porridge as a spiritual discipline

This morning I made porridge. Why? Mostly because I have been craving it for days now, but there is another reason. It takes half an hour to make.

So, this morning was an hour for yoga and a half an hour for porridge.

Doesn't that sound extravagant? Who has time for that? Stirring and stirring felt alot like some sort of meditational prayer. For someone like me this was an act of open rebellion. In my house my family has given me pet names. The Salad Queen, because although I hate most forms of cooking I make a really good salad. The Coffee Troll, because I am the one that seems to need the coffee most and fastest first thing in the morning and on the days my husband makes it I go a little crazy when he multitasks while making it because it takes longer. Another favorite title and the one that probably sums up most of my neurosis is, The Time Nazi. If in fact I ever went into therapy there is no doubt in my mind that the doc could have a field day with this. I think every household actually needs a time nazi. This person makes sure the bills get paid on time and other mundane things like that. For me the characteristic that earns the title also allows me to be productive in my work. But putting the positives aside there is a reason that the title sounds negative. Being overly focused on time can be a spiritual block and is probably why I have never been able to understand the Mary/Martha story. I always relate to the one who is doing the work and think that the one sitting at Jesus feet is a lazy slob. It is sobering to know that there is a lesson from Jesus and if I were the one in the picture the lion's share of that lesson would be aimed at me.

So today I made porridge as a spiritual discipline. It was yummy. Brown sugar on top, all melty and good. I am taking a stand. I refuse to descend into a place where there is no room to think about Jesus because there are too many presents to wrap. Slowing down is a totally counter cultural behavior especially at this time of year but I am going to attempt it. Slowing down may sound easy but it is not. Especially when the 3 minutes of relaxation that intros into a yoga workout seems to take forever, and 30 minutes to make porridge seems like eternity. But I am working on it.