zimbabwe

i'm thinking of entering a convent in zimbabwe. i want to work with aids orphans, and there aren't a ton of anglican convents that do that, as far as i can tell. there are two in zimbabwe that i've found. i recently met with a priest who used to live in zimbabwe and who knows these orders fairly well. she had some good, sound advice. i'm going to visit zimbabwe this summer and spend a couple of weeks at these convents to see what the holy spirit has to say about it all.
i heard someone recently say that you can't will something to happen, but you can be willing. i'm working hard on being willing. i wish i had five lifetimes because there's so much i want to do. i want to foster children here in nyc. i want to live someplace warm and sunny all year round. i want to be a religious. i guess i'm trying to do all that in one place. but, i have to keep reminding myself that i'm not in charge of all this. i keep turning it over to god.

lenten practice

most years, rather than give something up for lent, i take on a spiritual practice. i went to the open center bookstore last week and stocked up on the artist's way workbook, and a thich nhat hahn meditation cd to listen to on the subway, when i am at my most aggressive.
i'm already opening up from just a few days of doing the artist's way, esp. writing three pages stream of consciousness in the morning. it helps that i'm also on vacation from school this week. that makes me more open to the universe in general. i've spent the last couple of days doing my lenten work, going to the gym to swim (where i get my best praying done) and just relax in the sauna.
i love lent. it's perfect that it takes place in winter, when it's so cold and dark outside. it's such a quiet, introverted time and winter is when i have the least energy and want to stay in with candles burning and just be, rather than do. i think lent is like the spiritual version of saying, 5 more minutes, to god, pulling the spiritual covers closer and snuggling in with the holy spirit.
i'm also renting spiritual documentaries this lent. i just watched an inconvenient truth. i wish it had more of a message of hope, more here's what you can do to help. maybe i'll start by getting some house plants.
i wish you a blessed, quiet, soft lent.

belfast photos

iused to live in belfast, northern ireland. i lived on the falls road - in the middle of republican i.r.a. land, just down the road from gerry adams. no. ireland has been in the news lately so i dug out my photos to upload.
i truly believe the reason that things are calming down there are economic. everyone is comfortable, so there is no need for terrorism. actually, now the loyalists are the problem, because they have lost their status and position.
people in no. ireland compare their situation with israel/palestine all the time. i hope that no. ireland can help the situation in the middle east.