By Gretchen Beilfuss Witt
Rowan Public Library
Feeling overwhelmed and too busy? Take a moment out of your hectic schedule to center and find a peaceful place to contemplate.
For some people, meditation is an important part of every day; for others the Lenten season encourages self-introspection in preparation for Easter.
To focus your energies and rearrange your priorities, look no further than you local library shelves.
Gunilla Norris’ “Becoming Bread” explores the spiritual aspect of daily life through the preparation and baking of bread. While examining the simple but essential ingredients of life ó salt, water, flour, earth and fire ó she uses the metaphor of baking bread for our life experience. With a mix of poetry, proverb and prose, this brief volume is thought-provoking and beautiful.
“Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day,” by Eknath Easwaran, draws from literature, philosophy, Christian and other religious traditions to create short meditations for every day of the year. Beginning each entry with a captivating quote, like William Blake’s “The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way,” followed by a short dialogue, introduces you to techniques helpful for leading a spiritual life in today’s world.
Max Lucado takes a different approach, relating stories, three to four pages each, about God’s attempts to attract our attention. “A Gentle Thunder” uses these tales of authors, cowboys and marching band to encourage us to take time to think, to consider and to seek reassurance in God’s presence.Devotionals and meditations can be found suited to almost anyone’s taste. If gardens are your passion, perhaps “Meditations on Garden Themes” by Josephine Robertson would work nicely. A pocket sized book, it fits nicely in your hand to contemplate while strolling in the garden. Or there are devotionals specifically appropriate for a certain group like “Meditations for Men Who Do Too Much.” Jonathon Lazear’s book tackles life questions from a masculine perspective, reviewing such topics as greed, self-esteem, failure, humor and velocity.
For those who do not even have time to stop by the library, take a quick look at some of our digital offerings. Through our Web site and NCLIVE’s NetLibrary, a number of e-books are presented.
“Earth and All the Stars” reflects on our interconnectedness to nature through various world cultures and religions, inviting us to explore in meditation our own relationship to life on this planet. “Time for Joy” is a charming collection of line illustrations and brief two to three sentence contemplations for each day.
Slow your frantic pace and find some encouraging words in our varied collection of meditations and devotionals.
The Big Read: Book discussion on “A Lesson Before Dying” by Ernest Gaines, Mondays, 7 p.m., along with Tuesday Night Movies and luncheon discussion Wednesdays, noon-1 p.m. Bring a lunch; drinks and dessert will be provided. The program is in partnership with Livingstone College. Call East and South branches to learn about their Big Read programs.Let’s Talk About It: The book discussion program on Southern fiction will continue until March 27 at 7 p.m. in the Hurley Room at headquarters every other Thursday. The remaining titles are “Nowhere Else on Earth,” “Wolf Whistle” and “Song of Solomon.” Call 704-216-8230 to register.
Computer classes: South branch ó Genealogy-Census Records, Tuesday, 11 a.m.
Children’s programs: Call 704-216-8256 for headquarter programs; 704-216-7839 for East branch; and 704-216-7727 for South branch programs beginning this month.
Tuesday movies: Shown at headquarters, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m., in honor of Black History Month, “A Raisin in the Sun.”
Displays: Martin Luther King Jr. display by RPL staff members, corridor by meeting rooms. Headquarters ó Black History by Paulette Maugham and art display by Hilda Robertson. East ó baskets by Lucille Patterson. South ó Boy Scouts by Kenneth Norton.Literacy: Call the Rowan County Literacy Council at 704-216-8266 for more information on teaching or receiving literacy tutoring for English speakers or for those for whom English is a second language.
Web site: www.rowanpubliclibrary.org.