Well, my last post did fail. It failed when I attempted to enter an LJ name (that of ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
starduchess, whom I don't even know if she has a DW account) and the code broke the entry and didn't display anything I wrote after. Alas.
Listen,starduchess and I had a smashing time watching her kids (and their cousins) play in a park that had both a water play area and a regular climbing-type playground. Yay!
The conference was good, but it was also a month ago.
I'm writing tonight because I'm on my way to New York Yearly Meeting tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it, really. I've been asked to "give a message at vespers on Monday," which is an invitation to preach for about 10 minutes or so on the topic of my choosing. Except the person who invited me to speak is on my Committee on Recording (that is, recording my spiritual gift of "spiritual accompaniment" as something the Yearly Meeting endorses and will support/oversee), and he strongly suggested I tie it into my work somehow,
I find it somewhat odd that I've been asked to give a message while in the recording process, especially since my Monthly Meeting has not recognized a gift of vocal ministry in me ("vocal ministry" is what Friends call preaching).
In any event, I'm mostly packed for the trip up to Lake George and am finally writing this message. I'm more than halfway through, I think. I mean, I've known the basic substance for a couple of weeks (I'm using my work on the psychiatric unit and the story of the good Samaritan as a way to look at respecting the wisdom/compassion of those society stigmatizes, trying to nuance it so we don't end up having poverty tourism to the psych ward).
But it seems like the words are coming really easily, that they are flowing--even the transitions, which are sometimes tricky for me. And it helps, I think, that I am starting to write it in a quasi-poetic form (I often break sentences into lines in order to slow my reading of prepared text; here, I'm not even bothering to write as prose first). And it's like I am in an alternate zone, a creative place. Like my brain is functioning differently and I am not sure whether it's a credit to the spiritual work I've done with this text and topic or if it's because I'm using a poetic form. Hm.
Anyway, I'm hoping to sometimes write here, but I honestly think it's going to be about once/month. I kind of wish it were more, but I...don't usually want to engage with folks very much by the end of my day. I sometimes read LJ from my phone on the way to/from work, but hate trying to comment from my phone, so I lurk, lurk, lurk. Le sigh.
I'm usually more responsive to emails/phone calls. Except, you know, for the next week when I'll be out of touch entirely due to being at Yearly Meeting (and often away from cell service).
Oh! And last night I participated in![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
firewhiskeyfic , which was epic as usual. I...drank a lot. And wrote something. And I'll have to try to find my way to some wireless service after Tuesday so I can read/vote! I was pretty silly. But I remembered to keep drinking water, even when I thought adding even water to my system was a Bad Idea. I went to sleep before midnight, woke up at 4:30 to pee and drink more water, and was fine when I finally woke up for real at 9.
Which is the latest I'll be sleeping in until I've been home from Silver Bay for a week. Woe. (I know, world's smallest violin. But I actually like to sleep in at least one day/week, meaning past 10am. Because my life exhausts me.)
starduchess, whom I don't even know if she has a DW account) and the code broke the entry and didn't display anything I wrote after. Alas. Listen,
starduchess and I had a smashing time watching her kids (and their cousins) play in a park that had both a water play area and a regular climbing-type playground. Yay! The conference was good, but it was also a month ago.
I'm writing tonight because I'm on my way to New York Yearly Meeting tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it, really. I've been asked to "give a message at vespers on Monday," which is an invitation to preach for about 10 minutes or so on the topic of my choosing. Except the person who invited me to speak is on my Committee on Recording (that is, recording my spiritual gift of "spiritual accompaniment" as something the Yearly Meeting endorses and will support/oversee), and he strongly suggested I tie it into my work somehow,
I find it somewhat odd that I've been asked to give a message while in the recording process, especially since my Monthly Meeting has not recognized a gift of vocal ministry in me ("vocal ministry" is what Friends call preaching).
In any event, I'm mostly packed for the trip up to Lake George and am finally writing this message. I'm more than halfway through, I think. I mean, I've known the basic substance for a couple of weeks (I'm using my work on the psychiatric unit and the story of the good Samaritan as a way to look at respecting the wisdom/compassion of those society stigmatizes, trying to nuance it so we don't end up having poverty tourism to the psych ward).
But it seems like the words are coming really easily, that they are flowing--even the transitions, which are sometimes tricky for me. And it helps, I think, that I am starting to write it in a quasi-poetic form (I often break sentences into lines in order to slow my reading of prepared text; here, I'm not even bothering to write as prose first). And it's like I am in an alternate zone, a creative place. Like my brain is functioning differently and I am not sure whether it's a credit to the spiritual work I've done with this text and topic or if it's because I'm using a poetic form. Hm.
Anyway, I'm hoping to sometimes write here, but I honestly think it's going to be about once/month. I kind of wish it were more, but I...don't usually want to engage with folks very much by the end of my day. I sometimes read LJ from my phone on the way to/from work, but hate trying to comment from my phone, so I lurk, lurk, lurk. Le sigh.
I'm usually more responsive to emails/phone calls. Except, you know, for the next week when I'll be out of touch entirely due to being at Yearly Meeting (and often away from cell service).
Oh! And last night I participated in
firewhiskeyfic , which was epic as usual. I...drank a lot. And wrote something. And I'll have to try to find my way to some wireless service after Tuesday so I can read/vote! I was pretty silly. But I remembered to keep drinking water, even when I thought adding even water to my system was a Bad Idea. I went to sleep before midnight, woke up at 4:30 to pee and drink more water, and was fine when I finally woke up for real at 9. Which is the latest I'll be sleeping in until I've been home from Silver Bay for a week. Woe. (I know, world's smallest violin. But I actually like to sleep in at least one day/week, meaning past 10am. Because my life exhausts me.)
