31 Ways to Live Deliberately this Summer
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“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life."
Henry David Thoreau
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Within five minutes of walking out of my International Relations exam yesterday, I was on the phone to my mum: "I'm actually a bit sad. I kind of want to keep studying everything we weren't tested on!"
Before you can say #nerdalert, in my defence, the desire to perpetuate the learning process was mostly owing to my nervous sense of impending bore-doom.
I'm a high-energy existence kind of gal. If a project finishes before the next one is lined up, I end up walking in nervous circles around a room until my housemates begin to question my sanity. The phrase "kick back, relax, and do nothing for a bit" makes me a little bit queasy.
I recognise that I'm a strange specimen of humanity. However, I don't think I'm the only one gazing at the three-and-a-half month break until Semester One 2017 starts with a slight dose of perplexed apprehension.
University is a strange, strange stage of life. For thirteen weeks (then a few more of exam block), your whole existence is an ebb-and-flow tide of compulsory reading, assessment, stress, and the occasional day where you're like "Wow! Today my oxygen-to-tear ratio is actually 1:1."
And then all of a sudden you walk out of the UQ Exhibition Hall onto a sunlit, jacaranda-lined street and realise that you have actually emerged alive from a bubble of laptops and libraries into three-dimensional liberty.... and have no clue what to do.
I want to live deliberately. I want to live deep and suck all the marrow of life. I don't want to get to the end of next February and feel like I wasted a single precious day of existence.
But I also want to live with Love.
In the break before this semester began, I stayed with the Benedictine nuns at Jamberoo Abbey and there read a priceless expression of the contemplative life as one where you:
Live reverently, touching all whom you encounter with gentleness.
Yesterday morning, as I prayed at the UQ Lakes before my exam, Jesus challenged my determination to live busily:
"Be still, my love. How rarely you are content with presence! How rarely your witness is one of serenity rather than franticness. I want you to be gentle - that doesn't mean inactive, nor uninspired, nor silent. Gentleness is the fruit of a humble heart at rest, a heart that trusts in Love."
Time is a gift and not a burden. You gaze on this break with apprehension - and yet I tell you: be not afraid.
If you seek mere busyness, you'll become a melancholy malcontent. Your witness to the world will be that of an agitated, honour-seeking perfectionist.
And yet if your summer is grounded in prayer - if you are resolutely determined to be first and foremost a contemplative - you will be empowered to live deliberately and suck the marrow from life."
Far from being mutually exclusive, living deliberately and living contemplatively are inextricably intertwined.
Prayer gives us the eyes to see where the marrow really is: what does summer have to offer that will leave us not merely entertained but satisfied?
So I asked Jesus in prayer this morning: How can I live deliberately?
And He was like: How did I live deliberately?
And thus began a scripture quest through the gospel of Luke to answer that question.
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What are you going to do this summer? What will bring you life to the full? Here's a couple of suggestions from the life of Christ:
Luke 4:1
"Retreat" literally means to step back. Find a sanctuary - a quiet chapel, a lonely spot in nature - where you can take big, deep breaths and get back in tune with the voice of God. Detox from the assignments, the social interactions, and remember who you are.
2. Begin at home
Luke 4:24
The hardest place Jesus ever ministered was his home town - but before he did anything else, he extended his love to those immediately around him. Do a random act of kindness for your housemates. Sit down and have an extended conversation with your parents about nothing and everything just to show them that you value their presence. Clean up after yourself. Renovate. Find a way to breathe God's love into your living environment.
3. Evangelize unconventionally
Luke 4:31
Don't be afraid of breaking a few social taboos. Grab a friend and head into the city to do some street evangelisation. Go to a party with the specific intention to answer peoples' question about your faith. Strike up meaningful conversations with a supermarket attendant, the random sitting next to you at Church, your co-workers. Be not afraid.
4. Leave behind the places where you're comfortable
Luke 4:43
Explore somewhere you've never been before. Leave behind your cosy bedroom and Netflix, and see where your feet take you. Reach out to someone you don't know very well, or someone you've lost touch with.
5. Challenge someone to get back in the boat
Luke 5:3
Look around you. Who's given up on a project? Who's struggling with sadness or a lack of life motivation? Who has left their faith behind? Journey with them intentionally this summer, knowing that together you can "cast out into deep water."
6. Feast and celebrate life
Luke 5:34
Jesus liked to party too! Rejoice in the Resurrection and commemorate the awesome feasts that happen throughout December and January. Celebrate New Liturgical Year... and every Sunday of Advent... and St Lucy's feast day... and St Nicholas'... and our Lady of Guadalupe... and the Epiphany. Make good food! Drink good wine! Put on music that reminds everyone how festive a life with the Lord can be.
7. Spend a night in prayer
6:12
Pull an all-night adoration vigil. You don't have to get up tomorrow anyway! Find yourself the key to a perpetual adoration chapel, or rally a few friends together to do a night hike and pray rosaries under the stars.
8. Embrace a paradox
Luke 6:20
Blessed are you when you do stuff you don't like, so sayeth the Lord. Pick the chore you've been procrastinating all year, chuck on some loud music, and embrace that gross shower drain like it's the most fun challenge ever invented.
9. Love your enemies radically
Luke 6:35
Holding a grudge? Burdened by that one relationship that ended badly? Struggling to love a particular person? Make them cookies! Pursue forgiveness. Pray about them and for them and with them.
10. Be family with everyone
Luke 8:21
Take a glance at the world around you and see who needs family today. Visit an aged care home specifically to hang out with the people who never have visitors. Text a friend living alone and invite them out to coffee. Sit down next to a homeless person and talk about their life journey.
11. Resolutely determine to go on a journey
Luke 9:51
Remember that time when, in the middle of an assignment, you were like "Man, I wish I were in ______ right now"? Plan a trip. Set your face towards Jerusalem (or Byron Bay. Or, like, Southbank). Explore cheap travel options (my personal recommendation is Jesus' own favoured transportation method: feet).
12. Become a nomad
Luke 9:58
Go on a road trip. The Son of Man had nowhere to rest His head. Follow some whim of the Holy Spirit like hitting up Sunday Mass in a tiny country parish that hasn't seen a young adult there in 30 years. Visit a friend in another city who's been struggling with their faith and take delight in rediscovering Jesus together.
13. Get excited about someone else's victory
Luke 10:18
Make "You Did It!" cards for all your friends that just finished uni. Take someone out to dinner to rejoice over their promotion. Sit and listen to what someone is excited about sharing without thinking about your own victory stories.
14. Remember the one thing that matters
Luke 10:42
But seriously. If you did nothing else this summer other than pray, you would be choosing the better part.
15. Teach someone to pray
Luke 11:2
I'm always surprised how many Christians, when you dare to ask them, will admit that they're not really too sure what prayer could or should look like. Go on a journey with someone (it might even be yourself!) to help them discover the richness of dialogue with the Lord, scripture, adoration, the beauty of the Mass... the possibilities are endless!
16. Look at your earthly riches through heaven's eyes
Luke 12:15
It's all passing anyway - and was it really ever yours to begin with? Give generously - of your finances, of your energy, of your giftedness, of your ideas. Life grows by being given away and weakens in isolation and comfort.
17. Don't settle for surface level peace
Luke 12:51
Have that difficult conversation you've been avoiding all semester. Challenge someone whose behaviour isn't loving. Ask your friends what you need to change to become a better human being.
18. Challenge illogical, unloving norms
Luke 13:15
Think critically about the way people operate - the way you operate! Eschew consumerism. Cook for people rather than eating out. Op shop instead. Say no to gossip and slander.
19. Weep for the world
Luke 13:34
Watch a movie that tugs at your global heartstrings (personal recommendation: Mary and Martha. It's on Netflix), have a good cry about some abstract injustice that's happening, and then get brainstorming about what you can do to right that wrong.
20. Invite everybody!
Luke 14:23
Fling open the doors (of your house or of your heart) to people you wouldn't usually associate with. Hang out with uni buddies that were only vague acquaintances. Ask someone's parents over for a cup of tea. Become a host home (contact Mel at NET if you're able to acquire a couple of missionaries in mid-January!).
21. Be clever about your finances
Luke 16:9
Jesus applauded the shrewd steward for being cunning about money - maybe it's time to take a look over your bank balance from the year and set concrete goals about what you're not going to spend money on in 2017....
22. Expect great things
Luke 17:6
Take your moment of newfound liberty and optimism to cultivate some hope-filled, idealistic goals. Remember that faith empowers mind-boggling growth and transformation, so dream big - for yourself and for this world.
23. Open your eyes to what's right in front of you
Luke 17:21
The Kingdom of God is here - so appreciate it. Stare at a tree and marvel. Or look through a different lens: photography is an exceptionally spiritual hobby when you allow it to be.
24. Hang out with little kids
Luke 18:16
Offer free babysitting to a friend. Go to the beach with primary schoolers and fangirl how excited they get about everything. Read the same book seventeen times in a row to your nephew and see if you can understand why it's still interesting.
25. Invite yourself over
Luke 19:5
Jesus wasn't afraid to barge into people's homes. He knew that most of the time people get a little bit afraid of their unworthiness - and so He created a different culture of hospitality. Research "paying calls in the 19th century" and adopt a habit of popping in on someone with ten minutes notice.
26. Ride into town
Luke 19:36
Find a donkey (or a horse or bicycle) and go for a ride. Explore your city and discover potential study spots for 2017.
27. Throw out the riffraff
Luke 19:45
Identify the clutter in your physical, mental, and spiritual life. Create a few bags of unnecessary stuff to send to the local op-shop. Do a spiritual appraisal of negative habits and create a plan for 'driving them out of the temple'. Go to reconciliation and let Jesus do it for you.
28. Notice what they give
Luke 21:2
Become aware of the little acts of love that go unnoticed. Write a thank you note to someone for their generosity in small things.
29. Eat a meaningful meal with friends
Luke 22:14
Cook together. Set the table together. Reminisce. Affirm. Wash their feet.
30. Prepare for what lies ahead
Luke 22:42
Do your pre-reading for next semester. Establish firm goals for your spiritual life in 2017 and begin implementing them now. Go to God with your heart's worries and talk through everything now so that you can do His will with unconditional trust.
31. Give it all for the sake of others
Luke 23:46
Whenever bore-doom kicks in, refuse to think selfishly. Lay down your life in service - of those you know and those you don't. Be unconditionally and extravagantly generous with the world. Die to yourself and your own wants, and know that life to the full flows from the Resurrection.
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Oh Lord, teach us to live.
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AMDG
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