Anime Lectio: Blue Period

                                                            1. Why do Anime Lectio? 

Anime Lectio is a time for us to stop and take a breath. Between work, activities, family life, and social media, our minds are always moving. We rarely take time to contemplate and ask, why am I watching this anime? What’s the point of all this? And, how is this making me feel? 

2. Put away all distractions 

(phones, work, etc.)

We are so enslaved to things that stimulate our minds. Let this be a moment for us to free our minds, look inside of ourselves, and be at peace.

3. Deep Breathing

Take several deep breaths. Let your mind relax. If you’ve had any questions, desires, or struggles that you’ve been hiding or stuffing away, let them rise up to the surface. 

4. Open yourself to God’s Presence

Remember God places all our thoughts and desires inside of us, and He uses them to draw us closer to Himself. God gives us a community to help us understand who we are and what He is calling us to do. The faces of other people you know and don't know are like signs of God’s presence.  

5. Think About What’s on Your Mind in Relation to the Anime

Think about what’s been on your mind in relation to the anime.  The following is an example of such thoughts written by me.

We usually spend our lives trying to figure out what we want to do while doing other things, either things that we like and want to do, things that we like and have to do, and/or things that we don't like, but still have to do. Things that we like and want to do tend to be interests or hobbies. We usually don't see these things as something that can help us with a career, or even as something that can be a career itself, but thinking about how we can do that helps. This thinking can be influenced by several factors, like what you do, how you do that (how you live), and who you do that with (who you live with). For example, I live with other people and what I do should help them, not just me (the leader of my community that I mentioned in a previous post wants to be elected again now in our next election for the leader of my community - we all have a lot to think about). I clearly like to write and am passionate about that, as well as other things, like my interest in anime and combining it with writing, teaching, and other things. Anyway, this thinking is also how these things can become things that we like and have to do. Thinking more about things that we don't like, but still have to do, is also important.

6. Brief and written explanation of the anime

Pay attention to how the brief and written explanation of the anime seen on this blog, or seeing the anime for yourself since that's better than any explanation, might “speak” to you or shed light on the things that have been on your minds.

The anime series Blue Period starts off with a main character who works hard in high school to get good grades while also being a delinquent with friends who aren't very ambitious either. He thinks there's something more to life than just simply working hard in school and hanging with friends, but doesn't know what this something is until he's inspired to express how he feels about what he sees by painting it. This leads to an interest in pursuing art school, which isn't easy, but with the help of his friends, both new and old, his experiences with them, and his drive, he's able to graduate high school and pursue his interest in art school.

7. Reflect on the anime

Has this brief and written explanation of the anime, or seeing the anime, shed any light on what's been on your mind? The following is an example of a reflection on the anime from me.

Doing what we want to do is a question that we have to ask ourselves, even if we are directly part of a community, meaning that we live with other people. This can involve thinking that there's something more to life than just doing what everyone else does. This kind of thinking in college is what led me to start thinking about living as a Benedictine monk after college, which is something that I still do now. What I do as a Benedictine monk is live differently. This involves work that I like to do, want to do, have to do, and/or don't like to do, which is something that I have to think more about, talk to people about, and/or pray about on a daily basis. It's the same with anything else, like an interest in art and making a career out of it. You have to see how your interests can help you be a better person, which the main character discovers as he thinks more about his interest in art. Thinking more about your interests is how you can do more with them and see what they really are. For example, art can also be an expression of prayer, which can also be seen here in writing with the final prayer for this post.

8. Final Prayer

Please voice any prayer intentions for friends, family, or people around the world that relate to this anime. The following is an example written by me.

Let us pray that we can figure out what we want to do with our lives based on what we want to do, what we have to do, and what we like to do.