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Over the last couple of weeks members of my local church have been posting thoughts, poems, and prayers - a wonderful range of material and participants. While I have the luxury of recently putting a sequence of thoughts together, these posts have been refreshingly different.Today a member has posted some advice from the Trappist monastery in Roscrea, Ireland at the Mount St. Joseph Abbey. As a very restricted order they know what they are talking about!
We Cistercians have been self
isolating for centuries. For those of you who are self-isolating, here are four
concrete tips that have served our Order well for nearly a thousand years:
1) Write down a weekly schedule. It needn't be too complex or specific. In fact, it's important that you don't regiment yourself so much that you become like a soldier. But having a basic schedule will structure your week and give you the time and freedom to live a productive life. You may want to colour-code the entries according to whether they are daily, weekly or monthly occurrences.
2) Add at least two structured prayer sessions to this. They needn't be for more than ten minutes. Set aside a quiet place, and a good time, and make this your chosen meeting place with God.
3) Read! We may have a wonderful library, as in the picture, but everyone can have access to books if they want. Many online stores are still operating.
4) Try to live in the present moment. One of the thoughts that short-circuits self isolation is the 'What-to-do-next' thought. It makes you restless, unable to engage with staying in one place. Your weekly schedule is a good start, here. And books will give you a mental 'space' to lose yourself in.
1) Write down a weekly schedule. It needn't be too complex or specific. In fact, it's important that you don't regiment yourself so much that you become like a soldier. But having a basic schedule will structure your week and give you the time and freedom to live a productive life. You may want to colour-code the entries according to whether they are daily, weekly or monthly occurrences.
2) Add at least two structured prayer sessions to this. They needn't be for more than ten minutes. Set aside a quiet place, and a good time, and make this your chosen meeting place with God.
3) Read! We may have a wonderful library, as in the picture, but everyone can have access to books if they want. Many online stores are still operating.
4) Try to live in the present moment. One of the thoughts that short-circuits self isolation is the 'What-to-do-next' thought. It makes you restless, unable to engage with staying in one place. Your weekly schedule is a good start, here. And books will give you a mental 'space' to lose yourself in.
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