The Art of Living in Season
What can I give him?
How do we live out this art of living in season? How might we, artists or not, attend to the world around us, and better indwell each season in every place we inhabit? How might we train our eyes to see, our hands to care, and our hearts to return gratitude to the Author of all things good and beautiful?
My book attempts to answer this question through a simple parable that starts in a manger scene.
In this unusual scene, the little clay saints of Provence (the santons, or "little saints") make their appearance in the season of Advent, the opening season of the church calendar.
They populate the crèche, or manger, and according to tradition, they eventually undertake a pilgrimage: they journey together to Jesus to offer their humble gifts to him, gifts that come from their everyday vocations in their own terroir.
In The Art of Living in Season, I add an imaginative dimension to this scene: I invite readers to enter into a living parable of the Christian life, with their gifts, accompanying the santons not just at Advent or Christmas, but through all seasons.
Join their pilgrimage as I explore this possibility in my book, reflecting one week at a time through spiritual reflections, personal anecdotes, seasonal illustrations, and traditional stories from the land of the santons. Meet one new santon every month, and see how each has a role to play and a gift to offer in the Great Story – as does each one of us. And watch yourself become not a "little saint," but an everyday saint in your own place and flourish, while learning the art of living in season.
