Back several months ago, I watched the Monastery series on YouTube....the one with (former) Abbot Christopher Jamison, who was in charge of running the abbey, and also was responsible for the well-being of outsiders who'd come for spiritual refreshment. Excellent series, and I very much recommend it. In the series, a book is recommended to the visitors and it's Humble Pie by Carol Bonomo....all about humility, and while that might sound like a dry topic, it really wasn't. She's an excellent writer, in my opinion, and pretty much states the importance of putting others first. Again, sounds dry, but isn't.
Anyway, I had some free Swagbucks at Amazon and bought another of her books, this one called The Abbey Up the Hill: A Year in the Life of a Monastic Day-Tripper. She goes through the year, telling of her journey of being an oblate at the monastery, and it reads wonderfully. She's so down-to-earth.
One thing led to another and I got out my copy of The Rule of St. Benedict (also recommended in the video series, and which Bonomo outlines her book by), and my tiny old copy of The Imitation of Christ and of The Pace of a Hen by Josephine Moffett Benton. What a rabbit trail, but really, it all runs together beautifully.
I really do have a point to make, and not that I'm a closet Catholic (which I'm not!).
As I said yesterday, these chickens are so Zen in their manner. I'll sit outside and watch them...they just go about their business. They eat and run off songbirds, and eat, and go the bathroom (a lot), and then lie in the sun and rest. They dust bathe and then eat some more. So soothing to watch, and since they shy at loud noises, I find myself being quiet and slow-moving around them. You can't imagine what that does for a person's mood. Being required to not jump up suddenly. It's really magical.
On to my point. Money's tight now, stuff's still broken, yet thankfully we have a washer to use at a neighbor's (I think I mentioned that before). I read something in the Imitation of Christ last night about not wrestling against adversity or hard times but to try to get some good out of it. It's easy to feel put upon when things are harder than normal. I tend to feel punished and get all worked up. It rarely does any good to be that way, and with this chicken life now, it's so nice to go out back, watch the chickens do their thing and let go of aggravations.
Sometime we'll have money to fix the washer, and the issues with the vacuum and weedeater will manage themselves as well. Doesn't have to be the centerpiece of my days, that's for sure.
Anyway, made my point and guess that was the motive here. Take care and enjoy your day. :)
