Because I am a fair weather kind of gal, I become a bit of a TV bug during the winter and the cooler parts of spring and fall. I was scouring through Netflix the other day and found a TV series that I have come to love. It really isn't a deep or thought provoking show but it did get me to thinking. It's called "Life".
It only lasted two seasons but it's about a police officer who was framed for murdering his friend and business partner. He got life in prison. After twelve years his verdict was overturned because of DNA evidence. Prison is a tough place for a police officer so in order to survive he began studying Zen. Now that he is out his approach to solving crimes has a sprinkle of zen mixed in. This makes for a very entertaining, out of the box approach to a crime show.
In Al Anon we try to live each day and only take one day at a time. That's quite a tough undertaking. I began looking at how the Jesuit priests follow their patron through the spiritual exercises. They are fascinating and layered and deal with increasing awareness of who we are as God made us. The exercises teach us to be aware of our senses and intuition.
Yesterday I bought a book called, "Mindfulness for Beginners." On the front jacket the subtitle says, "reclaiming the present moment and your life." The author is a developer of mindfulness based stress reduction. He teaches us to be present with who we are right now and to learn to eliminate all of the swirling noise that our fears and busy life blast into our minds drowning out our present.
Pretty cool stuff, huh? Horses in the wild rarely have health problems. But, the minute we start taking them out of nature....by feeding grain or stalling them in a barn, turning them into show horses the problems begin. I think we're a lot like that. We have been taken out of our nature by phones, TVs, cars, fast food, wanting to get ahead, staying so busy that we don't have to deal...etc.
Just my thoughts. I'm ready to get back to the quiet. It sustains me now.
Today I say a prayer of thanksgiving for the ability to keep learning. I pray for growth for you and your addicted loved one and I say a prayer for Henry.
1 comment:
Mindfulness, conscious living, thoughtful prayer..these are hard endeavors for me. My nature is to live life in overdrive. Only in the past few years have I begun to realize how much one misses when in such a hurry.
I'm hoping you find the quiet, my friend.
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