Daily 5 - Day 217

This was sort of a harder day, mostly because of the really rough night last night.  The sort of day when I need to make even more of an effort to find happy things.  The things I'm thankful for or the things that make me smile.

Today's Daily 5:

1. Thankful for a few valued friends who I know will pray if I email and ask.  Who I know pray anyway, but are definitely willing when there is something specific.
2. Thankful for the insulated mug, especially designed for loose tea that I used for the first time tonight.  A parting gift from L., and one I will enjoy.
3. Lemon Mango fruit infusion loose tea
4. Carrying light to dark corners
5. A lit candle flickering on my dresser
6. Made it through the day - after the rough night last night, there were points of the day where I wasn't certain I would make it, at least without loosing it, but I did.  And that was a simple blessing.
7. Listening to and enjoying an audio book the whole way home.  I'm still finding it hard to read in the traditional way for any length of time (working on gaining that attention span and concentration lost to the health struggles back)  But I'm loving the use of audio books, because listening I can do, and I have an hour or more each day, coming home via public transit, that I can devote to listening.  And I'm loving the way it's causing my brain to kick in again.  To analyze, anticipate, and engage with the stories.  To examine their effect on me and my own thoughts and beliefs.  To broaden my knowledge.
8. TED videos - I'm loving these for the same reason as audio books right now.  Mostly, I play them in the background while I'm working, but by listening, I can expose myself to a whole variety of fascinating thinkers and ideas.  It feels good to be challenged in that way again, to feel an appetite for knowledge and engagement with the world returning to me (though perhaps tempered by the experiences of the last few years.)
9. A brief phone conversation, and laughing with my mom tonight
10. Still really enamored by just having cooked well the other night - had the last of that food for dinner tonight, and it was so tasty all over again.  And, my body is thanking me for healthier food choices these last few days.
11. (Bonus!) Green grapes

St. Patrick

It's kind of a tradition for me to post St. Patrick's Breastplate Prayer every year on St. Patrick's Day, and this year it's a prayer I feel I especially need, given the night that I had.  It's comforting in some deep ways.

But first, a "bad joke" that I found this morning:

What do you call a fake stone in Ireland?
A sham rock!

Okay, well, it made me laugh, and today, that counts for something!

So, St. Patrick's Breastplate Prayer:

I bind to myself today

The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.

I bind to myself today
God's Power to guide me,
God's Might to uphold me,
God's Wisdom to teach me,
God's Eye to watch over me,
God's Ear to hear me,
God's Word to give me speech,
God's Hand to guide me,
God's Way to lie before me,
God's Shield to shelter me,
God's Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.

I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.

Christ, protect me today
Against every poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the poop.

Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

Check These Out

Another spate of daily links:

• Anne Jackson's post "Instead Of".  I think I'm going to print her list of statements.  They strike me as a list that I would like to see developed in my own life as well.
• In some strange way, Seth Godin's post "Not for Me" struck me in conjunction with Anne Jackson's.  And in conjunction with some of the messes of daily life that I deal with due to work at "The Soap Opera".  Plus, I found the differentiation in thought between "not for me" and "not for anyone" to be quite striking and helpful.
• And finally, Haiti remains heavily on my heart.  The Livesay's posted this article from CBS news this morning, and I found it powerful and important to read as well.

Seriously?

It was a weirdly eventful night, thanks to dreams and other sensitivities again.  A fact that is more frustrating given that I made the effort to turn my lights out early in the hopes of catching up after several weeks of rough sleep.

I woke this morning and the first thought that passed through my head (well, maybe the second, after a groaning realization that it was, in fact, morning) was to revert to a long-term habit of quoting Meredith Grey, "Seriously? Seriously?"

A few hours later, that's still pretty much where I'm at. 

I woke with a headache, too, so I'm trying to fight that off, preferably without drugs if possible.

And I have a ton to do, but the weirdness of my last few nights keeps reaching for me, drawing me towards it. 

And all I can say is, "Seriously?"