Monday, July 21, 2014

A Day of Rest Is Hard Work For Beginners

Yesterday's first attempt at keeping a day of rest was a lot more difficult than you might expect it would be.   I wasn't entirely successful.   Especially difficult was purposefully sitting and thinking about my own conduct and considering it in light of the teachings of the prophets.  I tried a period of watchful waiting, as the Quakers might say and it was difficult too.  Maybe you learn how to do those things with practice.  I intend to keep trying.   Our mother used to tell us that her grandmother's family was especially strong on keeping Sunday.  They weren't entirely rigid.  Children could sit on a swing, they just couldn't swing on it. There were other restrictions on having fun, as well.  While that seems to be a bit extreme,  you wonder how it would hurt children to keep a few hours a week where they weren't to pursue their own entertainment. Though not an entire day.  At least one hour or so would probably be good practice.

2 comments:

  1. " Especially difficult was purposefully sitting and thinking about my own conduct and considering it in light of the teachings of the prophets."

    Difficult for any of us. As Pascal noted:

    "...tout le malheur des hommes vient d'une seule chose, qui est de ne pas savoir demeurer en repos dans une chambre."

    All human unhappiness comes from one thing, not knowing how to be at rest in a room.

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  2. I would amend Pascal: "not knowing how to be at rest in a room without falling asleep."

    More and more do I find this to be a problem, especially around 4 p.m.....

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