Read, Write, and Pray with The Book of Delights by Ross Gay: Part Four
Our Faith in Writing’s Read, Write, & Pray with The Book of Delights series uses themes and excerpts from Ross Gay’s The Book of Delights. I have not worked with Ross Gay on this series, and I don’t pretend to know anything about his faith. I just like his book and want to invite others to explore it in meaningful ways.
It’s not necessary to have a copy of The Book of Delights to complete these exercises and prompts, but you should definitely buy a copy here!
I hope this Read, Write, & Pray series helps you make space to notice God’s presence in your life and creative work. I hope it gives you opportunities to discover how making and engaging with art help you belong to yourself, others, God, and the world.
Learn more about Read, Write, & Pray here.
Read
Krista Tippett and Ross Gay had this exchange during a conversation for On Being:
Tippett: So what surprised you, in the process of moving through that year and moving through that year looking for delight and writing about delight every day?
Gay: Many things surprised me, I suppose. But one of the things that surprised me was how quickly the study of delight made delight more evident.
Write
Take a few minutes to think about something you want to experience more on a daily basis (such as delight or joy or gratitude or patience).
Then write for 10 minutes about this experience.
Then do a bit of research on topics related to this experience for 10 minutes.
Then write for 10 more minutes.
Repeat this 30-minute cycle for at least three days.
How does writing about this experience change the way you engage with this particular experience?
Pray
A Prayer by St. Teresa of Avila:
Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things
Whoever has God lacks nothing;
God alone suffices.
I hope you enjoy this free resource for Read, Write, and Pray with The Book of Delights.
Additional free resources can be found here:
Read, Write, & Pray with The Book of Delights
Read, Write, & Pray with The Book of Delights Part One
Read, Write, & Pray with The Book of Delights Part Two
Read, Write, & Pray with The Book of Delights Part Three
Read, Write & Pray with The Book of Delights Part Four
Read, Write & Pray with The Great Belonging
Read, Write, & Pray with The Great Belonging Part One
Read, Write, & Pray with The Great Belonging Part Two
Charlotte Donlon helps her readers and clients notice how they belong to themselves, others, God, and the world. Charlotte is a writer, a spiritual director for writers, and the founder of Spiritual Direction for Writers™ and Parenting with Art™. She is also the founder and host of the Our Faith in Writing podcast and website. Her essays have appeared in The Washington Post, The Curator, The Christian Century, Christianity Today, Catapult, The Millions, Mockingbird, and elsewhere. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Seattle Pacific University where she studied creative nonfiction with Paula Huston and Lauren F. Winner. She holds a certificate in spiritual direction from Selah Center for Spiritual Formation. Her first book is The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other. To receive Charlotte’s latest updates, news, announcements, and other good things, subscribe to her email newsletter.