Happy Birthday, Phil Kane!
Baron Von Hugel used to say that every morning as he made his plans for the day, he used to draw up a schedule of work to be done, and then cut half of it out. I should do the same about reading- draw up a list of books to be read, and then cut half of them out. Dorothy Day
It's Thursday, which for us means fun in the library! It's pretty monotonous work, which is just fine once in awhile, right? It's actually quite meditative. Under Fr. Eric's management (who's proving to be the best kind of boss there is: clear directions, reasonable expectations), the five of us each take a section (Fiction, Non-Fiction, Social Commentary, Poetry, Nature, etc. etc. etc.) to "clean up" by alphabetizing, and recategorizing and labeling, if necessary. Simple enough.
Here's the hard part. As I (and the others, I imagine) scan each section, inevitably I come across at least 3 or 4 must-reads. It's a problem. Already I needed an extra bag to pack the 12 or so "must-reads" I brought here... which have yet to be touched! It's not a lack of desire, just time.
And the real trouble is that this particular library, with its 3000 or so volumes, looks a lot like a regular library but with all the junk skimmed out. Pretty much everything is enticing! (Well, maybe not the Church History section.) There's even a Children's Lit section, which may be the best of all. I mean, who wouldn't be tempted to reread The Velveteen Rabbit if you had it at your fingertips?
You readers out there know my dilemma, I'm sure.
And so, I returned to my hermitage today with another stack, only to be added to the pile already patiently waiting for my attention. Let's see: 4 weeks to go...is a book a day too optimistic?
This is perfect timing Jessie with the cool weather here and more of our time shifting inside. Besides when will you have another chance to fill your days with books and tea - don't forget the tea! ~K
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ReplyDelete(Sorry for the deleted post. I realized I had a grammar mistake in it.)
ReplyDeleteYessica! Just make sure you are not reading so much that you neglect the aspect of a retreat that is so valuable: letting silence do its work on you. When you read a lot, it distracts your mind and your heart and the things that would otherwise bubble to the surface stay submerged. Is that possible with your schedule, or is there a lot of interaction that prevents really entering into transformative quiet? :)
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ReplyDeleteThat library sounds like quite the temptation. Your lifestyle sounds simply wonderful: meditate, contemplate, read. I'm more than a bit jealous! I hope your time there has been incredible thus far.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you... too many books, too little time. Add to that, too many craft projects, too little time. Too many recipes, too little time. Too many places to see, too little time (and money!).
ReplyDeleteYep. One of the Carmelites said, "There's only enough time to read the good stuff." Hence why we must let go of "shoulds."
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