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Thread: Work as prayer/meditation and the sanctity of everyday things

  1. #1
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    Work as prayer/meditation and the sanctity of everyday things

    I don't know exactly what I want to say here, but the Silence thread kind of had me thinking about this in part because it brought up the topic of monastic living.

    Obviously I am not living a monastic or consecrated religious life, married as I am with four kids, but my family is affiliated with a Franciscan Friary, an old friend from high school is a Benedictine Monk and a lifelong friend of mine (Baby T's Godfather) is about halfway through his formation to become a Jesuit priest, so I've had a lot of exposure to that kind of environment.

    I have been thinking about what I find attractive about it and I think its the way they approach their work and daily tasks with such intention, making work a form of prayer and meditation. I view work in much the same way. Making dinner, for example, is an opportunity to express love for my family, to be thankful for the gifts I have been given, to facilitate conversations and connections, to nourish the bodies and spirits of those I love and to offer it all in prayer to the God who made it possible. It makes the task much more pleasant and meaningful and connects me more fully to my work and those who benefit from it.

    I know that other traditions and faiths also value the sacred in the everyday and I would love to hear your experiences of this.
    My blog: www.sunnysideuplife.blogspot.com

    Guess why I smile? Because it's worth it. -Marcel the Shell with Shoes

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    I find chopping vegetables to be very meditative.

    Unless, that is, DD is singing the same phrase of a song over and over and the cats are meowing and winding themselves around my legs waiting for their dinner and it's getting late and everyone is crabby.

    Life is a lot more peaceful when the days are intentional. I try to think about that late afternoon hour early in the day so that I can do some of those tasks ahead of time.

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    Unless, that is, DD is singing the same phrase of a song over and over and the cats are meowing and winding themselves around my legs waiting for their dinner and it's getting late and everyone is crabby.
    LOL. My DDs do the song thing too.
    My blog: www.sunnysideuplife.blogspot.com

    Guess why I smile? Because it's worth it. -Marcel the Shell with Shoes

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    My quilting time is a great time for meditation.

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    Senior Member BayouGirl's Avatar
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    Stella, I like the way you think and I think you worded it well. I am the kind of person who has rarely enjoyed church services consisting of being lectured by preachers, dealing with organized religions and their strict "do and don't" requirements of what I need to do to live up to their interpretation of spirituality.

    I always thought that I would accomplish more by actively doing something for others in need instead of sitting in a church or giving money to a church and not having any idea of where it goes. I feel my time and money is better spent by me directly helping someone and giving to those who have a need, rather than giving to a church. I feel more spiritually connected and grounded by helping someone or giving of myself than I would by attending a church service. I don't just pray that something will happen and consider it done. I try to get out there and make it happen.

    Teaching kindergarten in the inner city was one of the most fulfilling things I have done. I knew my students needed me and I went well beyond my job description in how I taught them, treated them and nurtured them. My students needed so much! I felt I was serving God by caring for his most needy and vulnerable little people and showering them with love (and hugs and treats and compliments and even clothes if needed).

    I often stay up all night and then go to bed after the sun rises. I have seen many beautiful sunrises from my porch and this is a quiet time of reflection. I sit there and think of all of the wonderful things in my life and all of my loved ones. Then I go curl up in bed next to BayouBoy and contently listen to him snore which is a sweet sound to me. My spouse before BayouBoy died suddenly back in 2007 and he was quite the snorer. I never minded because if he was snoring then he was safe in bed with me (as opposed to our fighting dangerous fires in the inner city) so it was a comforting sound to me. So I am actually thankful for snoring, lol.

    I like to contemplate and reflect on thing as I go about my day and do chores. I see them as a labor of love and not as drudgery. I do the things that I do because I love caring for my loved ones. I love making them happy and letting them know how much I appreciate them by doing special things for them or simply by telling them how thankful I am to have them in my life. I''m real big on expressing thankfulness. I don't take anything for granted. BayouBoy said something profound a few weeks back. He said "What if you woke up one morning and the only things you had left were the things that you had thanked God for? What would wake up and find?".

    As a teen I read a quote from Mother Theresa and she was answering the question about why a person as important and famous as she was washing the feet of beggar. She replied that it taught her humility, that she was not above anyone and that by doing so she was serving God and that who was to say that one of those beggars might not be God in disguise. I didn't state it as eloquently as she did but her words stuck with me. Then many years later, I became very ill and had to have a nurse come and wash me (after many days of being bedbound and too sick to wash myself). Well that was the best bath I ever had. It made me feel human again. It restored my spirits.

    So with that in mind, I started washing and massaging my late spouses feet when he came home after a 24 hour shift of fighting fires. His feet had been in heavy boots that were sopping wet inside and he was that way for hours when working. His feet would hurt so bad and he was exhausted. I would get the apricot scrub and wash his feet and then followup with a massages with lotion. He protested the first time I wanted to do it but I persisted and he enjoyed it so much that he never protested again. It helped him so much!

    Now I do the same to BayouBoy. He also protested the first time but he also saw how good it felt and never protested again. I do it because I am so thankful for how hard he works so that we can have the life we have. I appreciate all that he does and how physically demanding his work is.

    I fear I may have rambled on ( it's the curse of the compulsive writer!) or gone a bit off topic with the idea of thankfulness but to me, thankfulness is such a big part of my prayers and contemplations.
    BayouGirl
    For more of my thoughts on my simple life, check out http://michellerobert.hubpages.com/

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    Quote Originally Posted by Stella View Post
    .
    I have been thinking about what I find attractive about it and I think its the way they approach their work and daily tasks with such intention, making work a form of prayer and meditation.
    I’ve often remind myself of Brother Lawrence’s ‘The Practice of the Presence of God’. When I get into a ‘I have to do this and that’ mood with an ungrateful attitude, I think of Brother Lawrence and how he considered even paring potatoes as an act of worship, no act was too menial or insignificant. I can then see how even a menial task is all part of the big scheme of life.

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    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Huge area of importance for me, too, Stella. I have had a similar exposure to the monastics; DH and I go to the Weston Priory in VT and just stepping foot on that land... you just feel you're that much closer to heaven. They have a pretty self-sustaining operation with vegetable beds and some farm animals that they raise themselves to eat. They pray and work all day long. One time we ordered a custom vase from one of the brothers who did pottery and we asked him when it would be done (of course we worldly people are big on deadlines and getting things fast). So he looked up and said, "Hmm, well, it's summer, how about next spring?"

    The genesis of the sacred of everyday for me was back when I was in the play Our Town in 1968. Just so happened that my being in the play coincided with a point in my life after which my mother had divorced my alcoholic father and I had time to grieve and all of a sudden the fog lifted in my life and everything was intense and beautiful. My auto signature is from that play, and for me it was about how most of us, good regular people who live good, regular lives, still manage to commit the sin of not paying attention and then once the moments are gone, they're gone.


    My other HUGE inspiration on this topic is Thich Nhat Hanh. His books on living in the moment are incredibly inspirational and I read and reread his books all the time, almost every day. He talks so simply and clearly about just what you're saying--making tea, peeling an orange, washing dishes should all be done mindfully.

    You might also enjoy Ignatian spirituality which is all about the "God in Little Things." There's a fantastic website I go to a lot: The name of the site is dotmagis.org: Here's an article that you may like: http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/...ve-reverently/

    Great topic.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
    www.silententry.wordpress.com

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    Senior Member razz's Avatar
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    Stella, your OP content was lovely and reflects my thinking in general. I wish that I could say that I felt this at the same age as you do but better late than never.

    I never liked houework of any kind but did it simply because it needed doing. I always thought that I should be doing more important things with my life. I loved gardening, sewing, perserving, ploughing fields, volunteering with our girls' events because those jobs and skills saved us money or made a difference in the community.

    Housework was repetitive drudgery. One day I woke up and realized that all the skills and talents that I express at all times are my unique expression of the divine with which I was created for just that purpose. I realized that it didn't matter which category of activity in my life required my expression of agility, integrity, courage, honesty, enthusiasm, kindness, vitality, strength, intelligence, etc., it was all an expression of the divine that I was choosing to express to the best of my ability. The sense of drudgery disappeared and joy and freedom took its place. Life became far more fun and free. We limit ourselves, it seems.

    Good thread!

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    Senior Member SteveinMN's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BayouGirl View Post
    I do it because I am so thankful for how hard he works so that we can have the life we have. I appreciate all that he does and how physically demanding his work is.
    This thread predated when I became active in SLF, so I hadn't read it before. I'm glad you brought it back up to the top, BG!

    What you mentioned above is one of the more interesting changes I've noticed since I left "full-time work" in May. Trash pickup on Tuesday mornings used to be sandwiched into all the other OMGI'mrunninglateandIstillhavetodoallthisstuff tasks on that morning. Lawn mowing -- the same. Cooking dinner -- ditto. Now that I'm not working outside the home, though, I see chores like this as what they are -- support for our family -- and I do them willingly (OK, sometimes the second sink full of dishes in a day is not so much fun, but...). There's a pleasure to tasks which require some attention and yet are automatic enough to permit deeper thoughts. And there is a value to completing these activities for us.

    My wife still works; she really enjoys what she does. I have no problem handling "her" chores, too, now that I have the time. It leaves her able to work as much as she needs to and to not have to slam through her task responsibilities when she gets home. For me, it's a way of demonstrating that I care.

    I find it interesting that I have a hard time applying this philosophy to my old job. I think the differences are that my wife is high up enough in the organization to be able to direct activity and effect change -- to actually get the main job done. At my job, there were too many higher layers and I was merely getting -- umm, wet -- from all the -- er, stuff -- cascading downhill. It's hard to feel a sense of accomplishment at work when projects are routinely postponed or abandoned regardless of their value to you or your work group, when administrivia trumps real work ("We're going to have monthly meetings to discuss why we think communication is poor around here."), and when there is no synchronization between effort and achievement. At least when I'm done washing the dishes, they're clean and they're done.
    Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. - Booker T. Washington

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    My high school Latin teacher was a Benedictine nun. One of the most admirable people I ever knew, she took joy and meaning out of pounding the ablative case into my barbarian brain. One of the tenets of her order was "Labore est Orare" - to work is to pray.

    Requiescat in pace, Sorore Helena.

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