What to do in Isolation

Okay, since March 13, 2020, Canada has changed and most of us find ourselves with much more time in our homes. How do we survive mentally, physically, and spiritually in this present state of affairs? I do not claim to be an expert, but here are some things I have found helpful.

1.     Now is a great time to read that book you have been meaning to read that will make you better at your job. There may also be a novel or a self-help book that has been sitting on a shelf just waiting for a time like this.

2.     Do those job searches you have been meaning to do. Is this the time to choose to work at something for which you are passionate?

3.     Take an online course. Is there something that will make you more employable when you come out of isolation? Many schools have switched to online delivery. Perhaps now is the time to get on board.

4.     Rest. Most of us do not need this reminder but it is important to say, keep good sleep hygiene. Go to bed at the same time every night and especially get up at the same time every morning.

5.     Not only could you read, but you could write. Have you dreamed of having time to write a blog, a book, a song, or poetry? Now might be the time. Writing a blog, book, song, or poetry is not for everyone, but you could take this time to hand-write letters or cards to friends and family.

6.     Keep to routines. Not just sleep routines but all routines of the day: take out the garbage, check for mail delivery, walk the dog, and many more things can be part of your daily routine.

7.     Eat and drink in moderation. Remember, you are likely not getting your usual amount of exercise.

8.     Schedule times to talk with people in your home. Perhaps you might do this while playing a game together.

9.     Schedule times to talk with extended family through phone calls and video calls.

10.   Although we must maintain good social-distancing, watch for ways to help others. Is there a fragile person in your neighbourhood that could use something left on the porch? Can you put something in the window to encourage those who are out for a walk?

11.   If you have the supplies, build something.

12.   Stay spiritually healthy. Do the things that keep you connected with God. Listen to sermons online, read your Bible and good books, pray with others online.

There are a few ideas. I am sure we could all add more. Let’s do our best to stay heathy in a complex world.

The Legacy of George MacDonald

 

Our Lead Pastor Steve McMillan quoted George MacDonald this past Sunday. This reminded me of a few other MacDonald quotes. If we look past the male oriented language of the day, there are some good insights here.

"To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved."
— George MacDonald, Author of The Princess and the Goblin.

“Ere long, I learned that it was not myself, but only my shadow, that I had lost. I learned that it is better, a thousand-fold, for a proud man to fall and be humbled, than to hold up his head in his pride and fancied innocence. I learned that he that will be a hero, will barely be a man; that he that will be nothing but a doer of his work, is sure of his manhood.”
― George MacDonald in Phantastes.

“Foolish is the man, and there are many such men, who would rid himself or his fellows of discomfort by setting the world right, by waging war on the evils around him, while he neglects that integral part of the world where lies his business, his first business, namely, his own character and conduct.”

- George MacDonald in The Hope of the Gospel.

Writing as Education

 
“I still encourage anyone who feels at all compelled to write to do so. I just try to warn people who hope to get published that publication is not all it is cracked up to be. But writing is. Writing has so much to give, so much to teach, so many surprises. That thing you had to force yourself to do---the actual act of writing---turns out to be the best part. It's like discovering that while you thought you needed the tea ceremony for the caffeine, what you really needed was the tea ceremony. The act of writing turns out to be its own reward.” 
― Anne Lamott

Beacon Publishing Group

Pre-ordering a book can be an excellent way to get a great book at an amazing price. The Great Beyond, formerly published by Amazon’s Create Space (now out of print there) is about to be published by the Beacon Publishing Group. It is available in e-Book, paperback, and audio book. You can save up to 50% by pre-ordering the book at Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, or BeaconPublishingGroup.com.

The book is set for release on January 11, 2019 when the regular prices will be established. Buy it for yourself or buy it for a friend who would enjoy a thoughtful and entertaining story.

Links:

Barnes and Noble - https://bit.ly/2PyFiVG

Kobo -https://bit.ly/2SGM0eg

Amazon.com Kindle - https://amzn.to/2SJlgtw

Amazon.com paperback - https://amzn.to/2C7CVWx

Amazon.ca - https://amzn.to/2C9GFH7

Beacon Publishing Group - https://bit.ly/2QPkzlh

Originality

“Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.”
― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

I owe a lot to C.S. Lewis. I have read most of his works and his imagination has influenced my imagination. Even as I have written an original novel, I know that my stories have roots in the writings of Lewis and other writers. At the same time, my work is indeed original because I have told truth in a new way. May God give each of us the gift of being ourselves as we seek to make a difference in this world.

View The Great Beyond in these two forms:

Kindle version
Paperback

Hemingway on Writing

For a true writer, each book should be a new beginning where he tries again for something that is beyond attainment. He should always try for something that has never been done or that others have tried and failed. Then sometimes, with great luck, he will succeed.

-       Ernest Hemingway

I am presently writing a book that is certainly beyond my attainment. I am writing theological fiction. The idea is to wrestle with the theological question of what happens when we die. It will be a myth, a metaphor, and not an attempt at systematic theology. In some ways, it will be a retelling of C.S. Lewis’ amazing book, The Great Divorce. When I describe it like that, it is clear why it is beyond my abilities. Yet, with luck, and by God’s grace, it just might be something worth reading. Watch for it - coming soon, The Great Beyond.

Originality

Everything of importance has been said before by somebody who did not discover it.

- Alfred North Whitehead (English mathematician & philosopher; 1861 – 1947)

Works Cited:
"Quote of the Day"; http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/26863.html; Accessed 2016-08-28

Write As If You Were Dying

There are times when I struggle with what to write in my blog. Annie Dillard is often a source of inspiration.

Write as if you were dying. At the same time, assume you write for an audience consisting solely of terminal patients. That is, after all, the case. What would you begin writing if you knew you would die soon? What could you say to a dying person that would not enrage by its triviality?[1]

What will come of this? What would I write if I wrote as if I were dying?

---

[1] The Writing Life; Annie Dillard; 1989.

There is Nothing to Writing

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” -  Ernest Hemingway

I have not yet written a book, but I have written 600 blogs since January of 2009, and each time I sit down to write I am aware I am revealing a portion of myself. The words I write can be obscured by imagination, pride, humility, or exaggeration; but I am never completely hidden in the words written. My true self will bleed through in some corner.

Writing is always hard work. I must choose a topic of interest to others, choose the right words, choose the right order of those words, choose the right edits so that each sentence has only one interpretation and is understood by all. Then I must go back and choose better words and better ways of ordering the words. I must make the writing poetic while sticking to prose. I must choose to remove words that I previously and thoughtfully placed in just the right place. I do this so that the writing will be succinct and clear. Then I must rightly choose punctuation to aid the reader and guide the rhythm of the piece. In the end, all writing is music and must touch the ear as well as the heart.

I leave behind this body of work that even those who do not know me from anything but these words can begin to understand a portion of me. These words are small windows that shine light into the inner courtyard of an overgrown castle. They push me to be a better writer and a better person. I seek to write intelligent words that others will find helpful and inspiring; words that will challenge us all to thirst for right in the world; to hunger and thirst for justice and righteousness. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in the sight1 of both readers and God.

1 Psalm 19:14