Anime Lectio: Deaimon - Recipe for Happiness

                                                             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.

Being dependent on others is not only important in order to be humble, or to learn how to be humble, but also to function as a member of a family and/or any other community.  Community is important for everyone no matter how it's lived, how much it's lived, and how it's seen.  It takes more than one person to form a community since community depends on the involvement of several people.

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 Deaimon - Recipe for Happiness starts off when the son of parents who run a sweets shop returns from trying to make a living on his own with his interest in music. When the son returns, he finds that his parents have essentially adopted a girl that they want to take over the shop for them instead of the son. Instead of trying to get rid of the girl or do something to stop her, he still decides to help out and get closer to this girl, which causes people to think he's the girl's father, even though the girl doesn't like this at first, but it grows on her. The girl's actual mother does check in on her sometimes, but the father, who's most likely the musical mentor of the guy who tries to be like a father to the girl, hasn't seen his daughter since he left her at the sweets shop in the care of the owners.

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.

In addition to learning how to be humble by being dependent on others, community is also important because it helps you realize what you want to do. Part of this involves who you live in the community with and what you can do, as well as want to do, and even need to do, with them. In the anime series Deaimon - Recipe for Happiness, for example, this involves taking care of a little girl that was abandoned by her biological family in order to help her become part of a work community and family.

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 for an understanding of how community is seen in our lives, as well as of an understanding of our role, or roles, in it, or them.