It’s been a whirlwind of a week for me, filled with a lot sadness but also joy. So let’s look at what’s been been lighting me up and lighting my way this week.
The week was dominated by a last-minute trip to Calgary to spend time with family in the aftermath of an unexpected death. I was blessed with smooth travels on both ends of the trip, and some truly beautiful time with loved ones. The memorial itself was just a simple Eastern Orthodox Panikhida service, and I was once again blown away by the stunning hymnography of these ancient commemorations:
Give rest with the just, O our Saviour, unto your servant,
And establish him in your courts, as it is written:
In your goodness, disregarding his trespasses both voluntary and involuntary,
O you, who love humankind!
A friend once said that while the West prays in a straight line, the East prays in spirals. This aspect of Orthodox worship worked really well in this service; my mom, who has only attended Orthodox services a handful of times, made the comment that the repetition helped process the big feelings and end up in a place of peace. And I experienced this too.
Because the memorial prayers were right at the start of my time in Calgary, the rest of the trip was spent with loved ones. I even got to see a grown nephew I hadn’t seen in close to a decade! What a joy and blessing it is to with family, biological and chosen. It made me wish once again that Calgary felt like home for me; it would be so convenient to feel comfortable in a place that’s home to so many of ‘my people’. At any rate it was a wonderful reminder and object lesson in the importance of connection and togetherness, especially in uncertain and frightening times.
I’ve felt fortunate since I’ve been back that I’ve been able to get quickly back into routine, especially for writing, since I committed to daily posts during Lent.
Because I was away and very much out of routine, I didn’t do a whole lot of reading. But so much airplane and transit time did mean I got to spend a lot of quality time with last week’s incredible batch of new music releases. Chief among these was Lady Gaga’s MAYHEM, which is getting all the attention it deserves. As someone who has never been a huge Gaga fan, my love for this album took me by surprise, but I genuinely think it’s fantastic. But also released last week were great new releases by Sasami and Jennie, and a surprise new single by Max McNown. Yesterday’s releases didn’t hit nearly as hard for me, but I anticipate spending more time with the new album from St. Lucia and Westislonely’s new EP.
Those are a few of the things that have been keeping me going and brightening up my way this week. So what’s lighting you up?
Matthew Root 