A painting of tea with a good and thoughtful friend. The Personal Liturgy of a Quiet Woman
I fluff and feather
And put and putter.
To make my place as
Perfect as it can be.
It is refreshment,
Renewal,
Re-creation
In the same old space for
Stewardship that satisfies,
Then inspires me.
The final step of this hearthful ritual
Is tea with good and thoughtful friends.
My recusant but devoted soul
Is sweetly touched by
This uncommon,
But consecrated liturgy
Of placement, peers and tea.
Susan Patterson
11-2007
I fluff and feather
And put and putter.
To make my place as
Perfect as it can be.
It is refreshment,
Renewal,
Re-creation
In the same old space for
Stewardship that satisfies,
Then inspires me.
The final step of this hearthful ritual
Is tea with good and thoughtful friends.
My recusant but devoted soul
Is sweetly touched by
This uncommon,
But consecrated liturgy
Of placement, peers and tea.
Susan Patterson
11-2007
Audio for Personal Liturgy of a Quiet Woman
Discussion:
I was hesitant to put this poem in The Causerie. It seemed too sweet, too twee. In addition, I've been advised that there may be too much from the feminine perspective in The Causerie. But upon a closer look, The Personal Liturgy of a Quiet Woman might be a sign of the times. One has to look at certain words and phrases.
This woman is used to going to church, but she is a recusant. A recusant is someone who does not attend church, a non-conformist and in most religions, that would be considered a sin. This woman uses her home as a place of stewardship and inspiration, not unlike how people use a church. Then there is the liturgy. A liturgy is a worship, ritual, or custom. It is a religious way of doing things. She believes her liturgy is consecrated. For her, the household putterings are another way of going to church. Like Emily Dickinson said, "Some keep the Sabbath going to church-- I keep it, staying at home." Taken from poem number 236 by Emily Dickinson.
I think that many in this society and culture are choosing to stay home, to keep close, to be recusant but in their own spiritual way. We are tired of the wars, weary of politics, and over whelmed with information. Personal liturgies may be signs of the times. skp
This woman is used to going to church, but she is a recusant. A recusant is someone who does not attend church, a non-conformist and in most religions, that would be considered a sin. This woman uses her home as a place of stewardship and inspiration, not unlike how people use a church. Then there is the liturgy. A liturgy is a worship, ritual, or custom. It is a religious way of doing things. She believes her liturgy is consecrated. For her, the household putterings are another way of going to church. Like Emily Dickinson said, "Some keep the Sabbath going to church-- I keep it, staying at home." Taken from poem number 236 by Emily Dickinson.
I think that many in this society and culture are choosing to stay home, to keep close, to be recusant but in their own spiritual way. We are tired of the wars, weary of politics, and over whelmed with information. Personal liturgies may be signs of the times. skp
Friendship for Our Health
Following is a copy of an email article that I received from my friend Cheryl. I don't know where it was originally printed, but I am passing it on to you. "In an evening class at Stanford University there was a lecture on the mind-body connection - the relationship between stress and disease. The speaker (head of psychiatry at Stanford) said, among other things, that one of the best things that a man could do for his health is to be married to a woman, whereas for a woman, one of the best things she could do for her health was to nurture her relationships with her girlfriends.
At first everyone laughed, but he was serious. Women connect with each other differently and provide support systems that help each other to deal with stress and difficult life experiences. Physically this quality "girlfriend time" helps us to create more serotonin - a neurotransmitter that helps combat depression and can create a general feeling of well-being.
Women share feelings whereas men often form relationships around activities.
We share from our souls with our sisters/mothers, and evidently that is very GOOD for our health. He said that spending time with a friend is just as important to our general health as jogging or working out at a gym.
There's a tendency to think that when we are "exercising" we are doing something good for our bodies, but when we are hanging out with friends, we are wasting our time and should be more productively engaged. Not true. In fact, he said that failure to create and maintain quality personal relationships with other humans is as dangerous to our physical health as smoking!
So every time you hang out with a gal pal, just pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself for doing something good for your health! We are indeed very, very lucky. So let's toast to our friendship with our girlfriends. Evidently it's very good for out health!"
At first everyone laughed, but he was serious. Women connect with each other differently and provide support systems that help each other to deal with stress and difficult life experiences. Physically this quality "girlfriend time" helps us to create more serotonin - a neurotransmitter that helps combat depression and can create a general feeling of well-being.
Women share feelings whereas men often form relationships around activities.
We share from our souls with our sisters/mothers, and evidently that is very GOOD for our health. He said that spending time with a friend is just as important to our general health as jogging or working out at a gym.
There's a tendency to think that when we are "exercising" we are doing something good for our bodies, but when we are hanging out with friends, we are wasting our time and should be more productively engaged. Not true. In fact, he said that failure to create and maintain quality personal relationships with other humans is as dangerous to our physical health as smoking!
So every time you hang out with a gal pal, just pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself for doing something good for your health! We are indeed very, very lucky. So let's toast to our friendship with our girlfriends. Evidently it's very good for out health!"
Friends or sisters, who knows, but all good and thoughtful women, no doubt.
Until next time, be well! skp
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