Dear Friends,
I have a little white book that I use each morning to get my day started. It’s a small book of meditations I bought when I began my journey of recovery from addiction . . . which was, in essence, the beginning of a new spiritual life for me.
I’ve been using this same meditation book almost every day for over 25 years. Its spine is torn and the pages are worn around the edges. It contains quotes from dozens of writers, philosophers, painters, musicians, philanthropists, and others, each followed by a short reflection on the quote’s message. I appreciate its words of wisdom on universal topics such as acceptance, change, gratitude, indecision, and others. Even though I have read these messages over and over again, I always marvel at their timelessness and timeliness in my life.
As important as my little white book’s daily wisdom is the simple daily practice that envelopes my reading it. Right after breakfast, I sit in a wicker lounging chair in our front room, put an afghan my aunt crocheted over my shoulders, read my thought for the day and think about its words. It’s a quiet routine that grounds me. No day feels right without it.
Today’s little white book quote by artist Hans Hofmann neatly summed up my thoughts about the importance of this long-time ritual:
The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.
My little white book, read in the soft morning light, is my simple morning prayer. In those few minutes, I often find that its necessary wisdom slows me down and speaks to my heart, mind, and spirit. It gives me something to focus on that, hopefully, helps me be a kinder, gentler human being than I was the day before.
Not a complicated or exciting routine, perhaps. But the little white book is working for me.
Yours,
Terry