´óÏó´«Ã½

A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Hope Lonergan

Good morning.

I’ve always been intent on climbing up and outside of myself; of striving towards a kind of enchantment. I’ve explored different methods of getting to this place: social activism; midnight walking; making my own cold water plunge with a wheelie bin and bits chipped off of the freezer. (It didn’t work.) But the only proven method – the only way I get close to achieving transcendence – is when I’m reading fat theological tomes.

I’m quite an isolated person. As a result I’ve always sought solace in the leaning towers of books that dominate my home. There’s something about the satisfying ‘click’ of good writing, and the integrity of sound scholarship, that allows me to elevate beyond the parameters of self.

It’s hard to speak about a love of reading without coming across as pompous or self-congratulatory (alright, book boy!) but I’ll risk it to stress how much I love reading – and, as a knock-on effect - how worried I am about the disintegration of people’s attention spans.

‘Social media brain is ruining our children’ isn’t a novel bit of insight. Everyone bangs on about it. Even social media people use social media to upload short-form videos about the dangers of short-form videos. But – as a recovering addict – I’m more weary of transitory stimuli and the instant gratification it provides. I’m also a great believer in focus. And if you want cognitive ‘hygiene’, it requires the tenacity of a deep-diving mind. Having said that, this would make a bangin’ short form video to be fair. Please like and subscribe.

So, today I pray for the world’s readers, and those who properly invest in their studies – with time; with attention – instead of scrolling to the edges of the internet.

Amen.