Lunchtime thoughts.
A Benedictine spirituality of work:
1. re-creates the world
2. puts us in touch with our own creativity
3. is the autograph of our soul, the mark we leave on the development of the world
4. draws us out of ourselves and at the same time makes us more of what we are meant to be
5. develops compassion and character in us
6. immerses us in the search and development of human community
Each day this week journal on one characteristic of a Benedictine spirituality of work in relation to all your work — your job, your hobby or avocation, your daily manual tasks.
I must admit, I feel so scattered these days. Last week was almost a loss in terms of productivity. The week before it, excellent.
Just today, thought, I bit off a small chunk, a draft letter to a foreign university president. I wrote it quickly, and the feeling of my fingers typing quickly and accurately gave me a boost to get the next thing done. Today I am thinking about the "autograph of our soul." Somehow I finally have writing as a career...as my mother always predicted I would...and I sometimes have such a hard time getting going with things. I love it, and yet I hesitate to start...perhaps because I fear leaving a mark on the world. As an Enneagram 9 I typically prefer to make as few waves as possible. But I seem to be coming to a point in my life where I am willing to step out in faith and do so. Little bit by little bit.