The Hermitage
August 4, 2019
I’ve been listening to some new music as I contemplate. It’s from Spotify, Dan Gibson’s Solitudes. He has many albums, most of which combine nature sounds with the music. So far all I’ve listened to have been very conducive to contemplation. The last album I was listening to, Wind Beneath My Wings, rolled on into a Spotify radio list that I’ve been listening to all day. Right now it circled through several artists and back to one of his albums called Illumination:Peace Gregorian Chants. I highly recommend it.
It was the title...Solitudes...and a text from a friend that sparked these reflections. I’ve pretty well explored my life, solitude vs. loneliness, etc. But the juxtaposition this time was between what my solitude allows me — contemplation, meditation, and quiet time.
Now that Tito JāBear is a part of my life, my routine has vastly changed--as you might expect with a puppy.
My contemplation is much the same. After I wake in the morning, make my bed (an essential daily routine according to Admiral McRaven’s Lessons for Life #1 from YouTube) which I forced myself to do in all but my sickest days, and make my morning power tea* I wend my way to the veranda. Tito is old enough now to roam the yard, so while he inspects the goings on from the previous night I enjoy the solitude and contemplate.
With my brain fog, meditation is pretty much out of the question. But occasionally I’ll zero in for a short time — usually not very productive.
And then there’s my quiet time...limited now, as you might well expect. But that’s what led to my ponderings.
How do I utilize my time to stay focused on God and ‘pray without ceasing?’ In the past it was relatively easy, at least time-and-opportunity-wise. When I was active in my pastorate the Jesus Prayer was a constant stream in my subconscious, night and day, mixed with prayer in the spirit.
As the years have gone by I’ve let that discipline slip and, at least at the present time, I tell myself I don’t have the energy or focus for re-engaging. So my question was/is really about how do I now stay connected after my euphoric epiphany? (There’s an update a little farther down.)
So far music seems to be the answer. Between Spotify, Sonos, Amazon Music, YouTube, and an incredible pair of headphones Chris bought for me, I manage to have something playing in the background for most of the day. For other times there’s practicing my hammered dulcimer and occasionally my dobro. (There’s still the contradiction between the Christian movies and some of the drama and westerns I’ve been watching on Roku, but that’s a meditation for another day.)
An aspect just occurred to me that I hadn’t considered over the past few days...the power of the prayers of friends. Tito wanted some lap time. While he and I bonded I was reflecting on what I’d written so far when this thought emerged. So even Tito JāBear is an instrument of God's grace and inspiration!
Update on my last meditation…
It didn’t take long for my newfound spirituality to be put to the test. The day after I wrote about it I got news from my cardiologist that, in spite of the good report from the endrochrinologist on my thyroid levels I was going to have to stay on the antiarrhythmic medication for another month.
You could hear the window panes shatter as my trust in God flew out the window.
I tried to write a meditation about it, but it was just too chaotic so I abandoned it. The good news is the ship righted itself after the knockdown. After considerable bailing and repair work, the wind is back in the sails and I'm on course again.
It reminded me of a joke for which I only remember the punchline…”How do you like the real you?”
Till then,
Thanks for journeying with me
*Rooibos tea, vital proteins, MCT oil, Resolve, and butter.
p.s
My eyes are still bad, so the only corrections I tried to do were those that Drive showed me. Please forgive the ones I’ve missed.