In our last post on Simplicity Monday I talked about a new  regard for  inner work in this season of light held so lovingly by St. John the Forerunner.  I mentioned taking just ten minutes a day in order to stand or sit in silence.

One thing to consider is the art of daily recollection.  In the book, “The Desert Mothers: Spiritual Practices from the Women of the Wilderness”, author and priest Mary C. Earle writes:

The practice of living with discernment invites us to slow down and to reflect.  One way to begin incorporating discernment into your life is to practice a prayer of recollection daily.  This is a simple way of reviewing the day’s events, remembering what happened in a twenty-four hour period and prayerfully noticing what might have been overlooked.  A prayer of recollection allows us to bring eyes to see and ears to hear to the dailiness of our lives.  By taking time to “collect” all of the bits and pieces of our day, we receive what we have been given.  We have an opportunity to notice moments when we failed to be kind, to be forgiving, to be generous, to be hospitable.  And we notice when we were the recipients of kindness, forgiveness, generosity, hospitality.  We allow God to tell us the truth of our day.

I like to review my day backwards at night before I go to bed and end at the night before when I was getting ready for bed as the last event on my list.  I try to review without attaching lots of labels to the events, but instead as sort of a more impartial observer and to give myself that time and space to just hear and see what God shows me about my day, the people I love, and yes, sometimes myself and all my many foibles as well.

Ten minutes a day!

Many blessings,
Carrie