January, 2008
January 25, 2008
Gratitude
Is there someone whom you’ve wanted to thank but never get around to it? Do it now. Trust me. Do it now.
A few days ago we buried one of our great ones. Sister Joan Mary Wadsworth died unexpectedly and young. She was only 71. By nun standards that is barely middle age! Joanie, as many of us called her, was widely loved for many things, but especially for her laughter and listening.
At the wake, she was surrounded by people who ran hospitals, schools, boards, huge departments of one kind or another, as well as cooks, cleaners, chalk board washers, and the rest of us with whom she always took time to listen to and laugh with as well. We were all equals.
I told Joan Mary many times that she and her friend and teaching partner, Sister Michelle, taught me how to teach even though by the time I met them both I had graduated from college and had been teaching for two years.
It felt good to know that I had told her and made me wonder who else I may need to thank before it’s too late. A huge list started to grow in my mind. Thankfully my heart was pierced with this thought – gratitude is a way of life, not only something to check off a list. I should be grateful. So, I now say to you, don’t just do it now, BE it now. Trust me. BE it now.
Possumus
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January 21, 2008
Beauty or Ugliness
I was almost home when my pocket rang. There on the other end of the phone was my friend, Sister Rosita, calling from Kenya. As I pulled to a stop along a snow-piled curb, tugged away my hat, scarf and mittens, Rosita, back in Kenya, stepped outside to catch a warm evening breeze.
I could hear birds singing in the background. Rosita chuckled at two kittens chasing each other up and down a nearby tree. I asked if she was safe. “Yes,” she replied, “but pray for us.”
When I hear Rosita and our two St. Joseph Workers are safe, I also hear in their voices the beauty that surrounds them. If they were threatened, I would not imagine the same beauty. Each time Rosita calls now, I steel myself, which will it be: safety and beauty or threatened and ugly?
We can pretend that the Kenyan situation is a world away, but it’s not, it’s here in our lives as well—maybe not as obviously violent, but in many cases, just as harmful. Think about it, how often in one day do we hear or see the negative or violent side of things? How do we respond—with another negative thought or feeling? What does that do to us? Negativity keeps piling up. How do we live as a result? What kind of energy ends up in our interactions with family? Colleagues? Neighbors? Strangers?
Do you ever steel yourself when you see one person or another come your way? How is that different from what’s happening in Kenya right now?
What kind of a world do we want — beauty and safety or threatened and ugly? It is becoming so clear to me that we can choose. Imagine if we all chose beauty.
Possumus.
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January 18, 2008
Government of the People
Peace House in Minneapolis is a favorite lunch stop for me. It’s a prayer community for people who are homeless. When I visit, I am their guest. There were about 50 people there the other day. The prayer/reflection before lunch was about the presidential election. Folks were right on top of the debates. Every person spoke. I heard as many different opinions as people present. One fellow said, “I read about each candidate and I stay on top of what they are promising. I will vote in the primary and the election, but in the end I will still be homeless. What difference does it really make?”
Another fellow said the difference begins with each of us. If we don't reach out and help another human being, how can we expect the government to help? After all, aren’t we the government?
No one in that room would allow another human being to be homeless, hungry, or sick without care. It felt good to hear how an authentic government would respond to our neighbors across the country. You hear our Sisters of St. Joseph say that we work to give voice to the voiceless; these are some of the voices. Perhaps we now need to add, “Please listen.”
Possumus
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January 15, 2008
Time Travel
Time travel exists! Wasn't it only a week since I last blogged? Imagine my surprise when I saw the last date I logged in was December 22!
The speed of the last three weeks pushes an urgent button for me to get a grip on what I can do to make a positive impact now. I spent New Years Eve contemplating all I could do. Yikes! Even that was two weeks ago!
Okay, I'm committed to using less water. That feels good, but it's not enough. I can do more, a lot more.
Yesterday the grocer asked me, “Paper or plastic?” Either way I know my answer sets the environment back. Paper is a greater pollutant to produce while plastic does not decompose. The answer is neither. I need to bring my own. I can do that. So that's two things. I can do more.
I can put out into the universe a positive, peace-filled attitude, in my everyday interactions as well as thoughts for the world. That will help, too. Now, I'll integrate these three until they become complete habit, then I will add more.
There are triggers everywhere alerting us to the need to change. We can find the signals in the environment, attitudes, health or lack thereof, fragile relationships, and on and on. If we each do our part, when we find ourselves time-traveling ahead a few weeks or months, the world in which we land may be a world already filled with the knowing that hope for all life is within reach because our behaviors actually did change the future!
Possumus
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