Having grown up in Maine and still spending a lot of vacation time in the Pine Tree State I am continually struck by the beauty of the land and God’s creative work. I am told that about 90% of the state is trees and since Maine is a very large state I can assure you that even if the 90% number isn’t totally accurate there are still one heck of a lot trees! One really interesting phenomena occurs when you have that much land around that isn’t developed. Without ground lights from cities, houses and cars the stars in the sky just seem to radiate from the sky at night. The brilliance of the stars shines in a way that is not possible to see from an urban location. I’m not all that great at recognizing the various constellations but I am truly overwhelmed by the number of these stars and their clarity.
Lawrence Krauss writes about the Universe in “The Fifth Essence” and notes that there on average about 100 billion stars in every galaxy. And in the visible universe there are 100 billion galaxies!!!! Now my math skills aren’t strong enough to get the total number of stars but what I do get is that whatever my concept of God is - it isn’t big enough. The fact that we are here and we live in this Eden of earth tells me God has touched all our lives in a very special way that I can never hope to fully appreciate or understand. But every night when I look up at those stars I know that God engages us in a truly special way.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Yesterday a blue crocus, lustrous in all its glory, popped up in the mulch outside our house. Not much else in the Spring department has happened, but I take that crocus as an absolute sure sign that Spring, the real deal, is only days away. This burst of growth got me to thinking about the absolute magic and wonder of this cycle of life we see around us every day and, maybe because it is so huge and we’re so close to this miracle, we end up taking it for granted.
I was on vacation on Florida’s west coast a few years ago and had the fabulous joy of watching the sun set every evening. When the sun sets over the Gulf of Mexico the horizon is clear, and the play of light from the setting sun is truly a breathtaking experience. An interesting human phenomenon occurs as well. People come from all over to stand on the beach and watch this spectacle unfold. Every night (when the weather is clear!) hundreds of people will trek to the beach and reverently watch the sunset. I watched a man come every evening with his trumpet and play taps as the sun slowly sank into the horizon. A magical time.
Spring is coming – it speaks to new life, renewed life in ourselves and the world around us. All we have to do is engage ourselves to see, hear, smell, taste, and touch the experience.
I’m not sure where I came across this, but I’ll share…
The man whispered, “God, speak to me”
and a meadowlark sang.
But, the man did not hear.
So the man yelled, “God, speak to me”
and the thunder rolled across the sky.
But, the man did not listen.
The man looked around and said,
“God let me see you.”
And a star shined brightly.
But the man did not see.
And, the man shouted,
“God show me a miracle.”
And, a life was born.
But, the man did not notice.
So, the man cried out in despair,
“Touch me God,
and let me know
you are here.”
Whereupon, God reached down
and touched the man.
But, the man brushed
the butterfly away
and walked on.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
It’s difficult to pick up a newspaper, turn on the TV or radio these days and not be assaulted by the steady barrage of bad news about the economy. As the Dow now falls below 7000, less than half what it was a year ago, the reality of this news hits home to all who are trying to meet monthly financial obligations or trying to save for a retirement that every day looks more distant. I suspect that most folks greet this news with some measure of fear– that life as we have known it is going to change, and the concern is it won’t be for the better.
All of which got me to thinking about the importance of living in the now, not some idealistic future world we can construct, but living in today. Appreciating, truly appreciating, the here and now of today is a wonderful gift that we all need to develop. It allows us to see gratitude as an essential ingredient in achieving happiness in one’s life. I would be the first to admit that this is really hard for me to do because I know I spend way too much time worrying about the future. This economy points out all too well that the moment of now is the moment that is the most satisfying of life and worrying about the future only robs us of the magic in the present.
Huston Smith is an 89 year old author and Christian teacher who has spent almost his entire life exploring religion and God’s presence in our lives. Even though his body is frail and his hearing almost gone, he retains an amazing zest for life that is contagious. A former roommate from college described Huston as waking up the same way every morning- -he would “sit bolt upright in bed, stretch out his arms, and yell ‘Yes!’. ” What a great way to embrace the day and ultimately to embrace life. What do you say tomorrow we all wake up, stretch out our arms and say “YES!”
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
The recent inauguration ceremony of President Barack Obama was by any measure a truly extraordinary event. The fact that almost 2 million people could gather together as one group in Washington, D.C., and not have one arrest strikes me as almost beyond belief. It also says something about the potential that our country has to come together in common purpose in spite of ours differences and be united in spirit and direction. We sure have some major problems to solve, but we got a real sign on Jan 20th that we are capable of making some great things happen.
The day of the inauguration, our staff at Christopher Place Employment Academy was telling me that the reaction of the men there during the ceremony was truly inspiring. When people at the ceremony were asked to stand, all the CP men stood as well. The emotion for men and others present in the dining room was overwhelming. The men were taking pictures of the television screen to try and capture the moment. Everyone felt an enormous pride to be an American.
When I came to Catholic Charities almost 35 years ago, one of the first people I met, and was privileged to spend some time with before she passed, was Miss Anita Williams. I am told that Miss Williams was the first African American professional social worker to work for a Catholic Charities agency in this country. She worked with Monsignor Leonard, the first director of Catholic Charities here in Baltimore, and was very involved with providing assistance during the Great Depression. She often attended meetings with Monsignor Leonard for Depression-related Charitable Assistance work. The meetings were chaired by Albert Hutzler at his downtown department store. Because of segregation, Mr. Hutzler had to come to the door to greet Miss Williams and Monsignor Leonard and lead them through the store to the meeting site. Miss Williams recounted all this with no anger or bitterness, but rather exuded a calm and peace about herself that clearly conveyed that her sense of worth and well being wasn’t dictated by anyone else, but rather came from within. By the way, when Hutzler’s was finally integrated in 1965, Albert Hutzler greeted Miss Williams at the front door and she became the first African American to be a customer of Hutzler’s Department Store.
As I think about President Obama, the Christopher Place men, and Miss Williams I can’t help but be struck by the passage of time and the great potential for hope that lies within each and every one of us .I know Miss Williams is looking down from heaven today with hope and confidence about our future. Do you have hope for our future? If you do, please share…. Hal
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Volunteers and donors are truly a special blessing to Catholic Charities. They are the blessing that, year in and year out, gives our works of service the heart and soul that make it so special. In these days of economic troubles, I am reminded so much of one of our wonderful donors and volunteers, Julius Westheimer. “Westy” as he was affectionately known, provided investment advice in his own business and was a regular contributor to WBAL radio and television. One of the things that made Westy so popular was his very practical straightforward advice not only about investing, but also about the importance of leading a fully engaged life of which investing was a part, not the centerpiece.
Now that many of us are looking at losses in our retirement funds, it’s tempting to start pulling back in our charitable giving and adopting much more of a self -preservation outlook. I suspect if Westy were here today, he would be reminding all of us about the importance of caring for others in this time of need. Not just because they need it, but because we need it too.
A recent article in SCIENCE MAGAZINE (21 March 2008: Vol. 319. no. 5870, pp. 1687 - 1688) reported on a very interesting study by Elizbeth Dunn (University of British Columbia), Lara B. Aknin (University of British Columbia), and Michael I. Norton (Harvard Business School). The authors gave a group of students either a 5 or 20 dollar bill and the guidelines that they could spend it on themselves or for others. Interesting enough, those who gave the money to charity were happier than those who spent the money on themselves. A variation of the study was repeated with two other groups relating to bonuses they received at work. Again there was a direct correlation between the personal happiness of the individuals that correlated with the amount of money spent on others rather than the size of the bonus.
Sounds like the old adage ‘it’s more blessed to give than to receive” is still true. I would bet that Westy would endorse that thought and the study’s results. Do you have any personal experiences confirming this study?? If you’re comfortable doing so, please share….
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Well, here’s a place I never thought I’d be, a techno-challenged person writing a blog. I’ve been told by our communications director, Kerrie Burch DeLuca, that blogs are a great way to communicate in this day and age and I really need to do one. So here I am setting forth into this new world of sharing some thoughts and observations about life around us, trying to strike a resonant chord with anyone who’s interested enough to want to read this.
Yesterday was my mother’s 94th birthday and I spent part of the day with her at the dementia care facility where she resides hoping to help her have some sense of celebration for the event. As the dementia has progressed, her level of peace within herself and her surroundings has grown while her grasp of the world around her slowly slips away. She had no inkling that this was her birthday but she was at peace anyway. Her verbal communication consists of what the staff call “word salad”, a jumble of words and mutterings that mostly make no sense to an outsider, but by voice inflection and gestures, she clearly understands what she is saying.
While I sat with her and attempted to encourage her to eat, I listened to about five minutes of word salad which was suddenly interrupted by the crystal clear words, “God loves me.” I immediately responded that God did indeed love her, to which she responded with more “word salad.” I got to thinking how wonderful God’s phrase is for all of us to hear and feel. It is bringing much peace to her heart (and mine in the process).
I first got to thinking about the whimsy of it all, mostly word salad interrupted by those three powerful words of comfort and peace and how important it is to actually be listening to all that is going on around us throughout the day. If we’re not observant, we can really miss the important stuff. Finally, what a blessing it is to know that God truly does love each and every one of us. No matter our life or our circumstances, God is there for each and every one of us. I know God is there for my mother. Do you feel God’s presence as well? If you feel comfortable doing so, please share. Hal
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
You can learn more about us on our website, http://www.catholiccharities-md.org.
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s mission is threefold:
We
1.) provide healing and care to those in need at programs for vulnerable children and adults throughout Maryland,
2.) educate people to social awareness and motivate them to act, and
3.) advocate for public policy that ensures a just society.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
