Homebodies - Down size, down size, down size
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- Published on Sunday, January 24, 2016
By Rita Friesen
The Neepawa Banner
Down size, down size, down size. This has been my mantra for the past year. I am doing fairly well with the task.
My downfall is books. On a regular basis, I sit down and truly attempt to discard some books. Not discard as to throw away, but as to get out of my house. There are three stacks, one that will never leave me, those who may end up staying and those that may go. Needless to say the ‘stay’ stack is the dominant one. The one on the maybe stay there for a week or so and then, sadly, find their way back to the shelf. I am not sad that I am keeping these books, simply sad that the thought of packing and hauling them to a new home is discouraging. Not as difficult/heavy as the old long playing records that once were a necessity!
The books in the maybe category are usually re-read before rejoining their friends. But seeing old favourites is time consuming. Very time consuming. “The Road Not Taken”, a collection of Robert Frost’s poetry, comes back to the main floor. As does “The Wounded Healer” by Henri Nouwen. It really isn’t that I buy books; caring friends bless me with them. My supervisors for the course I am taking suggested several books that should be read for a book report. I should have kept my mouth shut, but I readily and cheerfully announced – read that. Now I have to read a new book for my review. It would have been easier…
The book that made it to my bedside, well, back to my bedside, is “One thousand gifts”, a dare to live fully right where you are, by Ann Voskamp. Her goal is to record one thousand blessings. To actually write them down. A list. I am not a Pollyanna, but I do try to cultivate thankfulness. I try to take the time to see the sunrise and sunset. I give thanks when the sky is full of stars and the Northern Lights dance, even if it is midnight and frigid and the dogs are taking too long to complete their assignments! I rejoice in friendships and laughter, the arrival of a friendly letter in the mail. You should see me react to a parcel in the mail! This attitude of gratitude calms the soul and slows the breath. Stills anxious thoughts and creates contentment. The writer gently teaches how to biblically lament loss, turning pain into poetry. It is a slow read, her phrases and images capture my imagination. Speaking of her six children coming in for supper –‘They tramp in loud and fling themselves out of their coats like cicada splitting skins, leave boots a trail of droppings.’ I like that. Radical gratitude, if that would be said of me, it would be enough.
