Anime Lectio: Child of Kamiari Month

                                                             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.  

Do we do what we do because we like doing it, want to do it, and/or have to do it? What we like doing can easily be what we want to do. It could also lead to what we have to do if what you like and/or want to do cannot only help yourself, but also others. What you have to do should not only be helpful for yourself, but also others.

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.

In the anime movie Child of Kamiari Month, a young girl is tasked with using her interest in running to help the gods prepare for their annual gathering since she's a child of one of these gods. As she does this, with the help of some friends, she eventually questions why she's doing this as she thinks she's only doing it for the sake of others and not herself. This also leads her to question why she likes running so much, which she doesn't even think she's good at. Remembering her deceased mother, who was one of these gods, but married a human, helps her not only continue and finish her task, but also keeps up her interest in running.

7.  Reflect on the anime

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

Helping others is important, but helping yourself in order to help others, like taking care of yourself in order to be able to help others, which I'm doing now in (hopefully) my last day of quarantine for covid, is also important. For example, doing what you like and want to do is a good thing, but it's better if you're not only doing it for yourself, but also others and it feels like you're doing it because you don't just have to do it.

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 how what we like to do, want to do, and have to do can be based on our interests and how our interests cannot only help ourselves, but also others.