Today’s question: WHAT ACTIVITIES TAKE YOU OUTSIDE OF YOURSELF?
This is Day 30 of the 5-week Lenten journey with The Society of Saint John the Evangelist and their daily meditation on TIME.
See Br. Luke Ditewig on the video (2:46) below, or to leave comments on the Brothers' website, go here. (http://ssje.org/ssje/2015/03/18/play-5-soaked)
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Question: WHAT ACTIVITIES TAKE YOU OUTSIDE OF YOURSELF?
Transcript of Video:
One retreat day, I was out at Mount Auburn Cemetery and I got caught in a thunderstorm. And initially I hunkered down under a big tree trying to stay dry and then realized: there’s no way I’m going to get home and not get wet so – let’s just go! So I went to the – there’s the tower on the hill in the cemetery, so I went there and went up the tower. And it was this great day: there was all this succession of thunderstorms. And so I got there, and it was clear, and another one came, and I got to watch the downpour – and it was glorious.
Now I was in this tower, and so this song came to mind about: “You are my tower of refuge, my stronghold.” And I really felt it, being in this storm there, and I wanted to stay there. I just wanted to stay there. But I also realized I was due to be back in church to pray, so I left. And then it was so amazing to go through the cemetery and get really soaked as I went back to the Monastery. And there was thunder and lighting, and there were huge puddles on the way back going along Auburn Street, which I splashed in, and it was really delightful, and I loved it.
It was a turning point for me, such that now my Brothers know that if there’s a thunderstorm, I’m likely to go out in it, because I find that in that sense of play, I really connect with God in a deep way. And it’s one of the ways that I can let loose. I can be very stoic and serious, and the Brothers noticed, too, that when I started doing this, there was a difference. So I’ve tried to keep this going and now look for opportunities to play – which I find comes with precipitation. I can also get lost in snow shoveling or ice picking. There’s something in that that also really captures my attention.
And so going out in the middle of snow or rain, that’s where a part of my child comes out, and I can play. And so I look for opportunities like that where I can.
-Br. Luke Ditewig
Blessings on our journey to re-order time in our lives,
Agatha