As the bells of a monastery call its monks to prayer so too does summer call us to leisure. I am glad to report that I headed this call and ran to attention. The bells called me to12 days in Northwestern Ireland. Hidden away in a thatched roofed cottage for four days without a neighbor in sight you might call this extreme leisure. And I loved it.
Some people prefer high intensity, always-on-the-go, come back tired but exhilarated vacations. There’s nothing wrong with that. However, I knew I wanted a vacation I would not need a vacation
Some people prefer high intensity, always-on-the-go, come back tired but exhilarated vacations. There’s nothing wrong with that. However, I knew I wanted a vacation I would not need a vacation
from. Sometimes we think of vacation as “disconnecting” from everything. Wireless technology has made it so easy to “connect” anywhere and very difficult to disconnect. My experience of vacation taught me that I am most connected precisely when I am disconnected from everything. True leisure opens us up to receive and enjoy what is around us.
I remember the moments immediately after having LASIX surgery on my eyes several years ago. Everything was amazingly crisp. I could see the pointed edges of the leaves and the rich textures of plants and buildings. I was seeing nothing new but I was seeing everything in a new way – I could things more clearly as they were. This is a good analogy of leisure. True leisure is medicine to the senses. It cleans out the pores, prunes and retunes the senses and helps us to see and appreciate anew the the beautiful things that surround us .
My trip to Ireland was a time of true leisure that took me out of my “bubble”- my world, my culture, ideas, surroundings - and helped me get realigned, reoriented. It also helped fine-tune my internal listening skills – my senses. Nestled away on a green hill I was free from the many things that call my voice and sometimes shout: TV, radio, internet, IPOD, cell phone etc… Yes, this was a bit uncomfortable at first, restlessness quickly came upon me. I was looking for something to do, to do, to do.
Traveling alone to Ireland was more life-giving and fulfilling than you could imagine. I don’t think I’ll forget sitting in the middle of a large field of yellow daisies that surrounded the cottage. Nature is a convincing and entertaining teacher! Being alone and quiet forced me to look at things that I would normally see in much the same way as I see the painted lanes on the freeway. I see them but I certainly don’t look at them. Sitting in that green field with the thick grass and yellow daisies made me understand instantly how poetry comes into being. It not written so much as it’s observed. And when it is written is more of a testimony of what was seen as opposed to something created by words. It is no wonder that Ireland is the land of poets but it is not enough to simply be in Ireland or anywhere else for that matter. One must stop, sit on the ground and observe. The moment you “use” nature as a means to and an end, even for poetry, you’ve lost it.
As I sat there among the grass and daisies with sheep taking notice of me from a neighboring field I couldn’t help but notice that daisies looking up at the sun and smiling. I saw the daisies dance as they followed the lead of the breeze - sometimes graceful, sometimes violent. Through it all the daisies never fell, never turned their yellow faces to the ground but danced. Each flower according to its height bounced up and down as if on springs as the music of the wind grew stronger. As I watched them spring up and down, left and right, each at its own pace, I can could almost hear them giggle. Their strong and unpredictable dance partner led the dance and they followed and they laughed. I imagined myself as one of them yelling at the wind to “keep it down” or, “tell me the next time you’re going to blow hard” or “let me lead”.
Those daisies taught me how to dance that day.
Leisure also helps to me in my proper place. No cell phone no calls to the parish and…the world went on just fine without me. When I return to the business of life tomorrow I will try to remember the good teaching and example of the daisies and God’s other creations: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life and what you will eat, or about your body and what you will wear. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. Notice the ravens: they do not sow or reap; they have neither storehouse nor barn, yet God feeds them. How much more important are you than birds! Can
any of you by worrying add a moment to your lifespan? If even the smallest things are beyond your control, why are you anxious about the rest? Notice how the flowers grow. They do not toil or spin. But I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass in the field that grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? As for you, do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not worry anymore. All the nations of the world seek for these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these other things will be given you besides. (Mt12:22-31)
Leisure also gave me time for reading which I enjoy. Like going to a movie theater you need and expect some level of silence. Although this level of quiet is not always possible when reading vacation allowed me this freedom knowing I was safe from distraction and free from work. The turf fire, light rain, and Guinness also helped.
Leisure is not a luxury. When we stop and sit among the daisies we rediscover and experience anew the beautiful gifts of God that surround us, they remind of us of his great care for us and in so doing we glimpse of God.
===============================================================
Postscript:
So how much time off does a priest get?
It differs among religious orders (such as Jesuits and Dominicans) and diocesan priests. There may also be differences from one diocese to another, however, in my diocese we are allowed:
1. One day off a week
2. Four weeks of vacation (but only 3 weekends)
3. Five weekdays after Christmas and Easter (one of which is our day off)
4. One day a month for a day of recollection/prayer.
What I read on Vacation:
Ann Rice: Out of Egypt
Grisham: (finished) The Appeal
Grisham: The Painted House
Jhumpa Lahiri: Unaccustomed Earth
W.B. Yeats: Collection of Poetry
Caritas in Veritate: Pope Benedict XVI
My trip to Ireland was a time of true leisure that took me out of my “bubble”- my world, my culture, ideas, surroundings - and helped me get realigned, reoriented. It also helped fine-tune my internal listening skills – my senses. Nestled away on a green hill I was free from the many things that call my voice and sometimes shout: TV, radio, internet, IPOD, cell phone etc… Yes, this was a bit uncomfortable at first, restlessness quickly came upon me. I was looking for something to do, to do, to do.
Traveling alone to Ireland was more life-giving and fulfilling than you could imagine. I don’t think I’ll forget sitting in the middle of a large field of yellow daisies that surrounded the cottage. Nature is a convincing and entertaining teacher! Being alone and quiet forced me to look at things that I would normally see in much the same way as I see the painted lanes on the freeway. I see them but I certainly don’t look at them. Sitting in that green field with the thick grass and yellow daisies made me understand instantly how poetry comes into being. It not written so much as it’s observed. And when it is written is more of a testimony of what was seen as opposed to something created by words. It is no wonder that Ireland is the land of poets but it is not enough to simply be in Ireland or anywhere else for that matter. One must stop, sit on the ground and observe. The moment you “use” nature as a means to and an end, even for poetry, you’ve lost it.
As I sat there among the grass and daisies with sheep taking notice of me from a neighboring field I couldn’t help but notice that daisies looking up at the sun and smiling. I saw the daisies dance as they followed the lead of the breeze - sometimes graceful, sometimes violent. Through it all the daisies never fell, never turned their yellow faces to the ground but danced. Each flower according to its height bounced up and down as if on springs as the music of the wind grew stronger. As I watched them spring up and down, left and right, each at its own pace, I can could almost hear them giggle. Their strong and unpredictable dance partner led the dance and they followed and they laughed. I imagined myself as one of them yelling at the wind to “keep it down” or, “tell me the next time you’re going to blow hard” or “let me lead”.Those daisies taught me how to dance that day.
Leisure also helps to me in my proper place. No cell phone no calls to the parish and…the world went on just fine without me. When I return to the business of life tomorrow I will try to remember the good teaching and example of the daisies and God’s other creations: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life and what you will eat, or about your body and what you will wear. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. Notice the ravens: they do not sow or reap; they have neither storehouse nor barn, yet God feeds them. How much more important are you than birds! Can
any of you by worrying add a moment to your lifespan? If even the smallest things are beyond your control, why are you anxious about the rest? Notice how the flowers grow. They do not toil or spin. But I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass in the field that grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? As for you, do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not worry anymore. All the nations of the world seek for these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these other things will be given you besides. (Mt12:22-31)Leisure also gave me time for reading which I enjoy. Like going to a movie theater you need and expect some level of silence. Although this level of quiet is not always possible when reading vacation allowed me this freedom knowing I was safe from distraction and free from work. The turf fire, light rain, and Guinness also helped.
Leisure is not a luxury. When we stop and sit among the daisies we rediscover and experience anew the beautiful gifts of God that surround us, they remind of us of his great care for us and in so doing we glimpse of God.
===============================================================
Postscript:
So how much time off does a priest get?
It differs among religious orders (such as Jesuits and Dominicans) and diocesan priests. There may also be differences from one diocese to another, however, in my diocese we are allowed:
1. One day off a week
2. Four weeks of vacation (but only 3 weekends)
3. Five weekdays after Christmas and Easter (one of which is our day off)
4. One day a month for a day of recollection/prayer.
What I read on Vacation:
Ann Rice: Out of Egypt
Grisham: (finished) The Appeal
Grisham: The Painted House
Jhumpa Lahiri: Unaccustomed Earth
W.B. Yeats: Collection of Poetry
Caritas in Veritate: Pope Benedict XVI
2 comments:
You vacation and time of leisure sounds much like a grace filled time of retreat. Ahhh, yes - we become very weary from all the "to do, to do, to do's of life.
boring....
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