rituals,rhythms and patterns
The most attractive thing to me about religion (not that I am a practicing 'anything') would be the rituals. So many times, being a great reader of English mystery writers, I have wondered at the meanings of some words that seem to be connected to the hours of the day, the seasons, natural rhythms that are echoed in the traditions of the church, evocative words like lent, evensong, solstice...
Don writes that in our modern lives, we have removed ourselves from the rhythms of the natural world, 'freed from weather and season, living in an electrical and digital world, we are 24/7 actors. ' Maybe it is that opportunity to rest, be quiet, and focus on our soul/connectedness to the wonders of the natural/spiritual world that is so appealing to me about religious rituals--I'm tired.
In a meeting that I had to attend recently at my paying job, I noticed again that the conference room was in the middle of the building, no windows, no natural light...it could have been midday or midnight!
Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul, and Re-enchantement of Everyday Life(not sure of those titles, but you get the idea--my books are still mostly in boxes),writes about one of the most enticing ideas to me -- making worklife more soulful and enchanted. The idea that like a machine, one can be productive at a steady (killing) pace, is anathema to the body and soul. A view of the outdoors, moments of idle reverie and wonder, the changing light and the clouds drifting by the window of one's workspace...those infusions of meditative reconnection and disorderly playful amazement at nature's richness...those sorts of magical things are what I need and hunger for to replenish my own creative urges.
It makes me wonder if the workers in medieval times, who, I understand did not work the kinds of hours our modern business person does today, if they had been forced to work under modern electrical lights, or in the assembly line factories of modern industry, etc., if they could have still produced artistry of the likes of Chartres's Notre Dame Cathedral.
Don writes that in our modern lives, we have removed ourselves from the rhythms of the natural world, 'freed from weather and season, living in an electrical and digital world, we are 24/7 actors. ' Maybe it is that opportunity to rest, be quiet, and focus on our soul/connectedness to the wonders of the natural/spiritual world that is so appealing to me about religious rituals--I'm tired.
In a meeting that I had to attend recently at my paying job, I noticed again that the conference room was in the middle of the building, no windows, no natural light...it could have been midday or midnight!
Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul, and Re-enchantement of Everyday Life(not sure of those titles, but you get the idea--my books are still mostly in boxes),writes about one of the most enticing ideas to me -- making worklife more soulful and enchanted. The idea that like a machine, one can be productive at a steady (killing) pace, is anathema to the body and soul. A view of the outdoors, moments of idle reverie and wonder, the changing light and the clouds drifting by the window of one's workspace...those infusions of meditative reconnection and disorderly playful amazement at nature's richness...those sorts of magical things are what I need and hunger for to replenish my own creative urges.
It makes me wonder if the workers in medieval times, who, I understand did not work the kinds of hours our modern business person does today, if they had been forced to work under modern electrical lights, or in the assembly line factories of modern industry, etc., if they could have still produced artistry of the likes of Chartres's Notre Dame Cathedral.
posted by Kati at 5:10 p.m.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home