Saturday. 8.15 am: A communion. Throughout a sometimes disturbed night, the voice in my head kept saying ‘Seek simplicity; work for clarity; believe in economy; and trust in sufficiency.’ 9.00 am: To those ends, I reviewed the composition thus far, pruning away anything that was decorous (the baubles on the Christmas tree), superfluous (unessential to functionality), or encumbering (masking the…

9.00 am: Studiology. I read over last year’s diary pages for December 7 and 8. The round and task of yesterday and today have been much the same as then. However, I think somewhat differently now. The experiences of work, life, suffering and joy, and illness and health, in the interim, has altered the mind’s complexion, deepened its resolved, and…

7.30 am: A morning shower; (rare, unless after a run). I’d a bug, temperature, raspy throat, tiredness, shivers, and aches. An early and reasonable night’s sleep was a temporary balm. But I remained significantly under par on waking, feeling the onset of something significant, and there was much to be done, and the day would be long. (‘Keep-up the fluid…

8.00 am: A communion. Praying down the blessing. 8.45 am: The first part of the morning of the first part of the week is usually set aside to organise the remainder. The effort expended on micromanaging each hour is more than compensated for by the amount of time that’s identified, eked out, and set aside for the ‘big and meaningful…