My Own Personal Sabbath #23

My Own Personal Sabbath, What I'm Reading

Every Sunday since mid-May 2020, I have been taking my own personal Sabbath, where I tune out of the news and social media and turn off my ringer and all notifications on my phone.

12:10 AM: I don’t know about y’all, but I’m more than ready for a break from the news after this past week. Now that the presidential race has been called, I think I might be somewhat less distracted later today than I have been all week.

The only thing is that I’m not sure what I’m going to focus on today instead. I returned several books unread to our library and the Free Library of Philadelphia. I do have a few from the British Library Crime Classics series on my Kindle so maybe I’ll try one of them. I’ll keep you posted and let you know later today.

9:40 AM: In honor of Nonfiction November being celebrated this month, and even though I’m not participating in the event, I’m looking book at my nonfiction reads from this year. Altogether, I have read 32 books so far this year with eight of them being nonfiction. These are the eight:

  1. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, translated by Gregory Hays
  2. A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches by Martin Luther King Jr.
  3. How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
  4. Pauses for Lent: 40 Words for 40 Days by Trevor Hudson
  5. Every Living Thing by James Herriot
  6. Spiritual Practice for Crazy Times: Powerful Tools to Cultivate Calm, Clarity and Courage by Philip Goldberg
  7. Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life by Jon Kabat-Zinn
  8. The Gethsemani Talks: A Simple Teaching on Meditation in the Christian Tradition by John Main

As you can tell, the common theme is meditation, right from my very book of the year. It wasn’t planned that way, but has fallen almost naturally into it with the way the year has gone into. Then at the beginning of last month, I was invited by Deb Nance of the blog, Readerbuzz, and host of the weekly Sunday Salon to an online six-week introductory course for Christian Meditation hosted by a group in Houston, Texas. The group is part of The World Community for Christian Meditation started by followers of the late Benedictine monk John Main.

5:30 PM: I just got home about half an hour ago after being out most of the afternoon. I went to a local lake and then a local park where I started reading Castle Skull by John Dickson Carr, a part of the British Library Crime Classics series I mentioned earlier.

Published by Bryan G. Robinson

Blogger formerly known as Unfinished Person. Still an unfinished person...

Published

8 thoughts on “My Own Personal Sabbath #23”

  1. You are always so good about getting outside. I am glad you could spend time in that beautiful place.
    I am still a little antsy from all the election stuff. I am cutting my news consumption way down. Only glanced at it twice today so far. It’s so cold today. Woke to 32 degree temps and it’s only 55 now. I took the pup for her walk, with her sweater and she walked super fast and wanted to return quickly.

    I am starting my book club read today but I do not feel like reading it at all. It’s An American Marriage and I am not in the mood for it. I may just take a nap on my work break. I am so tired for some reason.

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  3. This is certainly the year to meditate more often. I’ve come to that realization last night as I’m been running on high temper/emotions/adrenaline for the past many months and need to relax now. I’ll need to look into the books you’ve recommended and start there. Hope you have a great week, Bryan!

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  4. I’m looking out on the mountains around Sedona today and occasionally watching a bit of sleet fall. We took a hike this morning and I’ve been sitting by the fire and taking a look out at the red cliffs and listening to the wind blow. I have two books with me, both about the West, but I don’t think I’ll actually read a lot this week.

    And I’m filled with relief that the election is over and the good guys won. Now for the traditional graceful congratulations to the winner and the transfer of power.

    I’m not sure what I will be reading next. I hope to focus on some good nonfiction and I have a little stack of 8-10 books waiting for me when I get home next Sunday. I wonder what you will read next.

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