What I'm Reading

What I’m Reading by debgrant

I am on a stationary pilgrimage these last few months. Contradiction in terms. I am wandering around inside my own space experimenting with new voices, new ways to be with God, new ways to be alone without being obnoxiously selfish to people I care about.

Padraig O’Tuama’s book Sorry for Your Troubles

• O’Tuama said everyone should have a favorite Irish poet. So I picked him.

• His writing reflects an emotional history of The Troubles in Northern Ireland which is painfully similar to the current troubles in the United States.

• His essays and prayers are teaching me how to pray again. Barefoot Crossing is a product of that process. Publishing those prayers is my way of offering something of myself to the community.

Joan Chittister’s The Monastic Heart

• Chittister, a Benedictine nun, offers 50 practices with roots in the monastic way of life. Without joining a cloister, a person can hear her definitions, and the deeper meaning of their purpose and potentially adapt them in some form for one’s own purposes.

I am a fan of notebooks with fine paper and fountain pens

• For this kind of reading, instead of underlining and making notes in the margins, I like to write out the quotes that are meaningful to me.

• I read that writing long-hand helps brain function.

Why it matters

• I need all the brain function I can muster.

• I know these books are not barn-burning, page-turners. It is just where I am right now. Thanks for listening. It means more you know.

###