Tag: dailyprompt

Describe your most ideal day from begining to end.

I check these prompts every morning. Most days I simply pass – I have no desire to write about death or such. Yet today I thought I would answer. My perfect day is the day I am living right now. It is early in the morning so I will describe yesterday with the same structure as today:

I got up early (before 5am) and meditated and prayed. Well, actually I made my bed and a pot of tea and then Morning Prayer and some personal prayer. I had to pay some bills online, which I did. Then had a coffee at my favourite coffee shop. I always take a book – a theme that will reappear – and I sat for about half an hour, read and enjoyed my almond latte.

[Yesterday, on the way home, I rang my mother. My dad has been sick so I just wanted to get an update. I also went into the office to do something on the parish computer. I was by myself so it was pleasant enough. And the office is next door!]

When I came home I did some domestic stuff – vacuumed then the dishes which had been pilling up in the sink. After that I settled at my desk and read an article that I have been working through on the early history of SSJE and the mission movement in the late 1900s. Super article! The postie delivered a new book, Merrily on High, that I instantly sat down and started reading. It made me laugh!

I worked a little on this blog. I created a page for all the Anglican Solitaries about which I have read. More for me than anyone else.

I had half a salad before Midday Prayer. I usually use Midday Prayer to meditate a little more and to intercede for people. Then a rest! I normally have complete silence from Midday Prayer to Evening Prayer but I listened to an audiobook on the Waco siege that was recommended to me. But I fell asleep and missed a chapter or two.

I was woken by a phone call. Rather than being intrusive, which I often feel these are, it was pleasant and non-confrontational and required no action from me.

Then more reading – the same book as at the coffee shop. I sat outside on the little porch for a little while as I read. Evening Prayer is relatively early – 3pm – but it works for me. After Evening Prayer I just sat for a little and watched Fred the Rabbit run around the day room.

I had a visit from a friend who called earlier. He listened to me complain and encouraged me to keep going.

Then the second half of the salad, a shower, read a little more, and then Compline and bed. I watched a little TV in bed – an indulgence to my weaker self and I am hooked on Chicago PD – but fell asleep pretty quickly.

I have settled into that routine and it really suits me. Prayer, meditation, and reading. I like being alone and having the space to be “me”, I like the silence of the early morning and watching the sunrise. So my perfect day!

What’s your favorite thing to cook?

I do like cooking. And, if I have a choice, I like to cook pasta. Creamy sauces do not agree with my stomach – I am lactose intolerant. But every other pasta is okay with me.

So spaghetti bolognese or any gnocchi with a spicy sauce. I like cooking those because I like eating them. Actually writing this makes me hungry for some.

Come up with a crazy business idea.

So here is my idea: I pay people to come to a stadium until it is full (huge stadium!). Other people then pay me for them to go into the middle and get celebrated by the whole stadium. People can play their favourite sport or be their favourite celebrity. I would call it “and the crowd goes wild”.

What is the greatest gift someone could give you?

By choice, I live alone. It is not misanthropy. It is a choice to be with Jesus. Yet, I do talk and interact with people. This is not an invasion of my “aloneness”. It is part of being alone with Jesus.

So the greatest gift that I can give to someone is my presence. That does not mean being “present” with someone but being present for someone. So I guess the greatest gift someone could give me is their presence. Not seeing me as “objective characteristics” that offer pre-conscienced ideas. But seeing me, listening to me, being present for me. That presence is not physical but always personal.

And, yes, that is Jesus. He offers me his presence! Not always with answers or solutions. Sometimes just hold my hand. And Jesus is polite – he will not force his presence on me. A simple act of surrender – of placing myself in his presence. The Cloud of Unknowning puts it this way, “Trying is my desire”. Kierkegaard speaks of faith as resolution.

Are you a good judge of character?

I have skipped a number of the prompts as they were, simply put, way too painful. But today’s looks like something I can work with.

So the short answer is No. The longer one is Noooooo! In reality, I spend so little time with people that I would not have a clue about their character. And, living in the “cult of personality” world, what is character?!

Personally, I trust people way too quickly. I move from acquaintance to friendship and then to enemies for life. And, I admit, mostly my doing.

So a very brief answer to a huge question.

List your top 5 grocery store items.

Oh wow! Tea, and tea, and maybe some tea, and lemon slice, and tea.

I like different types of tea but it has to be loose leaf. The routine is to make a fresh pot of tea in the morning and top it up with water during the day. So it is very strong in the morning and weaker in the evening.

I know that is not very exciting. And I get other items at the supermarket but I always check the tea specials first.