Unstructured time...not idle time...

I have been unemployed since my interim position at Seattle First Baptist ended last September. I have to admit that for the rest of 2010, I was rather at a loss with how to fill my time other that to look for jobs that I really did not want. I was involved in a few things that were important to me, but on the whole, felt lost in the vast pool of time that surrounded me.

All that changed with the New Year. I did make some deliberate choices of change. I decided that I was going to get up early to read the scriptures from the daily lectionary, journal and write "morning pages". Morning pages is an exercise advocated by Julia Cameron in The Artist's Way and, in a slightly different format, by Natalie Goldberg in Writing Down the Bones.The concept is that you basically sit and write for a set amount of time or for a set number of pages - the major rule being that the pen never leaves the paper for the set time or pages. For Cameron, this is a clearing of clutter that keeps the artists from true expression; for Goldberg, this is an exercise from which ideas for other works are born. Another major reason for this time early in the morning is to have a few hours of quiet solitude before the almost 4 year old breaks loose on the world.

Another deliberate choice was to give up drinking. It started with the concept of dry January that I came across on Facebook. I decided to extend it all the way through the season of Lent. As Easter is April 24 this year, that will be nearly 4 months. Drinking with a great deal of time weighing heavy is not a good practice. It is too easy for the glass of wine to become the bottle of wine...

I also decided that I was going to get some exercise. I have discovered the joy of multitasking on the treadmill. I take my kindle with me and read while on the treadmill, which is much better than watching the inane TV that perpetually plays at 24 hour Fitness.

I also serve as the vice chair of the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, preach occasionally and plan to work with other faith leaders toward marriage equality in Washington State.

I am still job hunting - and there seem to be a few good prospects right now. Part of me wonders how I am going to fit all the activities that have become important to me into a schedule that will include a full time job. I have done it before - and I will likely do it again. In the meantime, I am glad that I have relearned to feed my soul, mind and body and feel prepared for the next phase of my journey