I was kind of tempted to post "I Got You, Babe" as the traditio. If today had actually been Groundhog Day, I probably would have. There are so many things going on right now. It's exhausting. One of my key take-aways from John Eldredge's book Get Your Life Back: Everyday Practices for a World Gone Mad is that we're not built to carry the weight of the world. Trying to do that will crush me. One of those everyday practices he recommends is called "benevolent detachment."
Benevolently detaching does not mean not caring. It does mean recognizing my limitations and trusting in God, giving those weighty things to God. I was convinced, even before reading Get Your Life Back, that we daily run the risk of traumatizing ourselves by being exposed to every catastrophe, every controversy going on. Frankly, that's insane.
My life is busy enough. In fact, many days, many weeks, like this week, I am too busy. Being too busy doesn't mean having more to do than I can do. It means having more to do than is good for me.
Another everyday practice Eldredge encourages is enjoying beauty. Groundhog Day, as it happens, falls on the same day as the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, known traditionally as Candlemas. And so, instead of "I Got You, Babe," our traditio is Choral Scholar, Luke Johnson, singing the Simeon's Song, the Nunc Dimittis, in Bradford Cathedral:
Of course, Jesus' Presentation in the Temple is the fourth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary. The fruit of this mystery is obedience. What Anna and Simeon see in the holy infant is hope: their hope, the hope of Israel, the hope of the world. Simeon's song is a song of hope. Because of this hope, even though he rightly intuits that it is realized through suffering, the old man can now depart in peace.
Peace to you, dear friend.
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