Over the school holidays a number of students and teachers joined me for a 3 day silent retreat. The impact on both them and myself was amazing. I never fail to be surprised by the mystery of silence, solitude and simplicity.
Since then I found myself staying home from an event I had been invited to because of Gaye's (my wife) health. Over that weekend I challenged myself to refocus my life, to embrace the 3S's as a philosophy for daily living.
The first question to be answered was: what is essential, or conversely, what is not? What is the one thing I need to do to day that is essential to my life and my hopes? Doing this every day and staying with that one thing until it is completed has been powerful. Exciting things are happening and I will say more about that in another post.
Last weekend because another plan broke down I decided to take Gaye away for 4 days for her birthday. I booked a room at the Bundaleer Retreat at Broken Head, and discovered a place that was the epitome of silence, solitude and simplicity. It is set in a rainforest space and only has 4 cabins and a maximum of 12 people present. Quiet and secluded it allowed us to enjoy the time, place and each other in a way that was special for us both.
We discovered Lennox Head and the beautiful people there. We turned off the TV, actually, didn't turn it on, read a number of books, went for works, had afternoon naps and ate very well.
As members of a consumer society we fall for the art of distraction - more, bigger, popular, loud is always better. It maybe for the economy, but it rarely is for our souls. Our souls crave silence, solitude and simplicity.
A favorite Zen saying of mine is: "Be still, be very, very still; and above all else, don't wobble!"
Or as the Psalmist says in Psalm 46: "Be still and know that I am God."
Monday, 24 October 2011
Thursday, 20 October 2011
Minimalism
The last two weeks in chapel at our school, we have been looking at how we can advocate on behalf of those who have less than us and at the challenge to be a minimalist. The fact that 1 million people pre-ordered the iPhone 4S got me thinking about how we are (I am) addicted to 'things'.
'Advertising treats all products with the reverence and the seriousness due to sacraments.' Thomas Merton
Merton's premise is that advertising elevates every product so that it is able to save us – save us from ourselves, our boredom, our anxiety, our insecurities, our fears.
'Man has become a tool of his tools.' Henry David Thoreau
Thoreau suggests that instead of owning 'things', our things own us, that we have lost control of ourselves and allowed the soulless to own our soul.
What's a minimalist? A minimalist is one who takes the conscious decision to live without things, to take seriously the idea of enough, not more, and to share the excess with those without as much. It is a form of advocacy for the betterment of creation, the poor and our wellbeing.
Some websites: http://www.theminimalists.com/
http://zenhabits.net/on-minimalism/
The challenge to our students and to ourselves is to take seriously the responsibility God gave us in Genesis to care for creation, and Jesus gives us to love our neighbour as ourselves, and live simply.
Worth thinking about!
'Advertising treats all products with the reverence and the seriousness due to sacraments.' Thomas Merton
Merton's premise is that advertising elevates every product so that it is able to save us – save us from ourselves, our boredom, our anxiety, our insecurities, our fears.
'Man has become a tool of his tools.' Henry David Thoreau
Thoreau suggests that instead of owning 'things', our things own us, that we have lost control of ourselves and allowed the soulless to own our soul.
What's a minimalist? A minimalist is one who takes the conscious decision to live without things, to take seriously the idea of enough, not more, and to share the excess with those without as much. It is a form of advocacy for the betterment of creation, the poor and our wellbeing.
Some websites: http://www.theminimalists.com/
http://zenhabits.net/on-minimalism/
The challenge to our students and to ourselves is to take seriously the responsibility God gave us in Genesis to care for creation, and Jesus gives us to love our neighbour as ourselves, and live simply.
Worth thinking about!
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