Anime Lectio: Play it Cool, Guys

                                                          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. 

Lately, I've been thinking about how I can be more helpful to and for my monastic community.  Helping by being more direct about it still doesn't seem to work for one of the other monks who has tried to do that again recently, so I don't know if doing that myself would work.  I guess it's more helpful to work with whatever happens based on who you are, even if who you are is someone who doesn't really know what to do with whatever happens.  An interesting example of this can be seen in the anime series Play it Cool, Guys.

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 series Play it Cool, Guys, several guys who seem to know what they're doing, but make mistakes sometimes, become friends and spend time together. These several guys include two adults who were also childhood friends, but despite being older than the other guys they hang out with, make similar mistakes that the younger guys also make. Despite what happens to them, as well as what they do about it, which is usually to make it look like they intended to make the mistakes or something like that, they still manage to get along and get through their experiences together.

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.

Being more helpful is something that happens in ways that you both expect and don't expect. How you react to what happens is what's important. Whatever your reaction is, it should involve being okay with whatever happens and be based on who you are and what you would do, not on who someone else is and what they would do. If the reaction involves playing it cool, either because you messed up and want to look better or to get through what you are reacting to, then so be it. Playing it cool is helpful when you know how to do it, why you are doing it, and what/who you are doing it for.

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 understand how to be helpful by knowing how to play it cool.