I am in the midst of a 15-week course studying the theology and teaching of the Second Vatican Council held from 1962 to 1965. We started the course by looking at the state of the Church in the decades preceding the Second Vatican Council. It was there that I heard the expression “Hierarchical and Collegial.” […]
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I was on a Zoom call for work and one of the participants had a coffee mug with the phrase, “Grace over Guilt.” She said it was her Pilates motto because as a daily self-practice, Pilates, has its moments of blame and dissatisfaction. These moments carry with it a level guilt. Excessive negative emotional energy
Thich Nhat Hanh recently passed away. He has been a source of inspiration for me and my blog. He was a Buddhist Monk from Vietnam who advocated for peace across many platforms. I previously used his quote, “Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, and sometimes your smile is the source of your joy”
Recently, the father-in-law of my boss passed away. I have never met the man. In fact, because of Covid, I have yet to meet my boss. In expressing my condolences, I asked how I could honor his legacy. I was thinking along the lines of a donation to his favorite charity, but instead my boss
Collective effervescence is a sociological concept coined by Émile Durkheim. According to Durkheim, a community or society may at times come together and simultaneously communicate the same thought and participate in the same action. They become swept up into a world entirely different. He found that people within a group felt united in a more
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“Try Not to Suck” became the rallying cry of the Chicago Cubs during their 2016 World Series Championship run, their first one in 108 years. It started in September 2015 when Javy Baez made his debut with the Cubs. Manager Joe Maddon, in an effort to relax the youngster, set that as his expectation. I
Several years ago, I was about to remove a vine like weed from our mailbox garden area. The ‘weed’ had started to coil around our street sign. However, our youngest daughter asked, “why not leave it alone and see what happens.” Today, the downstream effect of listening to my daughter, is a street sign deeply
Again, in my process of building a blog, things have come together in an uncanny way. The idea for this blog was suggested by a dear friend and longtime blog subscriber. While his words gave the blog its start, I attended a work seminar which provided additional insight. There is the adage that ‘first impressions
Walls divide, bridges connect. Walls create sides, bridges span gaps. We need unity, not division. We need to gather, not to scatter. From politics to race, even the science behind the pandemic and climate change, we are a divided society. There is a level of anxiousness and we are in a state of unrest. Many
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My one word for 2021 is “Presence.” Selecting a word for this new year was a challenge. I reflected upon exiting 2020 and entering 2021 to contemplate what word inspires me. I also considered where I am in my life and how can I continue to make a difference. By definition, presence is the state of
