This doesn’t quite rise to my expectation of a “Reflection” for this process. Interesting to note after my feelings of being a little lost in the process to begin doing some reading on Benedict and his rule for a life in faith. You see Benedict believed that in order to have time for the important things you needed to have way of controlling the routine things. Otherwise they become a distraction and you can get lost.
Suddenly I think someone has been trying to tell me something and I just haven’t been listening.
Benedict isn’t about a life of drill and regimentation the way he is sometimes shown. He’s just trying to make trivial things stay in their appropriate place. If we spend all our lives caught up in trivia we will never do any of the important work that we might be able to get done. Especially for the monastics who follow his rule this means things like clothing and food get placed into simple choices categories so that they no longer occupy any time what so ever.
For me I need to get a routine set up so that the daily things are simply taken care of in an orderly fashion. That way I will have time to work on the projects I want to accomplish. For me that means:
- Meals (breakfast and lunch)
- Clothes
- Workout
- Household necessities
- My prayers
If I can get those things in an orderly manner then the rest:
- Study
- Writing
- Music
- Cooking
Will have the space for me to focus on them and work towards whatever goals I may have for them.
Now some folks are going to look askance at having my prayers in the first list. But I want them to become part of my daily routine. I want them to be part of the setup for what I will be working on each day. You may still feel it should be on the second list. Blessings on you. This is my sabbatical and I like them where they are.
So there.
Peace
Stories Are My Life 
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