oh twit

-
Twitter almost caused me to wreck my truck recently. I wasn't tweeting while driving. I was shocked while listening to the radio when I heard, "Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and other schools traced these tweets [to their counties] and then they analyzed the language in the tweets to see if they were expressing anger, or love, or boredom. ... anger, hostility and aggression on Twitter is better able to predict patterns of heart disease than 10 other leading health indicators, including smoking, obesity and hypertension." Yowza! The story went on to explain that it might not be the tweeters themselves, but people around them that originate the anger, stress, and thus the broken hearts. 

 Priests used to have a good deal of influence in their communities; they were a source, among a few, of information and perspective on life. That's not true today. If you were at Trinity (or some church) Sunday, and you're reading this, then you will have had about 20 minutes of a priest's perspective. (more importantly, you would have spent real, incarnate time with loving people.)  I wonder what other sources of information and world perspective you've been collecting. What news channels are you watching? What other blogs or facebook posts are you following? 

 I'm not suggesting that you need to hear more from me. I'm wondering how we are choosing to spend our precious time. If you're plugged into some of the hate machines out there: political shout-offs from the extreme right or left, or some other external source of anger, I'd like to invite you to pause and ask yourself why. Why are you giving your precious time to such voices? 

 Patrice Pike, a musician I've been following for 20 years now, once announced at a concert that she was taking a "news fast." She had been told by a nun not to watch or listen to the news for a while. The nun suggested that Patrice would find out about the things she needed to find out about, and that she should pay attention to what's happening around her, in her
actual sphere of influence, and not try to keep up with the worries of entire world.

I love you, dear reader, enough to suggest that you be intentional about how you spend your time. I'm going to tweet this blog as I do every week, and I hope it helps keep your heart healthy, and perhaps lower the stress of other hearts and souls in my own county. Here are some ways you can improve the heart-health in your county:


1. Do nothing; sit still and meditate. 
2. Find a log and carve it into a canoe paddle (I'm working on one!)
3. Walk where there are no billboards. 
4. Tell the people you love that you love them. 
5. Plant a garden. Feed people with the veggies you grow.
6. Break your kid out of school early. Do something irresponsible. 
7. Write a poem. Not a good poem, just a poem. 
8. Listen to Patrice's music. Sure to up your love intake for the day. 
9. Read a Gospel. (Literally "good news.")
10. Write about it, and inspire someone else to improve the heart health of their county, whether you or they tweet or not.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

plastic: a spiritual perspective

-
Image
Plastic bag in front of Trinity by the Sea On a recent trip to Austin, I was surprised and delighted not to be handed a plastic bag when I checked out of a grocery store. I wasn't buying much, so I was able to carry out my things without remembering to bring in my reusable bags. For some time now, I've gotten in the habit of turning down plastic bags in convenience stores when they try to put my humble bag of sunflower seeds, lonely, in another bag. The plastic grocery bag has become like a handshake at the end of the deal: it seems to make the shopping experience complete. It is such an ingrained habit, that the person behind the cash register sometimes gets a suspicious look when I ask for no bag, as if thinking, "This yahoo is threatening our way of life!" I think about habits a lot, as a Christian of the Episcopal persuasion. Our practices and our experiences in everyday life shape the way we understand our relationship with God, with others, and with ours
Read more
-
Image
For the past three years, I have preached the Gospel Easter Morning including a pop song. The first year it was Widespread Panic's Diner . Last year Prince's I Would Die For You , and this year, the Grateful Dead's Ripple. Music is so inspiring to me, and it is an easy connection to relate to God, Resurrection, and new life through some of my favorite songs, even when they don't use traditional church language. Easter Morning 2023 My earliest impression of the Grateful Dead was as a pre-teen, staying the night at long time friends of my parents and sharing a room with Monroe their son. Earlier in the day Monroe had sent me down a fairly steep hill on his old bike which had no brakes. I managed to stop by veering off the road into the open arms of a magnolia tree. Monroe was so cool. So that night, after having some Neapolitan ice cream we watched MTV. If you remember MTV, you’ll understand how excited he was that a music video of one of his favorite bands, the Grateful
Read more

movin' the tide

-
Image
I recently saw a performance by Shinyribs Russell and heard him tell the background story on his song, " Who Built the Moon ." He told a funny story about a conspiracy theorist's idea the moon was built by someone. I like the song for what it is, never mind the conspiracy. That song went through my head again and again this weekend as the Super Moon rose from the gulf horizon, sailed across the sky, and set over the bay. The moon, "hangin' in the sky, shakin' the oceans, and movin' the tide" has long shaped our human lives. It has helped us mark time, it can guide us in our fishing habits, and it inspires artists, musicians, and fireside philosophers. Life looks different in the moonlight. On Sunday morning, as I finished writing my sermon, I took a break to walk outside to see the Super Moon set, and I caught it hanging in the porch of the church. That night, Laura, Eli, and I went to the beach to watch it rise again. Someone told me it's t
Read more