FIve things friday

Here we are again, my friend. Friday has awakened us, and may it be to something wonderful today.

1. It seems there is always something to do, doesn't it? I keep a notepad (or scraps of paper scattered around) of things I need to do. Some things keep reminding me I've yet to do them, and there are always more added to the list. Yesterday I did get the windows covered with plastic on the inside (the ones I intended to do). And there will be parties this month! Yet, all that said, my mind seems headed in another direction...
2. This week I happened onto a free pdf copy of Philip D. Kennesen's 28-page 'Practicing Ecclesial Patience: Patient Practice Makes Perfect', thanks to Chris Smith and the good people at the Ekklesia Project. You can download it as well by clicking on the title above. It's from a talk on the idea of "slow church," and he outlines Three Practices or Dimensions of Presence: Abiding, Devotion, and Attention. This was a really good read. One of those where I got done and simply sat there for awhile... feeling full and good and whole. Such a needed message for this time of year. In fact, if I'm ever asked to speak at church again, I might just use this as the basis.
3. I also ran across this post on 'The Enclosure of the Human Psyche,' on further dangers of Big Tech and the serious threat it is posing to humankind. What's at stake? Our ability to think. How do we fight back? Learning to embrace silence. The author quotes both Illich and Matthew Crawford respectively: "...silence is necessary for the emergence of persons;" and "...just as clean air makes it possible to breathe, silence makes it possible to think." The article is on the edge of my limits of understanding, but I think I got the gist, and it made me feel not so crazy.
4. Speaking of my hatred for the current strain of American Capitalism (Is djt Reagan on steroids? I don't dislike him from a mere political standpoint, but for the sake of humanity!)... There's this piece 'The Great Grocery Squeeze,' and how a federal policy change in the 1980's created the modern food desert. You want to know why big box stores have taken over and mom and pop places can no longer make it? Because we stopped enforcing the Robinson-Patman Act. It is apparently against the law to sell to big companies at lower prices than smaller ones, but it's not enforced. Thus, we no longer live in the "land of opportunity" (for all). This connects with #3 above. Don't look for it to get better under the new administration.
5. "In a world that demands increased productivity at every turn, few things seem less productive than abiding with these same scriptures, these same stories, week after week, year after year, especially when it's nearly impossible to tell if they are having any effect at all." - Philip D. Kennesen (this is, of course, talking about the Christian gospel message, and the importance of being part of a church community - taken from the pdf in #2).

Just to be clear, I'm really not as freaked out about the world and the results of the last election as you may think. In fact, it seems to be giving me some direction. Not that I think everything will "work out." Oh, sure, in the end... It's the getting there that bothers me. It's what life will be like for my grandkids (and yours) that keeps me going. So, I'll keep reading, keep meditating, keep thinking... and I'll try to keep you informed. You know, because I gotta tell somebody. ;) 

Have a nice weekend!