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<\/a><\/p>\nI\u2019m a sucker for wavy stripes; I find them restful.<\/strong> So when I saw the cover of Christine Valters Paintner\u2019s The Artist\u2019s Rule: Nurturing Your Creative Soul with Monastic Wisdom<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, I gave a little gasp of appreciation \u2014 okay, I stared at it in a kind of bliss for a while \u2014 and anticipated in those blurred, calming lines the message: more restful stuff within<\/em>!<\/p>\n Well. . .yes and no. There\u2019s a little treasure trove within the book, but how restful one finds it depends, ultimately, upon one\u2019s disposition and how much one puts into this \u201cnurturing of the creative soul\u201d business.<\/p>\n As with pretty much everything in life, what you get back is a fair measure of what you put in (or out). But this book is worth putting something in; that would be effort<\/em>. The Artist\u2019s Rule<\/em> is a twelve week \u201ccourse\u201d in healing, creative expression that builds on the wisdom and insights culled from monastic practices, and from the Rule of St. Benedict<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, which is fundamentally a guide to marking the passage of time \u2014 making it sacred, in prayer \u2014 and practicing holy mindfulness of the Presence of God (and therefore of Good) in the everyday. While I am not putting Paintner\u2019s book on the same level as our Holy Father Benedict, it is very fair to say that her \u201cRule<\/em>\u201d gives a helpful assist.<\/p>\n I have written elsewhere about my difficulty with the Benedictine practice of Hospitality<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Hospitality is a substantial part of being a Benedictine, and it is a confusing thing, for me. Once I get the people into my house, I like to serve them good food and wine; I like to laugh with them and share memories, and surprise them with little gifts. Sometimes I\u2019m even sad to see them leave. But until the moment they\u2019ve crossed that threshold, I am negative about the whole endeavor.<\/p>\n And this, I suppose, is the deeper, more hidden reason I am a Benedictine: because the God Who Knows what we need to work on supplies the therapeutic mechanism, in one way or another.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Conscious of this struggle,<\/strong> after reading the introduction and first chapter<\/strong><\/a>, I turned quickly to \u201cWeek Seven\u201d and Paintner\u2019s thoughts on Hospitality, which is deeply connected to the Benedictine disciplines of Conversion and Stability. There, I encountered a notion I\u2019d suspected for a while \u2014 that difficulty in welcoming others as Christ is rooted in one\u2019s difficulty in welcoming the Christ within oneself \u2014 but in Paintner\u2019s gentle voice, this didn\u2019t seem nearly as harsh as it has seemed in my own.<\/p>\n Paintner recognizes, and wants the reader to recognize, that our inner selves, our passions, fears, miseries and imaginings all exist and run amok as part and parcel of God\u2019s gift. To make them welcome within us, and give them expression, is to greet them in Christ, accepting the whole imperfect self as a work-in-progress \u2014 both Christ\u2019s progress and our own.<\/p>\n Not all are called to the arts, and I admit,<\/strong> Paintner\u2019s encouragement to pick up paper, pastels or crayons and venture forth with the courage to create \u201cbad art\u201d left me remarkably unswayed; I have no gift in that area \u2014 why do you think I am so fond of wavy<\/em> lines? Because I can\u2019t draw a straight one! \u2014 and even with permission to produce \u201cbad\u201d art, I was happier to accept her invitation to try my hand at bad, if mindful<\/em>, haiku and poetry.<\/p>\n Putting something in to the effort, I was rewarded with something better than I had any right to anticipate \u2014 a poem I can\u2019t share (because it\u2019s personal) but rather like, and Jesus and I have giggled over it in a very satisfying way.<\/p>\n Invest some time in The Artist\u2019s Rule<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. The return will be worth it!<\/p>\n Read more about The Artist\u2019s Rule<\/em><\/strong> at Patheos\u2019 Book Club<\/strong><\/a>, and catch this interview with Christine Valters Paintner<\/strong><\/a>, too.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019m a sucker for wavy stripes; I find them restful. So when I saw the cover of Christine Valters Paintner\u2019s The Artist\u2019s Rule: Nurturing Your Creative Soul with Monastic Wisdom, I gave a little gasp of appreciation \u2014 okay, I stared at it in a kind of bliss for a while \u2014 and anticipated in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[303,4827,4828,4878,569],"class_list":["post-30775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-art","tag-benedictine","tag-bookchat","tag-monasticism","tag-vocations"],"yoast_head":"\n
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\nPaintner, a Catholic spiritual director and Benedictine Oblate<\/strong> who writes here at Patheos<\/strong><\/a> over in the Progressive Christian Portal<\/strong><\/a>, is a beautiful writer. Her piece sharing her dog\u2019s impact on her prayer life<\/strong><\/a> was a recent treat, and she has a lot of wisdom to impart on the practice of contemplative prayer<\/strong><\/a>, in all of its mysteries and occasional discomforts. Being an Oblate<\/strong><\/a>, myself \u2014 and sadly writing a great deal less than Christine on the subject of prayer<\/strong><\/a>, especially the Liturgy of the Hours<\/strong><\/a>, than I would like to \u2014 I am very grateful for her insights and instruction.<\/p>\n