Midday Prayer Experience

It is not every workday that I find myself sitting in a large, Cathedral like church listening to hymns played on a magnificent pipe organ. Yesterday, however, was such a day. I went to St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church which is not too far from my office. It is a very traditional church that walks the middle path between the “old days” and the present. In addition to the organ recital, I experienced a group rosary, the Angelus, and my attempts to identify all the statues in the church. They have a noon mass every day and yesterday my son was the presider. As I watched him I was humbled and amazed because he is my son. On the day of his ordination a few weeks ago my 83 year old mother told another priest that “she never expected her grandson to be a priest. She thought it would his Dad”. Nick performed his duties like he had done them a thousand times. He even gave a short homily on turning the other cheek and practicing compassion. After Mass I had to wait for him a little while because someone wanted him to hear their confession. Such is the life of a priest. When he finally became available we went out for lunch where we had a great conversation about the Church, priesthood, and what lay people want and expect from the Church and their priests. I gave him my best fatherly advice on how to be a good priest. It had been a while since Nick and I had some quality one on one time so I was very happy I had this opportunity before he moves to Elizabethtown to begin his new assignment.

A Day In My Life

Today I took a long lunch to attend the noon mass at St. Martin of Tours Church. It was my son’s last Mass there before beginning his new assignment in Elizabethtown later this week. Yesterday I wished both of my sons a Happy Father’s Day. One son is the father of my granddaughter and my other son is now a spiritual father for others.

My wife was under the weather this morning so I got up and came to work alone. I thought I was capable of doing this but now I’m not sure. I made my morning coffee and enjoyed a cup while I was still at home. Then, per my usual routine, I made a cup to go for my travel mug. I didn’t realize until I was in the parking garage that I didn’t drink any of it on my commute. Normally my wife and I ride to work together and she hands me the travel mug. Today she wasn’t there to do that. I guess I am no longer able to think for myself.

Tonight I having a solo dinner with my granddaughter after I pick her up at her karate school. I wonder how long it will take her to try to take me into something? I wonder how long I can resist her smiling face and sweet voice? Maybe we will just talk about life as we eat a Happy Meal. We will see....

The Eightfold Path To Enlightenment

1. Right View
2. Right Intention
3. Right Speech
4. Right Action
5. Right Livelihood
6. Right Effort
7. Right Mindfulness
8. Right Concentration

These are part of a Buddhist teaching called the Eightfold Path to Enlightenment. In my mind they are applicable to any faith tradition. They teach us to see things as they really are as well as encourage us to always have pure intentions without hidden agendas. We should practice right speech by always telling the truth. Our actions should be for the building up of others and not to break them down. Right livelihood means to do work that is honorable. Our actions and livelihood should be given proper effort. This means to do what is necessary and needed without over doing it. Right mindfulness is being where we are and doing what we are doing and right concentration is giving our activity the thoughtfulness it deserves. If we do all these things consistently we will be enlightened.

God Is Awake

Have courage for the great sorrows in life, and patience for the small ones. And when you have laboriously accomplished your daily tasks, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.
-Victor Hugo

This one of my favorite quotes. Victor Hugo lived in France in the 1800’s and is the author of Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. We should all post this quote on our wall as a reminder to ourselves that no matter what we may have to deal with during the daytime, God is always awake, and we should allow ourselves to go to sleep each night in peace. We all will have great sorrows in our lives sooner or later and it will be a rare day that does not require some level of patience. Many of us fret and obsess and work ourselves into a frenzy worrying about our problems. In my experience life takes care of itself and it generally unfolds as it should. It is not a bad thing to live your life as though everything you need is dependent on your personal efforts to meet those needs. I believe such effort is rewarded. At the same time it has also been my experience that everything I need seems to come my way eventually. Some people do not think this is true because they confuse their needs with their wants. I have a little Zen garden on my desk. Two small Buddha’s sit in the garden with a small sign that reads “What, at this moment, is lacking”? A former teacher and friend of mine, who was here a few weeks ago for the Dalai Lama’s appearance in Louisville, once said, “The moment is as perfect as it can be”. If we live in the moment and appreciate its fullness, we will often realize that nothing is lacking and the moment is as perfect as it can be. As I write these thoughts I am sitting at my desk. Outside the temperature is approaching a heat index of 100 degrees. I am sitting here in air conditioning listening to Miles Davis. I could be outside tarring a roof or doing hard manual labor that would be very difficult for an old guy like me. This moment seems very good to me. Admittedly, sometimes at night when God is awake, he gets lonely and wakes me up to talk. I’m not always in the mood but I am grateful for all the nights I sleep deeply and God watches over me.

Hanging On And Letting Go

I once wrote that balance is found in the tension of opposites. Balance in life can be found at the crossroads of hanging on and letting go. Unlike the famous bluesman, Robert Johnson, who made a deal with the devil “down at the crossroads”, our deal is with life, not the devil. Life is a continuous balancing act. We are formed into the people we are from all of the experiences we’ve had and how we have handled those experiences. Along the way we have acquired values and beliefs that guide us as we go forward. It is these values and beliefs that we hang on to as we are tested in life. What we need to let go of are our insecurities, our fears, our obsessions, our compulsions, and our immature impulses. Finding balance in life is not easy, even for the most psychologically healthy. In addition to hanging on and letting go, we also need to look at the activities of our life and how we spend our time. Many of us have been told by our mothers at one time or another that “we’re burning the candle at both ends”. All work and no play not only makes Johnny a dull boy, it can make him a stressed out and unbalanced one as well. Work is not the only culprit. A life where we are always “on the run” should be balanced with leisure and rest. Interaction with other people should be balanced with solitude and “me” time. When one is balanced, one is living a centered life. When you are centered within yourself, and your life is balanced, you will have peace of mind and the storms of life will not unravel you.

Dinner With A Princess

Last night I had dinner with a princess.  Her name is Chloe and she’s my granddaughter.  It began when I picked her up at karate school.  As soon as she saw me walk into the school I could see her excitement.  She yelled “Paw Paw”, then ran and jumped in my arms.  It truly warmed an old man’s heart.  I must be honest.  No one else gets this excited when I walk into a room.  I suspect some get excited when I leave a room.  We then headed to Dairy Queen where we feasted on Cheeseburgers and Blizzards.  Surprisingly  my blood sugar was not in the danger zone this morning.  It is difficult to put into words what it’s like to be a grandparent and to feel the love I have for my granddaughter as well as the love she has for me.  I can no longer imagine life before Chloe.  Parenthood is a long and mostly thankless job.  I have been a parent for 35 years.  I think I am done but it’s a job that is really never complete.  If you are lucky, being a grandparent is the reward for your years of toil raising your children.  My granddaughter has brought me nothing but joy.  Yes, I do worry about her and I am concerned about the world she must inhabit.  As long as I am alive I hope to be a positive influence on her.  I think she already is the only child in her class who know who Jerry Garcia, Buddha, and the Dalai Lama are.  She is a happy and joyful child with lots of enthusiasm for life if not for going to school and church.  When I am tired and weary, she is a boost of energy for me.  This is not to say that I don’t need a nap after she leaves my home.

Enthusiasm

I wish I had as much enthusiasm on a Monday as I do on a Friday.  The week begins with a sigh and ends with a sigh.  I often feel overwhelmed on a Monday as the coming work week looms large in my mind.  It’s even worse when I know I have to work on Saturday like I do this week.  When the work week finally ends I feel a great sense of relief.  I have been going through this same pattern for approximately 40+ years.  In recent years I thought it was due to my age.  However, I work with a lot of young people and they seem to go through the same pattern.  I have also noticed that it doesn’t seem to matter what type of work a person does or how much money they make.  I guess at the end of the day work is work.  I don’t really like feeling this way.  I wish I had enthusiasm for all of my life.  Someone once said that nothing of value was ever accomplished without enthusiasm.  I can believe this.  It makes me wonder what I am accomplishing, if anything, with so little enthusiasm.  It also makes me wonder what in life I am enthusiastic about.  Sometimes when I am part of a conversation where people are complaining about their jobs I ask them “If you could do anything you want to make a living, what would it be”?  Most of the time I receive blank stares.  Many people do not know what they want to do.  They only know they don’t want to do whatever it is they are currently doing.  Today I encourage you to think about two things.  What makes you enthusiastic?  What would you like to be when you grow up?  My guess is that what you want to be is what you are enthusiastic about.  Finally, what can you do about it?