Seven Angels

So today I registered for a class at the university on the English Reformation. I seem to be creating some sort of hybridized theology curriculum with the few courses available at a public university on the topics of religion and spirituality.

I contacted the professor via email and got a very nice response with additional details about the course and encouraging me to register. Graduate level students are expected to propose a paper and I'm considering a study of the theological and liturgical innovations of Thomas Cranmer and how those resonate with contemporary Christians.

Believe it or not these things have always interested me and it's great that at this point in my life I have the opportunity to study them.

The seven angels in my life today seem to be Aunt Rachel, Marge, Gordon, Curtis, John, Cam, and Kalen. Now and then I will revisit this idea and see if other angels appear. Maybe seven isn't a high enough number?

Rota: chiefly British a : a fixed order of rotation

So I'm still wondering why I'm so resistant to routine. The word gets kind of a bad rap as it is associated with boredom and futility, in other words routines don't lead anywhere, like a horse on a carousel. Joni Mitchell wrote "and wheels they go round and round, and the painted pony goes up and down. We're captive on a carousel of time. We can't return, we can only look behind from where we came, and go round and round and round in the circle game.".

So in a few weeks I'm going to a CSNY concert, and for some reason this has caused me to recall many of the strongly held beliefs I had in my twenties, notions about what life was for, what freedom was about, why peace was the only way, and how the majority of people my age were committed to creating a new world. Now I see that changing the world, at least for the better, is more than just lifestyle. it involves action and community and teaching others.

So I want to put my shoulder to the wheel, to turn the world and hope that the changes will be for the better. To the extent that this requires me to adopt a routine and sacrifice some of my sense of pesonal freedom so be it. I need to think about this some more, but I know that consistency is a virtue. Time to put my convictions into action and build a life that reflects them.