Writing - The Way of Slow Reading

^{Photo by Wolfgang Hasselmann on Unsplash}

This is part 4 of a series on reading for transformation. See parts one, Confessions of a Biblioholic; two, Reading for Transformation; and three, On Meditative Reading.

When it comes to contemplation and meditation, slow is best. The tortoise was probably farther along in spiritual maturity than the hare. Reading becomes prayerful, meditative and transforming when it slows down.

You don’t need anything more than desire and willingness to slow down, but tools can help. Basic, dollar store tools may do, such as my favorite 1.3mm PaperMate mechanical pencil. But there is a measure of wisdom in spending extra money on high quality shoes if one wants to take up running. So invest in tools that will not only support but will also motivate your reading. Yes, I’m giving you license to buy that fancy leather journal you keep looking at on Amazon (ok, you got me, I’m talking to myself!)

If you haven’t tried a fountain pen, I highly recommend it. Fountain pen enthusiasts may suggest pens with price tags you didn’t know existed, but your basic, introductory model is still going to cost you more than the $10 option at Target. Personally, I’m a fan of TWSBI for cost and aesthetics. But whatever the brand, the point is that the feel and pleasure of writing with a fountain pen is simply that: pleasurable. And that will help starting and sustaining the practice of writing as you read, especially if that is a new practice for you.

If you opt for a fountain pen, you will also want to invest in higher quality paper, such as Tomoe River, Rhodia, or Clairefontaine. But you can also test other brands of journals that may suit writing with a fountain pen. Some Moleskin notebooks are moderately fountain pen friendly. The point is to find tools within your budget that you will enjoy.

So you have gathered some tools for journaling and taking notes. Even if those are a simple Ticonderoga No. 2 pencil (or that 1.3mm PaperMate) and 8x5 yellow notepad, the benefit comes from using them. And the simple rule is this: WRITE. You can write a sentence or two about what strikes you most. You can copy a quote or two or three that captures the heart of what you read. Or you can journal at length about how the text might impact your life. Or, following the practice of Augustine and others who have imitated him, write prayers to God about what you are reading.

It was Augustine, after all, who said,

“By writing I myself have learned much that I did not know.”

This isn’t about being “a writer,” whatever that means. It is about the simple act of writing as a method for meditation and prayer. It is about setting down your thoughts in black and white (or red and yellow or whatever pen/paper combination you choose) in order to discover thoughts you didn’t know you had. And this isn’t limited to hand-to-paper writing, although I’m focusing on that. Some of you might prefer to type with a full keyboard, others with thumbs and phone. Some of you might have to dictate or make voice recordings; if so, you’re in good company, because Augustine dictated most of his writings, and that was still a formative practice for him.

Thomas Merton once encouraged himself in his diary to “write tentatively about [issues] in order to begin to understand them better.” This is not mere cognitive knowledge. Writing is a means of spiritual understanding, the kind of understanding that we mentioned with reference to Psalm 119:34 in the second part of this series:

“Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.”

The physical act of writing alone does not produce spiritual change. It is the Spirit alone, not written letters, who gives life (1 Corinthians 3:6). But writing—the prayerful, meditative chewing kind of writing—is a powerful means of metabolizing the beauty, goodness and truth of the written word.

Quotes from Francis Bacon and Thomas Merton

“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few are to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.”

-Francis Bacon

I’ll take time [to write], because I see no more reasons for hurrying and a million reasons for taking time.

-Thomas Merton

Recommended Reading

Slow Reading, by John Miedema.

Write in Order to Heal, a shorter reflection on the importance of journaling in soul care.

Question

What if we saw being a slow reader as a virtue rather than a vice, a strength rather than a weakness?