Sleeping with Bread: Monday, November 24th

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Monday, November 24th

This is it, Thanksgiving week. Sadly, I feel like this holiday has been pretty much steamrollered by Christmas. I noticed on TV this weekend that there were quite a few Christmas movies on. Also, several people I know were thinking about getting a head start on their Christmas season by pulling out Christmas music and decorations. Of course, I may have a fondness for this holiday that is slightly influenced by the fact that I was born on a Thanksgiving Thursday... many, many years ago.

Either way, whether you are a pre-Thanksgiving Christmas season celebrator or a post-Thanksgiving Christmas stickler, the countdown to the Christmas holiday is upon us. I think this is an excellent week to really stop--STOP--and meditate on what we are grateful for before the temptation of "gimme, gimme, gimme" and "gotta, gotta, gotta" has a chance to overwhelm us. Of course, any of us might have aspects of the holiday that we are not looking forward to--family issues, financial issues, seasonal depression, or any other number of things. Sleeping with Bread posts give us a chance to be honest about those things, too. Stuffing is good for turkey, not problems!

Autumn Leaf Divider Pictures, Images and Photos

I'd like to apologize for not getting by most of your posts last week. I really enjoy reading what everyone has to share, but it just didn't work out this time. I should have the time to visit each and every one of you and leave a comment this week.

Although the examen is a Christian practice, I would hope that anyone who has something to share would feel welcome here. Also, if you don't have your own blog and would like to participate, share your bread in the comments. To holding on to what gives life,

5 comments:

Tara Lamont said...: My post is here - have a wonderful Thanksgiving week!
Tara; November 24, 2008 7:27 AM
Unknown said...: I have really enjoyed doing the sleeping with bread the past few weeks. It really makes you think and bring life into perspective.; November 24, 2008 11:08 AM
Mel said...: Oh, don't be pressuring yourself to visit when the plate's full, silly.

And in my case, even if it's NOT full and you're just needing rest.

I do the examen for me, yaknow.
Anyone reading along--is just an extra perk!

*hugs*

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!; November 24, 2008 3:27 PM
Elizabeth said...: And so here is my post, which is all about being excited for Christmas. *grin*; November 24, 2008 6:51 PM
Anonymous said...: Happy Yankee Thanksgiving! Let the Christmas shopping begin!; November 24, 2008 11:39 PM

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What is Sleeping with Bread?

During the bombing raids of WWII, thousands of children were orphaned and left to starve. The fortunate ones were rescued and placed in refugee camps where they received food and good care. But many of these children who had lost so much could not sleep at night. They feared waking up to find themselves once again homeless and without food. Nothing seemed to reassure them. Finally, someone hit upon the idea of giving each child a piece of bread to hold at bedtime. Holding their bread, these children could finally sleep in peace. All through the night the bread reminded them, "Today I ate and I will eat again tomorrow." (Linn, Dennis et al, Sleeping With Bread, p.l)

These are the beginning words of a book that introduced me to a practice called the examen. The orphans held on to what nourished them and were thus able to sleep peacefully at night. The examen, based on the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius, helps a person hold onto what spiritually nourishes him by looking at what is giving him consolation in his life or causing him desolation. It allows someone to express his gratitude to God for the good stuff and turn to him for solace for the bad stuff. It is quite simple. You simply ask yourself, in the last day/week/month what gave me consolation and what caused me desolation.

How do you do it?

Sleeping with Bread is a Monday meme. You can participate in one of two ways: 1) Pick one of the above examen question sets and answer it in the comments section of my SWB post; or, 2) Create your own Sleeping with Bread post. You are welcome to right click on the Sleeping with Bread button and save it to your own computer before uploading into your post. Then, make sure you come back and put the link to your post in the automated Mr. Linky form at the end of the current SWB post. I hope you will join me and my fellow bakers as we Sleep with Bread on Mondays!