Today, being Good Friday, I will start a series of blogs that would feature a book on spirituality entitled, The Way, authored by St. Josemaria Escriva, founder of Opus Dei.
The author starts the book with a Prologue, which states:
“Read these counsels slowly. Pause to meditate on these thoughts. They are things that I whisper in your ear-confiding them-as a friend, as a brother, as a father. And they are being heard by God.”
Hence, I shall tackle the points one by one.
Point # 1 Don't let your life be sterile. Be useful. Blaze a trail. Shine forth with the light of your faith and of your love. With your apostolic life wipe out the slimy and filthy mark left by the impure sowers of hatred. And light up all the ways of the earth with the fire of Christ that you carry in your heart.
Setting aside time for learning something new. This self-isolation due to COVID-19 affords all of us the time to reflect on the Point #1 above. Instead of just idly wasting the hours that pass us by, it makes sense to set aside a few minutes or hours during the day to pursue hobbies or interests that would uplift or develop your body, mind or spirit.
Striking a balanced schedule. The challenge is to structure a daily schedule that would adequately address one’s particular state in life. In my case, I spend my mornings doing mental prayer and participating in an online mass, after taking breakfast and doing the bathroom rituals. After lunch, I spend at least an hour to study a new course online. Then, I go for my daily one hour exercise, dancing to the beat of Bachatta around my little garden. I find that this not only gives me physical well-being but also uplifts my spirit on account of the beauty of the flowers and plants that I started to notice lately.
Maintaining social contacts. Realizing the importance of social networks, I initiated a “Zoom” conference with some friends; and, apparently they liked it. Hence, we agreed to have a 90 minute virtual cocktails with friends at exactly 5:30 PM daily. This is the fun part of each day, as friends just hang around virtually together to talk about anything under the sun.
With my routine, I find myself quite happy despite the extension of the quarantine until end of April.
C’est la vie!
TalinMan