Daily Nourishment for March 20, 2024: At the Center of Life with Eugene Peterson, Toni Morrison, and More
Daily Nourishment Read Time: 50 seconds
Pause/Prompt/Practice Time: 10 minutes
“Any time that we move from personal names to abstract labels or graphs or statistics, we are less in touch with reality and diminished in our capacity to deal with what is best and at the center of life. Yet we are encouraged on every side to do just that.” —Eugene Peterson
Pause.
Set a timer for three minutes and set an intention to pray or hold space for anyone who comes to mind. As you think of a person’s name or face, say their first name aloud, pray the name in silence, or write it down on a piece of paper or in your journal. Try to clear any additional thoughts from your mind and let the names be the prayer or meditation.
Prompt.
Set a timer for seven minutes and write about the prayer/meditation exercise above. Freewrite or respond to one or more of the following questions:
—How did you experience that prayer/meditation practice?
—Which names surprised you? Why?
—What else did you notice about the names that came to mind?
—Who do you want to add to your prayer/meditation/list?
Practice.
Schedule one or two more rounds of the name prayer/meditation for later today. Go ahead and add it to your calendar or set a reminder.
Want More?
LADIPO MANYIKA: Do you name your characters, or do they name themselves?
TONI MORRISON: They name themselves. I have sometimes written characters with names that were wrong, and they never came alive. I have to ask them, “What’s your name?” You just wait and something clicks—or not. And, if not, the writing feels clunky, or they don’t talk.
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You can read the entire interview here.
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Today’s Note from Charlotte
3//21 Addendum to the Note: Katie Rouse sent me a few of her thoughts on the significance of Holy Monday, me planning on sending my manuscript to my editor on that day, and some of what’s observed on that day. And now I have all kinds of thoughts on the intersection of flipping tables, creativity, and Holy Week. Also, it sounds like a poem Katie’s sending out on Monday explores some of these themes. You can subscribe to her email newsletter here.
Today’s Daily Nourishment was provided by Charlotte Donlon.
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