Tuesday, May 6, 2008
In Memoriam
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Spring Is In the Air
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Honoring, Remembering
April is National Crime Victims Memorial month. For those who have lost loved ones through violence, a time designated for remembering can be important and a reassurance that the broader community acknowledges that grief is never completely swept away by the passage of time. For a while now I have been wondering what it is about April in particular that makes it rife with tragic events -- isn't mid to late April when so many violent tragedies have struck? The bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma, the stand off in Waco at the David Karesh compound, Columbine, Virginia Tech?? Why? Why this time? If you have any ideas, post a comment. If there is anyone you would like to remember during this National Crime Victims Memorial month, list their name in a comment.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
The Lingering Hours
Some of my fondest memories are of times spent around a table, sipping coffee, losing track of time in the midst of good company and conversation. The tables may be different, the faces change from time to time, but there is a universal quality to the time -- lingering hours -- where we pause, where we stay present, where we listen and share new stories and old tales, philosophical speculations and only-in-that-moment humor. In the lingering hours tasks are laid aside, agendas lost, and watches forgotten. Such times open up the possibility for rising to numinousness, when all present are fully present in the moment, attentive, engaged, open, free, connected one with all present, all with each one present. This is communion through and true. Cherish lingering hours.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Flutter Ballet
Monday, March 24, 2008
Progress Seasoned with Humility
Where would we be without good friends? I was talking with my good friend, Sharon (on the left in the above photo) the other day. In the course of our conversation, I shared with her that I had started this blog -- she just started laughing. She reminded me that she knew me way back when -- when I wanted next to nothing to do with computers, when I thought computers were tearing away at the fabric of community, when I would have rather directed a second week of vacation Bible school rather than get online. Ah, thanks be for Sharon who knows me well enough to know my foibles but cares for me in spite of them. These are the kind of friends that keep us humble. I suppose I will never be one to rush to acquire new technology but eventually I can be pulled into this century. Computers are indeed valuable tools. Computers may provide a modicum of social networking. Computers make many aspects of life a little easier to handle. This progress is to be celebrated. But less progress get too puffed up, it helps to remember that there are still some things that a computer cannot replace -- emoticons fall short of a genuine face to face smile; e-mails lack the rich personality of a handwritten letter; and my computer has yet to give me a hug! So Sharon helps keep me humble. Who helps keep the computer humble?



