Week 14 (2023)
the pietà & living musically, Dostoevsky for our times, the church calendar & Christ's last day, instrumentalized goods & walkability, insufferable patients & fertility myths
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reading: books
Crosswicks Journals #3: The Irrational Season, Madeleine L'Engle — audio — Continuing to truck along with my re-read/listen through this series for the first time in a few years. Not my favorite one, but still enjoyed some good nuggets.
Deschooling Society, Ivan Illich — audio —My little review.
reading: essays, articles, newsletters
What's It Like Being Stranded In Your City: Part 1 and Part 2 — Tiffany Owens, Strong Towns — “We just need to become more human in how we approach transit and how we approach cities… We need to take into account that sometimes folks want to wander and explore their cities, not simply drive from point A to point B, that friends want to hop on a train to meet up with each other, or that kids simply might want to walk to the local ice cream shop on their own.”
Pietà: The Womanly Art Of Losing Yourself — Carmel Richardson, Hearth & Field — “I think of former generations of women, and of Mary, mother of Jesus, and it seems to me that I remained in youth much longer than they. And too, there comes a time in life when a lack of cares is its own sort of burden, and the burden of children a thrilling, if daunting, task.”
To Live More Musically — Denise Trull, Dappled Things — “I find it a common and odd phenomenon in our present world that if someone is seeking beauty or truth and is determined to dwell there in hope of the good and to speak only what is true, what is noble, what is right, pure, lovely, and admirable — they are considered naive and rather childish. Deep, “grown-up” thinkers are somehow equated with cynicism, sarcasm, and contempt. They are those who REALLY know what's what in the world.”
(related: Youthful Cynicism and Dostoevsky’s Case for Hope, shared previously)
Politics, Friendship, And The Search For Meaning — David Corey, Comment — “C.S. Lewis once pointed out in his famous sermon “Learning in War-Time” that the mentality of war not only leads us to instrumentalize all goods that are useful for victory but also creates an atmosphere of shame for individuals who try to engage in intrinsic goods while the war is on.”
Possessed In America — Jon Askonas, Mere Orthodoxy — “…we have built the most powerful engines of acedia ever conceived.”
Walking Through Christ's Last Day — John Donne, Plough — “There we leave you, in that blessed dependency, to hang upon him, that hangs upon the cross. There bathe in his tears…and lie down in peace in his grave, till he vouchsafe you a resurrection…”
Why Low-Church Protestants Need The Church Calendar — Kelley Mathews, Patheos — A helpful refresher on what it is and why it’s beneficial.
Meditation (The Cloisters) — Justin Lacour, Fathom — “The bad stuff—that cherubim hugging a baby lamb surrounded by a halo of daisies—ate like acid at the little faith I had, till God only came out on special occasions to terrify me… There are departures that are actually the first steps toward home. I will light a candle for every day I did not love You.”
Saving Friends: What I've Learned From Insufferable Patients — Brewer Eberly, Plough (audio version available) — “At the very least, this ethic of fraternalism allowed us to take a moral breath, fostering a kind of candor to name the paradoxes of her care and the care of many others we struggle to heal: we can’t keep caring for you; we will keep caring for you. Yes, you are responsible for some of this; some of this you are not responsible for. No, you’re not going to get better; no, we won’t abandon you.”
5 Fertility Myths That Keep Women In The Dark About Their Reproductive Health — Grace Emily Stark, Institute For Family Studies — “Imagine if more women, understanding the truth about hormonal birth control, demanded better care and solutions from doctors and health researchers. The truth about the goodness of the female body—including our fertility—is written in a way we all can see, if only we are taught to read it.”
(related: FACTS, Natural Womanhood, more reading on birth control & reproductive health, NaPro Technology, Lumina Health Services, Managing Your Fertility, Guiding Star Project, This Is Your Brain On Birth Control, Taking Charge Of Your Fertility)
watching/listening
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes — My husband and I have watched the dramatized series Chernobyl twice (and loved it… especially since Jakob works with radioactivity as a chemist). This was great to watch as a follow-up, with its incredible footage and storytelling.
Against A System That Has Lost Its Liberating Arts — Jessica Hooten Wilson & Myles Werntz, The Liberating Arts — This discussion was a helpful way to wrap up my listen through Ivan Illich’s aforementioned Deschooling Society. A great conversation on the means and end of education… whether or not you’ve read (or plan to read) the book.
(The Illich-heavy newsletter mentioned: The Convivial Society)
Continuing On:
Verity with Phylicia Masonheimer — Episodes 60-63 — Marriage Series (episodes 5-8).
using: product, tip, resource
Internet art for Holy Week:
Sword & Pencil — depicting the Stations Of The Cross this week.
Salt & Gold Collection — “Barabbas is me.”
Also:
Turn heavy cream into whipped cream and add to everything that needs it!
remembering
One Year Ago:
Two Years Ago:
This Week:
Losing my mind over Augustin’s expressions and downy hair. 😭