A devoted reader wants to know what's up with the radio silence.
Life is what's up, and work. Full-time teaching plus finishing up what I refer to affectionately as the Big Tome, a several hundred page work of theology for which I have to think in three languages, plus a firm commitment to getting enough sleep this year. Oh, and I was out of town two weekends ago, not for the whole weekend but for a short trip to the Diocese of Western NC to give a talk to a lovely group of church ladies. And then there were Jewish High Holy Days and diocesan things.
But I am here this weekend (really beginning tomorrow since I don't have school things on Friday) with lots of time for the Tome and for quiet reflection. The health care series will return in the next few days, as will some reflections on Francis and Clare and the Blessing of the Animals, at which I am preaching this weekend. Peace out.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
Family time
Brother of Acts of Hope and Beloved of Brother of Acts of Hope are flying in from Europe on Saturday and we are converging on Parents of Acts of Hope. I get in a day before the Siblings do. I will be in New England for barely two days because I teach first thing in the a.m. on Mondays, but the far-flung Acts of Hope family makes the best of short amounts of time, so we are all happy happy happy. "All" being the two older generations. The two younger generations (Nephew the Elder, Nephew the Younger, their partners, and two kidlings) are off in their usual faraway countries.
Blogging will be scarce, but I will at some point put up the promised "write the media" post in the "DO SOMETHING for Health Care Reform" series.
I'll be with media types all weekend, so we'll see if they have any advice on this beyond the ideas I have collected or cooked up already. Lots of folks in the news biz in the Acts of Hope family, at least in the two older generations. The young 'uns didn't want to touch journalism with a ten-foot pole. Then again, one of them is in the wine biz, so we are grateful. The Really Young 'Uns may or may not go into journalism. At this point they are just busy being Really Young.
Shabbat Shalom and happy weekend, everyone.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Facebook updates
A day at home writing after an intense half-week of teaching.
Thus lots of opportunity to procrastinate (or take comforting breaks, depending on your spin) on Facebook. Posted a lot of updates. They are a bit like haiku, just longer. This may be the day with the most updates since I started Facebooking. (Is that a verb? If not, it will be soon.)
I still dislike Facebook's changes of this summer with the change in the update formula. Silly. But like lemmings, we have all started talking about ourselves in the 3d person. Mostly.
Jane R. Link
Jane R. Today, the Right Reverend and Right Honourable Maya Pavlova, Feline Bishop Extraordinaire, is my supervisor.
Jane R. Sometimes it's good to take some time simply to breathe and observe.Even, or especially, in the midst of urgent concerns, policy discussion, and activism. Link.
I posted these next two to the blog way back; revisited the music to listen and shared them on FB today as I listened.
Jane R. Link.
Jane R. And a live version... J.S. Bach never gets old. All hail to the best of his ancient and recent interpreters. Link.
Jane R. has now hidden from her news feed Vampire Wars, Mafia Wars, FarmVille, Farmtown, Funky Flowers, Pirates, (Lil') Green Patch, 101 Eggs, YoVille, and Pillow Fights. I'll keep hiding these sorts of apps as they keep appearing. I do like reading your personal and news updates, though, all y'all.
Jane R. Thanks to Vince Masi for pointing out this article. And hey, that's my old friend Edward, the Exec. Director whom the article quotes! Link.
Jane R. was attacked by a thorny branch while mowing the lawn and has the scratches to show for it.
Jane R. wants to keep looking at the recently arrived photos of her 6-year-old great-nephew instead of working on the Big Tome... But we do our theology for our children, don't we? If it doesn't make the world better for them, it's not worth the time. Another picture to post above the desk. What a cutie. And I'm not biased or anything.
Jane R. is remembering her beloved friend David, now deceased (brain tumor, summer 2002), who rushed downtown (he worked midtown and lived on the Upper West Side) on September 11, 2001, to see if he could find his nephew, and who miraculously ran into him, alive.
A day of mindfulness: more in the "DO SOMETHING for Health Care Reform" series
I promised you a mindfulness exercise for Tuesday and it's Thursday. I really ought to remember that Tuesday and Wednesday are my long days at work. I did, mindfully, watch two presidential speeches, one each day. I will post links to them, back-dated, so you will find them below soon.
What I meant to do, though, and I am doing now, is to invite you to take a break from the politicking and letter-writing and move into a day of mindfulness about health. Your health. The health of others. What constitutes good health.
This goes beyond good health insurance coverage, of course. A few times today and this evening, observe your breathing. Then take some deep, slow, breaths.
When you get up, what do you do for your own health and well-being? What does your understanding of health include in your daily life? Sleep? Food? Exercise? Drinking water? Laughter? Community? Spiritual practice? (For some this means prayer or meditation, for others it may mean Tai Ch'i or reading or baking. Think about what this means for you.) Intellectual or physical activity? Creative work?
As you go about your day, do you think about your health? In what way? What is the place of self-care ? How much time and energy does worrying take? Do you have one or more conditions that require treatment or visits to health practitioners?
Simply observe. Do not judge.
As you go about your day, do you think about the health and well-being of others? In what way? What form does this take? Who are the others? Are they persons and animals who are members of your household? Are they at your workplace? In your congregation or other community of spiritual practice? Are they at the place where you volunteer?
Take your time. Notice.
Are there ways in which "health" becomes particularly concrete for you? Are there ways in which "health" is an abstraction?
What happens when you take time simply to observe, to notice, and then perhaps to name, taking time out from the rush of acting and doing?
See what happens to your day, your health and your approach to health when you consider these questions.
Try to do this without judgment and without undue rush.
If you like, write us in the comments to this post and let us know your observations, experiences, and thoughts.
Peace to you.
What I meant to do, though, and I am doing now, is to invite you to take a break from the politicking and letter-writing and move into a day of mindfulness about health. Your health. The health of others. What constitutes good health.
This goes beyond good health insurance coverage, of course. A few times today and this evening, observe your breathing. Then take some deep, slow, breaths.
When you get up, what do you do for your own health and well-being? What does your understanding of health include in your daily life? Sleep? Food? Exercise? Drinking water? Laughter? Community? Spiritual practice? (For some this means prayer or meditation, for others it may mean Tai Ch'i or reading or baking. Think about what this means for you.) Intellectual or physical activity? Creative work?
As you go about your day, do you think about your health? In what way? What is the place of self-care ? How much time and energy does worrying take? Do you have one or more conditions that require treatment or visits to health practitioners?
Simply observe. Do not judge.
As you go about your day, do you think about the health and well-being of others? In what way? What form does this take? Who are the others? Are they persons and animals who are members of your household? Are they at your workplace? In your congregation or other community of spiritual practice? Are they at the place where you volunteer?
Take your time. Notice.
Are there ways in which "health" becomes particularly concrete for you? Are there ways in which "health" is an abstraction?
What happens when you take time simply to observe, to notice, and then perhaps to name, taking time out from the rush of acting and doing?
See what happens to your day, your health and your approach to health when you consider these questions.
Try to do this without judgment and without undue rush.
If you like, write us in the comments to this post and let us know your observations, experiences, and thoughts.
Peace to you.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
The President's health care speech to joint session of Congress: text and video
With thanks to the Huffington Post (a.k.a. HuffPo), here are the text of the speech and, toward the bottom of the text, the full video. (The other videos are just clips.)
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