Happy 4th of July!
I had a nice, peaceful morning. I packed a little brunch and walked over to the running track next door. Had a really good hoop work out - Day 19 already!
Then I walked over to my favorite tree, and spent a few hours reading, praying and eating!
I am feeling good about my solitude. Although, the book I chose to bring with me was No Man Is an Island, by Thomas Merton! I read in chapter one:
To quote Merton again, I read the following paragraph on finding oneself in his introduction to No Man Is an Island:
Speaking of freedom,I am going to be a blog nerd today and quote MYSELF from Day 54 of my first year of this blog. I wrote about the first ever celebration of July 4th in our country. By Moravians in Old Salem, North Carolina, on July 4, 1783.
I liked what I wrote so much, that I am duplicating it here. And someday I will do more research on that "Psalm of Joy" they sang!
Here's quoting me:
"I found an article called "The First Americans to Observe the 4th were Moravian Pacifists" from the Daily Beast (http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/04/the-first-americans-to-observe-the-4th-were-moravian-pacifists.html)
I am not familiar with the Moravians. So I read: "The Moravians, a Protestant group in what is now the Czech Republic, had sent missionaries to establish the settlement of Bethlehem, Pa., in 1741.".
This is interesting to me, because my mother's family is from Czechoslovakia.
I also read about the composer Johann Friedrich Peter who wrote Psalm of Joy. It was performed at the celebration:
"The 1783 Independence Day celebration, as documented in the Salem Diary, started with trombone music, of which Moravians were fond. At 2 p.m., there was a Love Feast, a Moravian tradition that is more a celebration of community than a sacrament. People gathered in the church for a service that included a simple meal (usually coffee heavy with cream and sugar, plus a sweet bun).
As Moravians have long made music central to their worship, the service also included the singing of a “Psalm of Joy.” That gives the Moravians at Salem some claim to having come up with the first patriotic song celebrating the nation’s freedom. (This was years before Francis Scott Key wrote “The Star Spangled Banner.”)"
"They also had a strong pacifist tradition, dating to their founding amid the religious struggles of the 15th century as a “peace church.” Members were forbidden to serve in the military. They lived by the teachings in Christ’s Sermon on the Mount." http://soulrunnings.blogspot.com/2015/07/day-54-happy-4th-thank-you-moravian.html
Now, having quoted myself, I shall make my way to the gym. I was pleased to find out my gym is open today. So I can make an exercise sandwich of my day!
Happy 4th of July!
Be safe! Cherish your freedom!
Talk to you tomorrow....
Love, peace and all good things,
Zita
I had a nice, peaceful morning. I packed a little brunch and walked over to the running track next door. Had a really good hoop work out - Day 19 already!
Then I walked over to my favorite tree, and spent a few hours reading, praying and eating!
I am feeling good about my solitude. Although, the book I chose to bring with me was No Man Is an Island, by Thomas Merton! I read in chapter one:
"A happiness that is sought for ourselves alone can never be found: for a happiness that is diminished by being shared is not big enough to make us happy."
I had a bit of a moment of guilt, but after some pondering, I realized that this solitude I am enjoying, is much deserved. This is the first year I feel quite free on Independence Day!
And it is a good thing. Free from childrearing, day off from work, free from expectations or family commitments, free from relationships...
And I am not feeling lonely or envious of my fellow Americans at picnics, parades barbecues and fireworks. I don't feel left out, I feel blessed and blissfully free.
This is true freedom!
I have had my share of picnics, parades, barbecues and fireworks. And I hope to experience them again. But I need to recharge my battery. I think that is what this whole blog is about. Is finding myself, nurturing myself, healing myself and then going back out into the world to share myself!
To quote Merton again, I read the following paragraph on finding oneself in his introduction to No Man Is an Island:
"First of all, although men have a common destiny, each individual also has to work out his own personal salvation for himself in fear and trembling. We can help one another to find out the meaning of life, no doubt. But in the last analysis the individual person is responsible for living his own life and for 'finding himself'. If he persists in shifting this responsibility to somebody else, he fails to find out the meaning of his own existence."
I really dig Merton. I only wish I could have met him. Perhaps someday, beyond this earthly realm.
Or perhaps I should pray that God send me a man who thinks half as deep as him? One can only hope!
Speaking of freedom,I am going to be a blog nerd today and quote MYSELF from Day 54 of my first year of this blog. I wrote about the first ever celebration of July 4th in our country. By Moravians in Old Salem, North Carolina, on July 4, 1783.
I liked what I wrote so much, that I am duplicating it here. And someday I will do more research on that "Psalm of Joy" they sang!
Here's quoting me:
"I found an article called "The First Americans to Observe the 4th were Moravian Pacifists" from the Daily Beast (http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/04/the-first-americans-to-observe-the-4th-were-moravian-pacifists.html)
I am not familiar with the Moravians. So I read: "The Moravians, a Protestant group in what is now the Czech Republic, had sent missionaries to establish the settlement of Bethlehem, Pa., in 1741.".
This is interesting to me, because my mother's family is from Czechoslovakia.
I also read about the composer Johann Friedrich Peter who wrote Psalm of Joy. It was performed at the celebration:
"The 1783 Independence Day celebration, as documented in the Salem Diary, started with trombone music, of which Moravians were fond. At 2 p.m., there was a Love Feast, a Moravian tradition that is more a celebration of community than a sacrament. People gathered in the church for a service that included a simple meal (usually coffee heavy with cream and sugar, plus a sweet bun).
As Moravians have long made music central to their worship, the service also included the singing of a “Psalm of Joy.” That gives the Moravians at Salem some claim to having come up with the first patriotic song celebrating the nation’s freedom. (This was years before Francis Scott Key wrote “The Star Spangled Banner.”)"
"They also had a strong pacifist tradition, dating to their founding amid the religious struggles of the 15th century as a “peace church.” Members were forbidden to serve in the military. They lived by the teachings in Christ’s Sermon on the Mount." http://soulrunnings.blogspot.com/2015/07/day-54-happy-4th-thank-you-moravian.html
Now, having quoted myself, I shall make my way to the gym. I was pleased to find out my gym is open today. So I can make an exercise sandwich of my day!
Happy 4th of July!
Be safe! Cherish your freedom!
Talk to you tomorrow....
Love, peace and all good things,
Zita
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