the baby sweater… and then block it and the hat.
… and finally take a peek at what seeds I have and what I need to order! I really am going to have to make the garden smaller this year, though. I’m getting older and my helper has gone on to a full-time job!
Do you have springtime thoughts and doings?
Are you happy with your first morning thoughts and practices? It’s so hard to figure out the balance: others’ needs, one’s own needs, not being lazy, not being stressed out!
bits & piecesCardinal Newman’s Simple Rule of Life.
Virtual Reality Reboots History by Charles T. Rubin in The New Atlantis. This is a long book review/essay about virtual reality. I found the beginning not as compelling as the middle/end, but then worth going back and reading entire. (If you are having the same trouble, start from the large “drop cap” letter B: “Because the whole point of virtualism is to allow people to be free to choose their own ways of virtual life, it might at first seem absurd to suggest that a regime of virtualism might be totalitarian also in the normative sense.”).
The author says, quoting another, “only through philosophy — which is to say, the quest for the truth — can we liberate ourselves from the dogmas and prejudices that motivate our judgments, the schools of thought that rule us.” I agree and add that philosophy is not only the purview of academics; perhaps it is seldom truly their realm.
Philosophy is given to anyone who contemplates the truth. We also need real reality, and I would remind everyone that nothing offers real reality — grounding in the truth, knowing how to live — like having a family — like having babies and raising children and going out in the garden of a beautiful morning.
Implications of losing manufacturing capabilities: The Shape of Metal (on Ronzoni discontinuing making tiny, star-shaped pasta). Relatedly, I am pretty obsessed with old woolen mills, as my region is replete with them. Mills sitting blankly next to the rivers from which they derived their power once upon a time — in a state that no longer produces any power of any sort, much less wool. Go in a store in Massachusetts and all you can buy is polyester from China. This is making me crazy!
Oklahoma Bill Encourages Marriage With State Tax Credits For Hitched Parents. I am opposed to raw “natalist” policies. It’s insanity for society to suppress population, but it’s no remedy to encourage childbearing outside of marriage. We have to encourage marriage of man and woman as well as encourage women to stay home.
A helpful little video about the uses of Borax and why to have it on hand.
Descartes, Trumpian Thomism, and ‘Pronouns’ — We need to stand by what we can see with our own eyes!
from the archivesWhat can children do? A guide
Husbands and how to understand them
Seed organization
liturgical living
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