Five-Minute Friday: Moving Beyond Sloth
By ConleyHistorical (Own work), Creative Commons
In the past couple of months, when people would ask me how I am, I’d often reply, “Tired.”
I have been weary to the bone; tired in body and spirit. Writing two books in quick succession, powering through my MA in Christian spirituality all in a too-compressed time period, and some personal issues have left me spent. Mind you, most of this is of my own doing. I could have spaced things out a bit more.
So lately I’ve been trying to recover, resting with a purpose, as I’ve seen my friends with chronic illnesses practice. I’m not so sure I’m very successful at that type of resting, however, for once I slowed down, I seemed to collapse into a state of acedia – that malaise and lack of interest in much of life that the church fathers named as a deadly sin (often called sloth). Binge-watching medical dramas seemed about the level of what I was capable of, and my to-read pile of books started to pile up even higher. I neglected my weekly blog posts and have a long list of people to whom I owe an email.
But this week, after the #BeastfromtheEast had thawed, part of my soul started to wake up too from its winter hibernation. I attended a seminar by one of my favorite lecturers at Heythrop College, Eddie Howells, on St John of the Cross on human and divine desire. The experience of thinking deeply again about things of the spirit and soul, along with spending time in the college library doing some research, felt like the start of a gentle awakening.
May it continue.
This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday link-up. You can find today’s prompt here. Did you join the linkup? Please share your blog in the comments, and tell me if you feel tired.
Hello! 
Amy, I pray so. Your neighbor at FMF.
I’ve been right there with you. Binge watching, and even reading, anything really that I can do while snuggled up tightly in my blankets. I started to pull out of it last week, even despite the fact that our thermometer’s around here are still reading mid thirties! And just yesterday I determined that starting Monday I’m going to focus on 100 days of writing, and late last night I started to get the sneezes and a runny nose, which are persisting this morning with heavy eyes and a sore throat, so it looks like I’m getting sick. But I won’t let it drag me back under….I hope! Thans for sharing.
I wonder how much the weather affects us in this… perhaps more than we realize. I’m sorry to hear you’re coming down with a cold – ugh. I hope you can be gentle with yourself if you need to delay your 100 days of writing. Thanks for commenting!
I can identify with that sense of coming out of the winter blues, and waking up to Spring’s lighter, brighter days!
Spring brings such hope, doesn’t it.
I always feel like I have two speeds – warp speed and dead stop (which I’m equating with sloth). I need a place in the middle.
Yes! I can so relate to this!!
Amy, I don’t think sloth is your problem! And sometimes the best medicine we have is watching back-to-back medical dramas, to recharge and reconnect with what’s important.
https://blessed-are-the-pure-of-heart.blogspot.com/2018/03/your-dying-spouse-447-barbaras.html
Thank you!
Be careful, Amy. I think one reason I got so sick was that my body simply wore out. I am still recovering, with fatigue being my main challenge. I encourage you to pray against the tyranny and performance-based expectations that this world imposes upon us. “And having done all, stand firm” (Eph. 6). ❤️
Lovely Martha. I am very much heeding the warnings of my body. I’ve learned through watching some of my friends who have chronic conditions… how much rest is needed, and how unwise it is to push and push and not to rest. In 2018 I’m committed to taking on no new big projects. I have to keep reminding myself of that, so your comment is apposite. Bless you – it’s so lovely to see your name pop up in the comments!
Amy, I hope that you have been able to find yourself again. I can totally relate to be too tired and not getting the motivation going. I binge though on scrolling through FB instead of watching TV. I tend to keep pushing myself too much too and I don’t know when to stop until my body tells me to. It only needs to take that one moment to get us focussed back on what we are meant to be doing…it’s usually when we decide to spend that one moment with God.