On a Lighter Note

Since my neighbor’s “God, Guns, Country: Trump 2020” sign still has me feeling a little disheartened (see my last post for more on that beautiful thing), and the toxic political situation in our country is depressing me, and the spread of the Coronavirus is alarming, and the fact that for the first time in recorded history Sacramento has had no rain for the month of February, I thought I would share with you something that is making me happy.

Honestly, this post could change your life, not because of any brilliance of mine, but because of these resources. They have been tremendously helpful to me. Also, they are free.

First, if you have a library card, do you know about Hoopla?  https://www.hoopladigital.com. (And for the love of all that’s good, if you don’t have a library card, why not? You need to get one, ASAP.  You have no idea what you are missing. Plus, the library needs you. We need libraries. End of mini- lecture.)

Hoopla is a free service that lets you download or stream audiobooks, ebooks, music (Taylor Swift! The Hamilton soundtrack! Elton John!), and movies to your computer or mobile device. You can access resources instantly, and at least where I live, you can check out up to six items a month. I’ve been using it for months to listen to audiobooks on my numerous drives up and down I-80.  I’m not sure if all library systems have access to the Hoopla system but if yours does, it’s a treasure.  Richard Rohr, my hero, has numerous books available in audiobook format, including Falling Upward, Everything Belongs, the Divine Dance and the Naked Now. Most recently, I listened to Rohr’s “The Art of Letting Go: Living the Wisdom of St. Francis,” which is a six session course published by Sounds True.  I decided that if I did nothing else for the next year but listen to this, over and over, it would be fine. It would teach me all I need to know.

Also, for my friends and readers who like podcasts, the Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC) (founded by, who else? my hero Richard Rohr) has a new podcast hosted by (are you ready for this) … James Finley! It’s like Christmas arriving in Lent. In the latest episode, Finley devotes the time to Thomas Merton. What could be better than this? The CAC also has 25 episodes of a podcast called “Another Name for Everything,” which features Rohr talking about his book The Universal Christ. He also spends time answering listeners’ questions. Other favorite podcasts of mine? “On Being with Krista Tippett,” “The RobCast” with Rob Bell, “Poetry Unbound” (also from On Being Studios), and “Happier” with Gretchen Rubin.

If you don’t know how to access podcasts, it’s really not that hard. Post a comment under this post and I will see if I can talk you through it.

If I can’t figure it out, then I will ask my teenager to help you. He’s really good at that kind of thing.

I know it’s easy if you have an Apple phone or iTunes.

That’s all for now, friends. It’s a beautiful spring day in the traditionally wintry month of February here in the mountains. I am torn between being happy at the blooming and the budding and being deeply concerned that it is all arriving too soon. We didn’t have enough winter. We actually didn’t have much winter at all. It makes spring feel a little less sweet.  Still, I’m going to finish this and snap on the dog’s leash and take him for a ramble up the hill to the cemetery, where I get most of my good thinking done.  Check out Hoopla and the podcasts and let me know if you need help. I’ll do what I can. Blessings to all.