| Tuesday, May 6 |
Be Complicated |
| When some concepts — such as "simplicity" — become popular, they may begin as very basic and general ideas. As time goes along, however, the wise ones take on these concepts and help us to understand ideas at a deeper level. Today's selections offer some thoughts about simplicity and complexity. |
First Light | Midday Meditation | Evening Reflection
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 John Gorrie, physician, scientist, inventor, and humanitarian, was granted Patent No. 8080 for a machine to make ice on May 6, 1851. He is considered the father of refrigeration and air-conditioning. Pursuing the study of tropical diseases, he urged draining swamps and sleeping under mosquito netting to prevent disease. He also advocated the cooling of sickrooms to reduce fever and to make patients more comfortable. Since ice had to be brought by boat from northern lakes, Gorrie experimented with making artificial ice. He gave up his medical practice to pursue refrigeration projects, but his manufacturing venture failed. Financially ruined and his health broken, Gorrie died in seclusion in 1855.
 After publication of the first royally (by Henry VIII) commissioned printed Bible in English, a proclamation issued on May 6, 1541, in England required that every church that had not already provided "Bibles containing the Old and New Testament in English" would have to do so by All Saint's Day or pay a monthly penalty.
 The final weekly episode of "I Love Lucy" aired on this date in 1957. The show debuted on CBS in October 1951 and was an immediate sensation. It spent four of its six prime-time seasons as the highest-rated series on television and never finished lower than third place. When it ceased production as a weekly series, it was still the number one series in the country.
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Simplifying life is a route to mindfulness, but simplicity can easily be sentimentalized.
Inspired by such a philosophy, a person might build a log cabin in the woods and yet find that life was still not simple.
Simplicity of soul is not necessarily the same as simplicity of life, and certainly not the same as simplicity of character and personality.
When Henry David Thoreau simplified his life at Walden Pond, as his writing of that time show, his interior life became more complicated....
Simplifying the externals allows us to cultivate a rich inner life.
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It's been a day of joys and sorrows, successes and failures. As you move into your evening time, here are some thoughts about simplicity:
Simple living — [also known as] voluntary simplicity — has just about as many definitions as there are individuals who practice it.
Simple living is not about living in poverty or self-inflicted deprivation.
Rather, it is about living an examined life — one in which you have determined what is important, or "enough," for you, discarding the rest.
"Living in a way that is outwardly simple and inwardly rich." — Duane Elgin
Weekly Prayer
There are times when I talk too much.
There are times when I repeat things which I have no right to repeat.
I pass on a story which may not be entirely true
or add my own embroidered flourish to a tale in the telling.
O God who always listens, forgive me.
Help me remember to keep a deliberate
and constant check on my tongue.
Keep safe within me the hurts and secrets that others have shared,
for they trusted me, and I was glad of that trust.
Keep safe within me the confidences of children,
lest they be hurt by my crass joking over their tender moments.
Keep safe within me those safe disclosures of weakness and fear
shared in a moment of intimate vulnerability by my spouse
as a further expression of love for me.
Keep safe within me all those communications
which were entrusted to me for safekeeping.
Help me to listen, as you do Lord.
Help me to use my ears more than my mouth.
With your help, Lord, may I never again hear myself
betraying a confidence or breaching a trust.
Instead, transform me, Lord, into a listening, trustworthy friend.
Amen.
Weekly Prayers are drawn from many faith traditions.
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Live Simply.
Be Complicated.
 Whenever a new product or electronic gizmo hits the market, do you say, "I need that; I have to have it," only to realize later you really didn't need it?
I'm Timberly Whitfield! Visit our online community for my new reflection: how we can simplify our lives by giving up some of our stuff.
You'll see the links to my reflections under "Videos." (Free registration is required for viewing.)
Please share your own thoughts in our forums. What are some of the things you could live without?
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This Week's Last(!) Light
This week, we received a wonderful photo taken by Dianne Hellekson just as the sun was setting in Faith, South Dakota.
We didn't have to think about it too long to decide to use it — even if it is a sunset rather than the sunrise we typically use in this spot.
Readers, thank you for generously sharing your inspirational photos. And if you prefer to send photos of sunsets as well as sunrises — that's great!
In any case, we do love to be able to publish your brief comments about where the photo was taken and what it meant to you.
If you would like to share a photo that you yourself have taken, please see "First Light Submissions" information at the end of this newsletter.
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Today's Blessing
May we explore our own assumptions about "simplicity" and "complexity" in our lives and consider whether our assumptions are helpful to us and to others.
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Spiritual Practice
Scripture reading, meditating on sacred books and writings, is an important daily spiritual practice for many people. Find today's readings from a number of traditions on FaithStreams®.
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About Daybook
The New Morning spirit is alive and well ... on FaithStreams®! Your Daybook is a daily encouragement from FaithStreams® Communities.
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