Ruminations from the Rector - February 2010
I got a new appointment book this year to make a transition from the Episcopal Edition of the Liturgical Desk Calendar that I have been using for 29 years into the new American Express Appointment Book for 2010. I’ve had to create a whole new way of looking at the calendar and writing down appointments and other important information.
What I’ve noticed in this transition is that there are a lot more distractions in the new appointment book. Each new month features pictures and descriptions of exotic places in the world and has all the days visible in one two-page spread followed by two full pages for each new day. The old book didn’t have this layout. I could get a whole day down in 6 square inches in the old book, while the new one has 16 square inches per day. What’s the point?
It’s all about PERCEPTION. My perspective and perception has changed, and it is a bit discombobulating. I amdisoriented because I’m not seeing the world through my old calendar book. This may sound a bit silly, but it’s true. The glasses of my old book have been replaced by this new set of glasses, and I want to go back to the old ways of seeing the world. How might this be happening to you?
Anskar, Cornelius, the Martyrs of Japan, Absalom Jones, Polycarp, Anna Cooper, George Herbert, and St. Matthias the Apostle are no longer on the daily pages. They’ve been replaced with Lincoln’s Birthday, Valentine’s Day, the Chinese New Year, Washington’s Birthday, and President’s Day. Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, is shared by both, so there’s a little comfort left but…..I have this strange feeling that I need to be remembering these great people that most folks have never heard of so I can remember, reconnect, and realign with the very Essence and Source of my being. I must now find new ways to remember and reconnect with what’s really important to me.
Lent, Awakening, begins on the 17th of February this year. Valentine’s Day, Love, is on the preceding weekend, and Shrove Tuesday, Celebrate, is on the day before. What are you called to remember on these special days and weeks? You make mistakes and can learn from them, let go of them and begin again to let something new come. You see the world differently from the perspective of a smiling, loving heart than from the righteous indignation of an angry mind. Your perspective is different when you are on your knees in helplessness than when you are standing on a podium with a crown on your head. Your perception changes when you are in a place of loss and grief as opposed to a place of joy and celebration. Where are you, and what do you want to see this month?
Lent is inviting you to look at your world through different eyes. Attend a concert or an event where children are the focus. Go to a class or make a trip to a nursing home to touch a stranger. Laugh, sing, dance, create, take a chance. Call a friend or relative that you haven’t connected with in a long time just to say “Hello, I’ve been wondering about you.” Change your calendar, your perceptions, your relationships, your prayer life. Blessings are everywhere, inviting you to embrace the old and see it anew………………
