Friday, October 30, 2009

7 Quick Takes Friday

1. Our bishop has decreed that due to the risk of H1N1, we either will bow at the sign of peace, or eliminate the sign of peace altogether. This suits my dh and I, who struggle with anxiety, just fine, except for the fact that we are alone in the choir loft and would only be sharing a sign of peace with each other. So, I guess it is a lesson in offering up.

2. I've been dreaming of black dogs lately; all sizes of black dogs. Not bad dreams. Had one last night. I had a Rottweiler who would quietly eat entire loaves of bread. He was a nice and friendly Rottweiler.

3. Why do computer dictionaries not have certain words? Rottweiler, for instance. How could it think I meant "potboiler" or "protrusile"? Why is "potboiler" one word? What is "protrusile"?

4. I think I need a spirituality of Ordinary Time. I have a difficult time "getting into" a Sunday, or a day of the week, which the Church had decided falls under "Ordinary Time"--and we have a lot of it. Our former priest used to love Ordinary Time, but I like some sort of feast day to concentrate on. I'll have to think about that some more.

5. My dh and I have both been getting the message to slow down. Cut back. Do not reach for things beyond our abilities. It is a hard lesson, in a way, to let go of past activities and future dreams, but it forces us to rely on God. A constant theme.

6. "God has been good to us." Said to me the other day by my mom, who is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's. Just that alone proves it.


7. I wanted to share with you all a beautiful painting done by Maruyama Okyo in the 1700's called Pine Trees Under Snow. At that time, a full gold background was very common in Japanese painting, but Okyo tempers it with areas of white paint not only on the pine tree, but in the atmosphere, giving a beautiful impression of walking in the snow, as the wind blows, early on a bright winter morning.

2 comments:

TACParent said...

Hey, I love your new background!

1. I can see how this would make you more comfortable ... but it kind of makes me sad. I'm all about greeting each other with a physical touch of some sort. But that's me. Maybe that's why I work in a preschool?

2. I seriously wonder why this is? Maybe you knew one was going to eat your cell phone case?

3. You know, I wonder the same thing. Certain words *should* be there.

4. Perhaps the ceremony helps.

5. "Slow down" is a tough message to accept in this day and age. Good for you.

6. Old people say the nicest things.

7. Very interesting.

Staying in Balance said...

Thanks! I enjoy changing the background.

1. I don't mind physical touch in general, but am a bit reticent with strangers. I really don't mind the sign of peace as much as dh does.

2. I'm wondering too. Its bizzare.

3. Absolutely.

4. I love the idea of liturgical and natural seasons. I think there should be more focus on spiritual seasons and less ordinary time. Or, maybe it shouldn't be called ordinary time. It makes t sound unimportant.

5. I have been more grateful, lately, for just the ability and freedom to get in my car and go places I want to. Slow down puts things in perspective.

6. They do. The older my mom gets, the more I realize how intuitive she (still) is.

7. That photo doesn't do it justice. I bet its amazing in person. Not sure if the original s at the Met, but if it is, I want to see it when I go.

Dymphna's favorite quotes


"Slavery ended in medieval Europe only because the church extended its sacraments to all slaves and then managed to impose a ban on the enslavement of Christians (and of Jews). Within the context of medieval Europe, that prohibition was effectively a rule of universal abolition. "— Rodney Stark

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