The tortoise really can win!
Monday, June 20th, 2011
I have often lamented the fact that I am a painfully slow reader. I will reread sections, and read every word. Otherwise, I feel like I’ve missed something.
I follow a delightful blog called A Room of One’s Own by a college lit student. She ‘s plunged into reading the classics after having only read current commercial fiction, and she’s keeping a literary journal as she reads. She has read an amazing number of books (and given me a tremendous reference to turn to as I slowly plod through different classics). She wrote a wonderfully thoughtful post wondering whether it was better to read quickly as she does, or read more slowly, like I do.
I have no choice, I have to read slowly, but I envied my friend’s speed reading skills. Until now.
Yesterday at Divine Liturgy, I heard the priest preach about a section in John 14, verse 15 where Jesus states, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” Fr. Paul proceeded to explain that following the commandments is not just following a set of rules and then feeling good that you’ve done it. It’s so much more. He used Psalm 1, verse 2 as the example: “But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.” He focused on the word “meditates,” explaining that the word “murmurs” is a closer translation of the original text.
Murmuring, of course, involves speaking; in many cases, reading out loud. Students often use this method when studying; people who wish to memorize will also use this tact. Murmuring most definitely slows down the reading process. It also helps one to absorb the material.
While I haven’t actually employed murmuring before in meditating upon the scriptures, I have used note taking as a means of unlocking hidden treasures in books. Often it has involved reading a chapter or section twice to get down all the thoughts I had. Using this method, I spent 3-1/2 months reading a 187 page book! Seems absurd, but I unlocked countless treasures by outlining the chapters and the guts of the book (The Prayer of Mary: Leading a Surrendered Life) really sunk in.
Yet, I ‘d like to try murmuring. I have tried murmuring repeatedly the Jesus Prayer, and even have 3 different versions of it set to music so I can “murmur” by singing. Singing is a wonderful way to murmur.
The art of Lectio Divina invites such murmuring as it requires one to read and then pray on a particular scripture, repeating a line or lines over and over. This moves you into meditation and then divine contemplation (John Michael Talbot’s newest album, Worship and Bow Down, has a song by that title that beautifully lays out how to use Lectio Divina to pray the scriptures. Listen to a clip of the song here – track 17).
I felt a real affirmation yesterday at liturgy from the Lord as Fr. Paul described the art of murmuring. It’s okay to be slow. In fact, it’s good to be slow. As the lyrics to Talbot’s song say, “Prayerfully read the Word of God, prayerfully read, take your time . . .”
I am a tortoise who loves to read, and would like to read like the hare. However, as a tortoise, while I probably won’t be able to read everything I have on my list, I will read what I can very well. A slower approach will facilitate the unlocking of many a treasure in scripture and beyond. Sounds like a win-win to me!