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Archives for July 2010

The Dingle Way. The Gallarus Oratory and Beehive Huts

By Anita Mathias

We spent a few days on the Dingle Peninsula.
The Irish are amusing in that they drive their cars and camper vans straight onto the beach, disregarding the beware of soft sand signs.
Not being Irish, we got our car stuck, and asked some freckly youngsters for help. Six or seven of them pushed us out of the sand, saying, ” Don’t worry. We are good strong lads.” An older Irishman told them, “Do you know, in England you could get arrested for driving onto the beach?” “You don’t say,” they answered, eyes widened.
Walked by the beach. It exhilarates me and restores my soul, puts me together again. Lovely!!
Slept on Inch Beach, soundly, lulled by the sound of lapping waves, and the air apparently charged with negative ions.
We went on the Dingle Way today. Full of early Christian sites. When we asked the way, an Irish lady crossed herself and said, “These are Holy Mary Roads.” “What’s a Holy Mary Road?” the girls asked. “Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us, sinners, Now and at the hour of our death.” “Amen” we replied.The Gallarus Oratory was truly a marvel of the “Dark Ages,” 1300 years old, a drystone construction, entirely built without mortar, bell-shaped, like a stranded stone ark, an intricate construction of stones, carefully placed one on top of the other. Claustrophobic and dark inside, the bright and glorious sea outside.
Interesting that the early Irish monks felt they had to shut out the lovely natural world to focus on God. I suppose we do that when we close our eyes, and bow our heads to pray.

Fascinated by the tiny early Christian beehive hermitages, intricate, drystone mortarless constructions, in which their hermits lived year round, and which were provided as accommodation for travellers.. So claustrophobic and dark for us, but probably welcoming with a fire inside, and snow outside.

Also, saw some inpregnable ancient stone forts, with claustrophobic tiny rooms, but certainly enemy-proof, also a dry stone, mortarless construction.The Irish were sure shorter than us in the prehistoric times.

The Dingle Peninsula has scarlet and purple hedges!!–fuschia imported from Chile in the last century, and now naturalized! And delicate sprays of orange cocosmia, also naturalized in every hedge and ditch, a veritable palette of purple heathers and yellow gorse, colour gone mad!
Roy said our family was ruined, so we took a break and had a beach morning. Got caught out tidepooling by high tide. Oh, but to see the magical world of once inert sea anemones opening their myriad red arms like happy underwater flowers; sea stars swirling, mussels opening for plankton, barnacles and their feathery, food-gathering feet, all coming to life with high tide, was well worth it.

Filed Under: In which I Travel and Dream Tagged With: Beehive Huts, Ireland, The Dingle Way. The Gallarus Oratory, Tide-pooling

The Lake Isle of Innisfallen, Ireland

By Anita Mathias

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfallen.
We are in Killarney National Park, camped (well, in our motor home) on the shores of Lough Leanne. Perfect stillness. Saw a swan and 7 grey cygnets. Enjoyed a walk through lush rain forest, thick with ferns, bracket fungi, massive oaks and strawberry bushes, to a perfect view, the lake with gentle sound of water lapping at its shores, and a 180 degree view of a mountain range, MacGillicuddy’s Reeks.
We rowed today to the Lake Isle of Innishfallen,  incredibly peaceful and well-maintained with the ruins of a 7th century monastery established by Finian the Leper. Lovely trails around the Island. Wonderful rowing though a flock of swans, which we appeared to be herding. Nothing more relaxing than mucking around in boats.
The Monks of Innisfallen painstakingly wrote The Annals of Innisfallen, a chonicle of Irish Church history between 433 and 1450 AD. It is now in the Bodleian Library, in Oxford, which ironically, we toured last week.
One day, perhaps all expropriated artefacts will be returned to their countries of origin? Though probably not in my lifetime!

Filed Under: In which I Travel and Dream Tagged With: Ireland, Travel

The Prayer of Relinquishment and Utter Exhaustion

By Anita Mathias

One of the first books I read when I became a Christian, aged 17, was Catherine Marshall’s “Something More,” and I remain very fond of it.

She describes a very powerful form of prayer, ” The Prayer of Relinquishment” she calls it. It’s essentially saying, “Have thine own way. It’s okay if you grant me this desire I want so desperately. And okay if you do not.” A Gethsemane prayer.

Odd thing, in my own life, praying like that has been the precursor to getting the thing I wanted so badly. However, there are no short-cuts to it. You do have to tortuously and painfully get to the stage at which you want God, his blessing, and his wise choice for you in the circumstances more than you want your heart’s desire.

One thing that, of late, gets me to the prayer of relinquishment is occasional exhaustion. Roy and I have reached middle-age throughly unprepared for it. For one, we have not been good about exercise, so are not as physically strong as we should be (though we are now trying to rectify that). For another, we still live as fully and intensely as we did when we were first married, with several interesting balls in the air at any given time. Until exhaustion strikes. As it has now.

And then, how easy it seems to surrender your life once more. ” Have thine own way, Lord. Take it, oh Lord, take this life of mine. It’s really not of the greatest interest to me. Work in it and with it. Create something beautiful with it.”

 

Filed Under: random

"There are no demons in Sweden"

By Anita Mathias

One day, I will be organized. I will take my Bible to church, and my notebook, and my notes will be orderly.

At present, since sermons usually provide memorable moments of amusement and inspiration (often both), I scribble them on the back of news-sheets. And am now typing them up, to leave a tidy house for the friend who will be staying.

And here’s an amusing anecdote. Our preacher, Gordon Hickson, was conducting a series of charismatic meetings, which included, as they usually do, deliverance ministry.

The hosting pastor was offended. “There are no demons in Sweden,” he said.

Which strikes me as very funny. The arrogance of the statement, and the fact that, after you laugh, you can see his point.

Swedish demons, like their hosts,  are probably far more reserved than those in Haiti, or India or Nigeria.

However, goodness and evil are equal opportunity domains, and the shrieks and cries and shaking  apparently surprised the host and the attendees. Even in Sweden.

 

Filed Under: random

Prayer and an Ipod Touch: A Tale

By Anita Mathias

Monday

Major tears and  heartbreak chez Mathias. Irene,11, has lost her Ipod Touch.

My prayer group–Anne, Juliet, Helen, Bea and I– prayed that her she would break her addiction to her Ipod and to computer games. The latter we accomplished by moving her desk around to face the couch where Roy works and password protecting her games account. The latter God accomplished, though it cost us £140. Be strong, mum, and don’t buy her another!!

Tuesday

Irene is totally awed by the power of prayer. She was addicted to her beloved Ipod touch, listening to books, emailing, playing games, sleeping with a story playing, waking to its alarm. It was becoming her life, as she said rhapsodically, and I said mournfully.  I asked my prayer group to pray. And, “oddly” in 6 days, this treasure was lost. She snuggled up to me & asked, “Mum, do you think that if you all hadn’t prayed, I would have lost it?” “No!” I said. “I believe you lost it in answer to our prayer.” She sighed!

Wednesday

Roy is not sorry for her. He said that her Ipod was gaining the power of Tolkein’s ring over her.

Thursday

Irene, this morning, sadly, “You know, mum, God isn’t very logical!” Then she realized that would be suggesting that she has a better mind than God (who is one person definitely and undeniably smarter than my curly-headed brilliant sweetie) said, “Oh!” stopped herself, and was sad, silent and thoughtful!

 

Monday

Final installment. Yay! After several months, Irene has gone back to compulsive reading, and is really enjoying it. Yay, and yay, and, to be more theological, praise God!!

 

Filed Under: random

Learning French with both sides of the brain

By Anita Mathias

I learn (or used to learn) languages rather easily, I flatter(ed) myself.

Early last year, I decided that I was going to become really fluent in French for the fun of it, and for the fun of talking to French speakers when we travel.

And because thinking in another language broadens your world view, and understanding of the nuances of human experience. I think Charlemagne said, “To speak another language is to possess another soul.”

And because I was bored with the business of setting up our business (a publishing company) last year, but too harassed to write.

So I decided to get fluent in a language I knew, but not well. I was so determined to learn it with my right brain. Listen to it a lot on tape, and in classes, read Le Monde, watch the news in French, watch a lot of French films. And voila, I hoped I would be speaking grammatically correct French. It is not going to happen, alas.

Roy and I, married for 20.5 years, have been so used to characterizing ourselves as left-brain (Roy) and rightbrain, (Anita) that we sometimes forget that everyone has two sides of the brain. And I have decided that, to spare my daughter Zoe embarrassment if nothing else, I am going to use both sides of my brain.

And learn grammar, much though I hoped I had left learning my rote behind me, like other childish things.

Je chantais, tu chantait, il chantait, nous chantions, vous chantiez, ils chantaient

J’ai chante, tu as chante, il a chante, nous avons chante, vous avez chante, ils ont chante,

Je chanterai, tu chanteras, il chantera, nous chanterons, vous chanterons, ils chanteront.

You know, I rather enjoyed that!!

Filed Under: random

Anita Mathias, C.V.

By Anita Mathias

Education

M.A. in English, Somerville College, Oxford University, 1990.
M.A. in English and Creative Writing, The Ohio State University, 1989. B.A. (Honors) in English, Somerville College, Oxford University, 1986

Academic Scholarships
Scholarship from the Radhakrishnan Fund of Oxford University to study at Oxford, 1984.
Scholarship from the Eckersley Trust, Oxford, to study English at Oxford, 1984.

Literary Awards

  • National Endowment for the Arts Award, 1998 ($20,000).
  • Individual Artist Fellowship from the Minnesota State Arts Board, 1992 ($6000).
  • Literary Travel Grant, The Jerome Foundation, Minnesota, 1993.
  • Full Fellowship, Residency in Creative Nonfiction, The Vermont Studio Center, a Writers’ Colony, 1997.
  • Fellowship, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Sweet Briar, Virginia, a Writers’ Colony, 2002.

Selected Literary Prizes and Honors

  • First Prize, Best General Interest Article, Catholic Press Association of America & Canada, 2000.
  • The Jakobson Scholarship for Writers of Unusual Promise, Wesleyan Writers’ Conference, Connecticut, 1994.
  • Working scholarship in Nonfiction to the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Vermont, 1997.
  • Scholarship in Nonfiction to the Chenango Valley Writers’ Conference, New York, 1996.
  • Odyssey Bookstore Scholarship in Nonfiction, Mount Holyoke Writers’ Conference, Massachusetts, 1992.
  • Asian Pacific Inroads Award, The Loft Literary Center, Minnesota, 1992.

Selected Publications

  • “First Thing in the Morning,” The Style Plus Page, The Washington Post, 16th September, 1997.
  • “Nirmal Hriday,” London Magazine, Aug./Sept. 1993.
  • “Memories of a Catholic Childhood,” Commonweal, October 8th, 1999.
  • “That Ancient Yarn,” Virginia Quarterly Review, Winter 2000.
  • “The Holy Ground of Kalighat,” Notre Dame Magazine, Autumn 1998.
  • “Learning to Pray,” The Christian Century, March 22nd, 2000.
  • Also selected by and posted on Religion-Online.org
  • “Candlelight Prayer at Stanford,” America, April 11, 1992.
  • “View from the Margins,” Contemporary Literary Criticism, 2003.
  • “Aliens and Strangers,” Southwest Review, Vol. 87, #2, Nov. 2002.
  • “Kalighat,” New Letters, Vol. 59, No. 2, 1993.
  • “Tryst,” and “At Santa Maria Novella, Florence,” The Journal, Vol. 13, No.2, 1990.
  • “Suttee,” Envoi, No. 98, Winter 1990/91.

Selected Publications
“First Thing in the Morning,” The Style Plus Page, The Washington Post, 16th September, 1997.
“Nirmal Hriday,” London Magazine, Aug./Sept. 1993.
“Memories of a Catholic Childhood,” Commonweal, October 8th, 1999.
“That Ancient Yarn,” Virginia Quarterly Review, Winter 2000.
“The Holy Ground of Kalighat,” Notre Dame Magazine, Autumn 1998.
“Learning to Pray,” The Christian Century, March 22nd, 2000.  (Also selected by and posted on Religion-Online.org)
“Candlelight Prayer at Stanford,” America, April 11, 1992.
“View from the Margins,” Contemporary Literary Criticism, 2003.
“Aliens and Strangers,” Southwest Review, Vol. 87, #2, Nov. 2002.
“Kalighat,” New Letters, Vol. 59, No. 2, 1993.
“Tryst,” and “At Santa Maria Novella, Florence,” The Journal, Vol. 13, No.2, 1990.
“Suttee,” Envoi, No. 98, Winter 1990/91.

Anthologies

  • “Memories of a Catholic Childhood,” Best Spiritual Writing 2000, HarperSanFrancisco.
  • “The Holy Ground of Kalighat,” Best Spiritual Writing, 1999, HarperSanFrancisco.  (Also selected by and posted on ChristianGateway.com, and Faith.com.)
  • “Kalighat,” reprinted in Tanzania on Tuesday, New Rivers Press, MN, 1997.
  • “Zigzags,” reprinted in The Best of Writers at Work 1994, Northwest Publishing, Inc., Utah.
  • “Zigzags,” Speaking in Tongues, a multi-cultural anthology, The Loft Literary Center, Minneapolis, MN 1994.
  • Three contributions to  WomanPrayers: Prayers by Women from throughout History and Around the World, ed. Mary Ford-Grabowsky, (HarperSanFrancisco, 2002).
  • “That Ancient Yarn,” selected as a Notable Essay of 2000, Best American Essays 2001, Houghton Mifflin.
  • “I was a Teenage Atheist,” selected as a Notable Essay of 1999, Best American Essays 2000, Houghton Mifflin.

Teaching of Creative Writing
Adjunct Professor of Creative Writing, The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia. 1997.
Taught an eight week course in Creative Nonfiction at the Loft Literary Center, Minneapolis, 1993.
Faculty at the Christopher Newport University Writers’ Conference, Virginia, 2000, 2003.
Faculty at the Heritage Public Library Writers’ Conference, Providence Forge, Virginia, 1999.
Faculty at the Spring Writers’ Conference, Columbus, Ohio, 1989.
Taught writing as a Teaching Assistant, The Ohio State University, 1987-1989
Taught the modern novel as a Teaching Assistant at the State University of New York, Binghamton, NY1989

Miscellaneous
Several book reviews for Commonweal Magazine between 2000-2003.
Several Theater and Film Reviews, Minnesota Daily, 1993.
Listed in the Directory of American Poets and Fiction Writers.
Profiled as “The Star of the Month” by Mangalorean.com, an expatriate website.

Filed Under: random

The importance of choosing the right subject

By Anita Mathias

Sad things can happen when a writer chooses the wrong subject,’ Wilfrid Sheed once observed. ‘First the writer suffers, then the reader, and finally the publisher, all together in a tiny whirlpool of pain.’

A sad and exhausting wrestle with your work is a possible sign that you have chosen something that you should not have, that what you are writing is not right, should not be written at all, or not at such length

 

Filed Under: random

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  • Life- Changing Journaling: A Gratitude Journal, and Habit-Tracker, with Food and Exercise Logs, Time Sheets, a Bullet Journal, Goal Sheets and a Planner
  • On Loving That Which Love You Back
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Childhood, Youth, Dependency: The Copenhagen Trilogy
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Amazing Faith: The Authorized Biography of Bill Bright
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On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Stephen King

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Acedia & me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer's Life
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Opened Ground: Poems, 1966-96
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anita.mathias

Writer, Blogger, Reader, Mum. Christian. Instaing Oxford, travel, gardens and healthy meals. Oxford English alum. Writing memoir. Lives in Oxford, UK

Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford # Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford #walking #tranquility #naturephotography #nature
So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And h So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And here we are at one of the world’s most famous and easily recognisable sites.
#stonehenge #travel #england #prehistoric England #family #druids
And I’ve blogged https://anitamathias.com/2020/09/13/on-not-wasting-a-desert-experience/
So, after Paul the Apostle's lightning bolt encounter with the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus, he went into the desert, he tells us...
And there, he received revelation, visions, and had divine encounters. The same Judean desert, where Jesus fasted for forty days before starting his active ministry. Where Moses encountered God. Where David turned from a shepherd to a leader and a King, and more, a man after God’s own heart.  Where Elijah in the throes of a nervous breakdown hears God in a gentle whisper. 
England, where I live, like most of the world is going through a desert experience of continuing partial lockdowns. Covid-19 spreads through human contact and social life, and so we must refrain from those great pleasures. We are invited to the desert, a harsh place where pruning can occur, and spiritual fruitfulness.
A plague like this has not been known for a hundred years... John Piper, after his cancer diagnosis, exhorted people, “Don’t Waste Your Cancer”—since this was the experience God permitted you to have, and He can bring gold from it. Pandemics and plagues are permitted (though not willed or desired) by a Sovereign God, and he can bring life-change out of them. 
Let us not waste this unwanted, unchosen pandemic, this opportunity for silence, solitude and reflection. Let’s not squander on endless Zoom calls—or on the internet, which, if not used wisely, will only raise anxiety levels. Let’s instead accept the invitation to increased silence and reflection
Let's use the extra free time that many of us have long coveted and which has now been given us by Covid-19 restrictions to seek the face of God. To seek revelation. To pray. 
And to work on those projects of our hearts which have been smothered by noise, busyness, and the tumult of people and parties. To nurture the fragile dreams still alive in our hearts. The long-deferred duty or vocation
So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I have totally sunk into the rhythm of it, and have got quiet, very quiet, the quietest spell of time I have had as an adult.
I like it. I will find going back to the sometimes frenetic merry-go-round of my old life rather hard. Well, I doubt I will go back to it. I will prune some activities, and generally live more intentionally and mindfully.
I have started blocking internet of my phone and laptop for longer periods of time, and that has brought a lot of internal quiet and peace.
Some of the things I have enjoyed during lockdown have been my daily long walks, and gardening. Well, and reading and working on a longer piece of work.
Here are some images from my walks.
And if you missed it, a blog about maintaining peace in the middle of the storm of a global pandemic
https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/  #walking #contemplating #beauty #oxford #pandemic
A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine. A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine.  We can maintain a mind of life and peace during this period of lockdown by being mindful of our minds, and regulating them through meditation; being mindful of our bodies and keeping them happy by exercise and yoga; and being mindful of our emotions in this uncertain time, and trusting God who remains in charge. A new blog on maintaining a mind of life and peace during lockdown https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/
In the days when one could still travel, i.e. Janu In the days when one could still travel, i.e. January 2020, which seems like another life, all four of us spent 10 days in Malta. I unplugged, and logged off social media, so here are some belated iphone photos of a day in Valetta.
Today, of course, there’s a lockdown, and the country’s leader is in intensive care.
When the world is too much with us, and the news stresses us, moving one’s body, as in yoga or walking, calms the mind. I am doing some Yoga with Adriene, and again seeing the similarities between the practice of Yoga and the practice of following Christ.
https://anitamathias.com/2020/04/06/on-yoga-and-following-jesus/
#valleta #valletamalta #travel #travelgram #uncagedbird
Images from some recent walks in Oxford. I am copi Images from some recent walks in Oxford.
I am coping with lockdown by really, really enjoying my daily 4 mile walk. By savouring the peace of wild things. By trusting that God will bring good out of this. With a bit of yoga, and weights. And by working a fair amount in my garden. And reading.
How are you doing?
#oxford #oxfordinlockdown #lockdown #walk #lockdownwalks #peace #beauty #happiness #joy #thepeaceofwildthings
Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social d Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social distancing. The first two are my own garden.  And I’ve https://anitamathias.com/2020/03/28/silver-and-gold-linings-in-the-storm-clouds-of-coronavirus/ #corona #socialdistancing #silverlinings #silence #solitude #peace
Trust: A Message of Christmas He came to earth in Trust: A Message of Christmas  He came to earth in a  splash of energy
And gentleness and humility.
That homeless baby in the barn
Would be the lynchpin on which history would ever after turn
Who would have thought it?
But perhaps those attuned to God’s way of surprises would not be surprised.
He was already at the centre of all things, connecting all things. * * *
Augustus Caesar issued a decree which brought him to Bethlehem,
The oppressions of colonialism and conquest brought the Messiah exactly where he was meant to be, the place prophesied eight hundred years before his birth by the Prophet Micah.
And he was already redeeming all things. The shame of unwed motherhood; the powerlessness of poverty.
He was born among animals in a barn, animals enjoying the sweetness of life, animals he created, animals precious to him.
For he created all things, and in him all things hold together
Including stars in the sky, of which a new one heralded his birth
Drawing astronomers to him.
And drawing him to the attention of an angry King
As angelic song drew shepherds to him.
An Emperor, a King, scholars, shepherds, angels, animals, stars, an unwed mother
All things in heaven and earth connected
By a homeless baby
The still point on which the world still turns. The powerful centre. The only true power.
The One who makes connections. * * *
And there is no end to the wisdom, the crystal glints of the Message that birth brings.
To me, today, it says, “Fear not, trust me, I will make a way.” The baby lay gentle in the barn
And God arranges for new stars, angelic song, wise visitors with needed finances for his sustenance in the swiftly-coming exile, shepherds to underline the anointing and reassure his parents. “Trust me in your dilemmas,” the baby still says, “I will make a way. I will show it to you.” Happy Christmas everyone.  https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/24/trust-a-message-of-christmas/ #christmas #gemalderieberlin #trust #godwillmakeaway
Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Gratitude journal, habit tracker, food and exercise journal, bullet journal, with time sheets, goal sheets and a Planner. Everything you’d like to track.  Here’s a post about it with ISBNs https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/23/life-changing-journalling/. Check it out. I hope you and your kids like it!
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