Rowan Williams and the rhythms of Old High spirituality

From a conversation between Rowan Williams and Marilynne Robinson at a 2018 Wheaton College conference.  Williams is asked if there are "practices or habits that we avoided that we would do well to return to". His response suggests something of the spirituality of the Old High Church tradition, of its reliance on habit, its joy in the ordinary, its suspicion of 'enthusiasm' and the 'weird', and its wisdom in understanding "that grace does not give us new faculties, and another nature" (Taylor), that our conversion "is a gradual work, not instantaneous, or suddenly completed; but, growing step by step"(Warner).

Yes. Rhythm again, isn't it? We've lost the sense of creating rhythm in our daily encounter with God. We think sometimes that real encounter with God has to be exceptional, exciting, different, dramatic, and we don't think of it as simply turning up - and simply turning up in the sense of opening the Bible, reciting a psalm.  Simply turning up in the quiet we give to God.  Simply turning up once every few hours just to say, "yes, okay", draw back into the heart and remember who's there.  We need formation in these things. We need encouragement to develop those habits, but they're painfully simple.  And because we don't get that sense of the reality shining and things - the ordinary things - we miss that, we turn away.