Birthing [by Mark]

As I was driving in the Central West End this afternoon, I realized that I had not asked a friend to do a Share the Wealth with us this weekend.   Then,  knowing that Christmas is this Friday, I happened to remember a passage from spiritual theologian Matthew Fox’s  introduction to Meister Eckhart, a medieval Catholic mystic and preacher.   Upon coming home, I looked in Fox’s book and found the passage—

“What good is it to me if this eternal birth of the divine Son takes place unceasingly but does not take place within myself?  And, what good is it to me if Mary is full of grace and if I am not also full of grace?  What good is it to me for the Creator to give birth to his/her Son if I do not also give birth to him in my time and my culture?  This, then, is the fullness of time:  When the Son of God is begotten in us.”

This birthing theme has been on my mind recently because I’ve had the good fortune to Zoom with four dear friends, all in their thirties, all doctors, who are now raising very young children—Neil Munjal and Neeta Shenai, and their daughter Gia (born this summer),  as well as Matt Miller,  Nima Sheth, and their son, Moksha (born September 2019).

Here are a couple more selections from Meister Eckart for your reflection—

“People ought to think less about what they should do and more about what they are.  For when people and their ways are good, then their works shine forth brightly.  If you are just, then your works are also just.  Works do not sanctify  us — but we are to sanctify our works.  Holiness is based on being, not on a single action.  If you wish to explore the goodness of actions, explore first the nature of the ground of the works.”

“The seed of God is in us.  Now the seed of a pear tree grows into a pear tree; and a hazel seed grows into a hazel tree; a seed of God grows into God.”

Documenting Life [Wendy]

Does anyone else keep a Bullet Journal? I've been doing this practice fairly consistently for nearly two years now. I've found it especially useful this year. Each day, I jot down a few bullets about things that happened that day. Ideas that struck me, bits of moments that I wish to remember, or the most mundane things like what I made for dinner. Sometimes, I'll go a week or more at a time without doing it, but I almost always make it a point to go back and jot down some points. 

In 2020, I find myself having a really hard time recalling things that take place even just a few days ago. When I find a slight sense of anxiety when I don't write down what happened each day, as if that day somehow didn't happen. I don't usually go back to read my Bullet Journal, other than when I digitize it, I may glance at a few bullets for nostalgia's sake. Yet, I like the certainty of having written down things that are happening in life, as some sort of proof, or insurance for my memory. 

Curious if anyone feels similarly about journaling or the mere act of documenting the ordinary happenings of daily life. Also if anyone feels that 2020 is hard to keep track of, and each day flees and memory seems to fade in an instant?? What a strange year, just a week left!  

A Poem That’s Been On My Mind Today

 This poem, by Marisa Crane, has been stuck in my head all day, so of course I have to share it with you all:

WHO IS THE BOY & WHO IS THE GIRL?

So glad you asked.  I am the great

White shark & she is the brilliant

Octopus & you are just as near-sighted

As the man on the street

Who complimented my muscular arms

Then reassured me that

I still look like a woman.

Listen, I sink my sharp teeth into the meat

Of her ass.  Her tentacles touch me in places

I hadn’t known existed.  It is a dual act

Of delicious discovery, & it is

None of your fucking business.

Hold It All [by Mark]

 

It must have been 1983, springtime: I asked former classmate Ray Pruitt what he’d been reading: “Last night, Kierkegaard, Proust, and Phil Berrigan.”

Phil and Dan Berrigan, Catonsville action, May 1968

At My Wake, Someone Will Hear Somebody Else Say… [by Mark]

“He was always telling me to share my writing…”

“You, too?  He said that to me, like… weekly!”

“Weekly?  He’d badger me  daily for a fortnight until I gave up.”

“He was relentless.”

“Verdad. Yep, he could be a pain, but when I think about it now, he was on to something.”

“How many times did he quote someone the scripture, ‘Don’t put your light under a bushel basket’?”

Seven people within a earshot raise their hands…

Penny Smith, Northwest Coffee

Add Topics Here [by Mark]

 Katrina emailed us the following "topics/prompts/themes to consider"--

- Something I never thought I could/would do...until I did

- Things I’m not afraid of anymore 

- Favorite celebrations

- Friends who are like family 

- Memorable experiences learning a new language 

Add  your own suggestions to the comments below.

Wendy shared this photo of one of her notebooks a while back

Fun with the Family in Missouri [by Annie]

Here's what I read in class, along with a few photos of the books, which I found while nosing around my parents house in this strange, strange December.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/131on3gHbgpI8ip9eBzx796g4qD9t9WaQ/view?usp=sharing