Richard
Richard fell on Wednesday of Holy Week, fracturing three ribs on his right side and also the C-7 vertebrae in his neck. He also had a nasty wound on the upper part, on the back of his head. So an ambulance was called. Luckily, after an x-ray was done for his head, there was found to be no hemorrhaging, which was a relief. About 15 years ago we brought in one of our charges; his name was Paul, who also hit the back of his head from a fall in his room. The point of contact was lo
Yes!
When meditating on one of the final prayers of Jesus on the cross- “My God, my God, why have your forsaken me”; if pursued with diligence, can be transforming in how ones relationship with God is looked upon and also perhaps, how this is shared with others. For Christians, Jesus is an actual revelation of God. Christianity is more about a life and a person, than about the Bible by itself. The New Testament is a faith document passing on to those who would come after, their experienc
Holy Saturday 2011
So after Jesus died, his body was placed in a tomb. Just another human being (or so it seemed at the time); unjustly treated, tortured, mocked and horribly killed. Yes an everyday occurrence in our world. Very little has changed over the last two thousand years. Christians themselves, as history testifies, my own church (Roman Catholic) has done great evils in the past, like most (or is it all) other human institutions. The longer any social entity exists the longer
I don’t kid myself
There is a saying, though who originally said it I have no idea. The saying goes like this: “Human justice is without mercy.” I believe there is more than a grain of truth to this, mostly from experiencing this within my own heart. It is easy for me to condemn, it is almost instinctive and the power in which it is felt can at times frighten me. Thinking in terms of justice, when it is revenge that I really seek; best served cold as they say. It does not have to have anyth
Astounded
(NDE’s and Faith)
There is a page on the web that I post on, called NDE space. It is a very unusual and a deeply creative place, in which people that have had NDE’s post their experience, as well as the members also posting other video materials that they have found on the subject. Which by the way is vast, growing, and does not seem to be going away…. ever. It is a very educational page and I would recommend it to anyone who has the slightest interest in this topic. Here i
June and David
I was talking to June (not her real name) this morning about how she was doing. She told me that she is retiring from her job, so that she can take care of her husband, who is having some serious health problems that unless there is a miracle, he will not get better. As she spoke, I remember her husband David (not his real name either), with whom I worked for awhile. Both June and David have had a rough few years. They lost a beloved daughter suddenly and then had a rough
Bill Reams
Bill Reams died at the age of 64 on the 30 of Oct (05) of this year. His death was not exactly unexpected, it just came sooner than what I thought; of course I am usually wrong in predicting someone’s passing no matter what their condition is.
On the morning of the 29th, Bill collapsed in one of our bathrooms, and was too weak to get up on his own, so he had to be helped into a wheelchair and taken to one of the rooms we had available. His fatigue had been brothering him for qui
Discernment
There is more than one way to look at the whole process of discernment and each person who is seeking to make some kind of choice about a course of action will deal with it differently. No matter how it is done, or who one talks to, in the end it is up to the person seeking an answer to make the final decision. Doors can be closed that is true, but that is not necessarily the end of the story, for just because one avenue is closed does not mean that others will not open. One
Lent
Lent can be a dreary time for me, Ash Wednesday, a day of inner cold
and restless wandering, from one inner space to another.
Bread and water, so hard for me to take, yet I do and try to pray, seeking
to ignore the gnawing hunger
.
A time when my inner darkness becomes my partner for a time,
and yes time drags as the days slowly pass. Yet it is also for me
a time of richness and seeking light within the darkness, a season
of conscious searching and seeing myself stripped down to
Goodness
There are times when I think about ‘things’. I remember a few years ago, as I was driving and was held up for a time in ‘rush hour’ traffic, and got to thinking about music. As I was listening to some music on the radio, I was amazed at its power to evoke certain experiences easily, that apart from this genre of communication, I would find impossible to achieve. The longer I pondered this ‘mystery’, the more my brain got tied up into a knot, which developed into a headache. So
Mrs. Johnson
When I was in the 5th grade, I was having trouble reading in front of the class, so I had the honor of meeting Mrs. Johnson, a very nice grandmotherly looking woman who taught public reading skills to students at South Margarita, in the Panama, Canal Zone. She only taught once a week; or to put it more precisely, she taught me once a week. She had a real gift in making each child under her tutelage feel like they were the only one that she taught; such was her dedication to eac
The Martha and Mary event
The family was close to Jesus and loved him deeply. He ate with them, possibly healed others in their presence and loved them in return. Love is a strong tie between friends, just like David and Jonathan’s friendship was portrayed in the ‘Book of kings’. Like all things in life, things change, something happens, which turns everything upside down. So Lazarus became ill and Martha and Mary, sent word to Jesus of his state. Hoping of course that he would come an
The River
The life of the heart is a deep mystery. The center of our emotions, deep and complex; well perhaps the complexity becomes less chaotic the closer one gets to the true ‘heart’ of the matter
It is thirst that is the driving force, or perhaps hunger can be a fitting metaphor as well, which leads us to our endless searching and the restlessness that that can flow from that; which causes so much misery. The heart is always seeking something, perhaps the deepest thirst is for someone
Life is the teacher
It had been six months since Linda and I took Janet out for dinner. We try to get together twice a year for this and Janet looks forward to it so much, that she will bring the date and time up constantly, as the day gets nearer. It is understandable, living in a motel as she has for the past six years can be confining. Though she does get out for shopping and doctors visits. This time she had a hankering for Pizza, and one of her favorite places to go is a restaurant
Swept away
Everything looked so small from the great height of the aerial view of the tsunami, as it made its way through the city, carrying much of it in its wake. I could not believe that I was watching the destruction and so much loss of life as it was happening. I had to keep reminding myself that this is not a movie, but in the massive amount of debris were people dying horribly and others watching as their possessions and perhaps loved ones were being swept away. I saw trucks pushe
Purpose
Inner pain is a far from rare experience for humans. Being self-aware comes with a high cost that often causes the inner self, or soul or consciousness to bleed. Perhaps our first step towards being unique personalities with a personal perspective starts when we first experience pain. For it is then, when we are torn away from the union with the parent, when we come to the knowledge that we are naked and rush to hide from the stares of others. For the inward self is private and
Ashes (Ash Wednesday)
To think of ash, is to enter into the reality of endings, absurdity and temporality; bringing to mind that everything in life that we often work and strive for, is in reality a dead end, a waste of time and even if truth be told, if actually thought about, not worth the effort. I think of the ash fallout after an atomic bomb has left devastation in its wake. People, going about their business, driving, working, eating and laughing and planning; all suddenly ended, in a f
A veteran from Iraq
It was one of those wonderful Georgia days in mid-February, which resembled more a day in spring than one in the middle of winter. Bright sun, no clouds in the sky, a wind yes, but not very cold; just a very nice, slightly bracing day, mood elevating, just like spring. I got off at the Turner Hill exit here in Conyers, Ga.; it is the turn off for Stonecrest Mall. It is a large mall, which is like all the others and has a great many stores that have grown up around it. I
The figurine
I am not sure exactly how many people have suffered abuse when children; I would however think that the number is very high. There is verbal abuse, sexual and of course there is physical violence that the very young have to often endure. Young children simply adapt to whatever is in their environment and it can become normal, no matter how painful that reality is. Some, again I have no numbers, but I do know some personally, who seem to be able to overcome their painful past wit
Joy after 50
(3rd talk)
When I was young in the 60’s, there was a saying; “Don’t trust anyone over thirty”. Older people were not to be trusted, they were out of touch. Such a saying in retrospect shows of course the naïveté of youth, which is understandable of course, it is a stage that must be grown through; for that is what maturity is all about. Also, the present generation of young people has something to tell the older generation, for they can also see through many facades that cul
Never too late
There are different types of beauty that are often noticed by individuals but perhaps ignored by the overall culture. There is the vibrant beauty of youth, which is of course noticed by our culture and idolized to the point of actually causing harm. Young men and women with an inner glow and vibrancy that perhaps only those who passed through that phrase actually notice and learn to admire without regret or envy that their time for being part of the younger generation is no
Diminishment
There is saying that goes like this: “Pain is inevitable, suffering an option”. I think this is an aphorism that comes from the Buddhist tradition. I believe that this saying can be used as an interesting point of mediation from time to time. For it is true, that no one can escape pain in life and our attitude towards suffering will dictate its effects on our lives. It invites us to a conscious response towards existence and leads us away from being a victim.
As we age we beco
Another way
How many times must a new beginning be sought (?),
self consciousness has its own struggle,
awareness can cause torture to those who seek another way,
yet at times cannot.
The real enemy is cynicism and despair,
the strength needed to withstand this human curse
goes beyond rational thought,
or logic.
Cellular faith is needed
in the face of the absurd
both in nature
and especially in humans.
inner struggle
heart of stone
desiring to love,
the more I seek
the harder my heart becomes,
what is it I fear
in this inner struggle,
perhaps a death to the inner pain
and a fear of joy?
Loss (a talk)
Scott Peck started his book “The road less traveled” with a quote: “life is difficult”. I found this first sentence strangely comforting when I read that book in my early thirties. Perhaps it made me feel less unique, or alone in my own struggles with life. For the truth is, life is difficult. Something we all know. Everyone, if they live long enough will in different degrees have difficulties in life. The one that is the most life altering is of course the death of those we h
