Three Great Weekend Reads
In case you missed them…
How do our spiritual lives evolve as we age?
What will we lose when we lose second hand bookstores?
Why are labyrinths growing in popularity during the pandemic?
These seekers I talk with usually believe their spiritual yearnings are unusual, but they aren’t. Research from the United States shows that religious attachment commonly falls through young and middle adulthood, but then increases through one’s 40s and beyond. The theologian James Fowler explained this pattern in his famous 1981 book, Stages of Faith.
Decades, even centuries, of history and tradition are disappearing because of market forces, and the pandemic that we are all suffering through has sped matters up. So, although I would offer two hearty cheers for the Oxfam bookshops, please try and visit your local book dealer, if you’re still lucky enough to have one. Otherwise, this most eccentric and likeable of trades shows every sign of being annihilated forever, save for the most rarefied of dealers…
Given that public gatherings require a level of mindfulness and intention right now — not to mention air flow — labyrinths seem to be an answer made for the times, said Jones. As community spaces, they can provide a healthy distraction from troubling thoughts, he said, with no religion attached or pricey wellness purchase necessary…