Who You Are Makes A Difference

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Preventing Worry Nests

That the birds of worry and care

fly about your head

This you cannot change

But that they build nests in your hair

This you can prevent.

Chinese Proverb

Today I replace my worry with

trust and faith in my ability

to use my resources to

face whatever life brings me.

Wings

Alcohol gave me wings to fly,

then it took away the sky.

Cup of Coffee

From Gerry Straub's Blog:

Cup of Coffee

Each day needs to be a pilgrimage

into my own heart.
“This day is yours, Lord,”

I say each day upon rising.

Yet, before I even finish

my first cup of coffee,

the day has become mine.
God never shouts to be heard over our noise.

Only silence gives God a chance to speak.
The soul that waits on God,

patiently and unhurriedly,

will eventually be filled
with the realization he or she
is infinitely loved.

from Thoughts of a Blind Beggar

St. Peter Regalado

St. Peter Regalado
(1390-1456)

Peter lived at a very busy time. The Great Western Schism (1378-1417) was settled at the Council of Constance (1414-1418).
France and England were fighting the Hundred Years’ War, and in 1453 the Byzantine Empire was completely wiped out by the loss of Constantinople to the Turks.
At Peter’s death the age of printing had just begun in Germany, and Columbus's arrival in the New World was less than 40 years away.

Peter led the friars by his example.
A special love of the poor and the sick characterized Peter. Miraculous stories are told about his charity to the poor.
For example, the bread never seemed to run out as long as Peter had hungry people to feed.
Throughout most of his life, Peter went hungry; he lived only on bread and water.

St.Peter was an effective leader of the friars
because he did not become ensnared
in anger over the sins of others.

Peter helped sinning friars rearrange
the priorities in their lives and
dedicate themselves to living the gospel
of Jesus Christ as they had vowed.

This patient correction is
an act of charity available
to all Franciscans,

not just to superiors.

Seeing The Good

The beauty of my soul shines in many ways.
The greatest of these is love.
In the spirit of loving kindness,
every day a little ugliness is removed;
my perspective on life grows broader and deeper.

In the spirit of love, my life become fresher,
my soul humbler;
evil seems to disappear, and
I learn to distinguish sinner from the sin.

Do I see the good in people?

Safeguard The Present

If the past is unredeemable,

and the future unpredictable,

what more practical course is open

than to safeguard the present by

constant rememberance of the divine?
Paul Brunton

Notebooks

www.gratefulness.org

Kilroy Was Here!

In 1946 the American Transit Association, through its radio program, 'Speak to America,' sponsored a nationwide contest to find the REAL Kilroy, offering a prize of a real trolley car to the person who could prove himself to be the genuine article.

Almost 40 men stepped forward to make that claim, but only James Kilroy from Halifax, Massachusetts had evidence of his identity.

Kilroy was a 46-year old shipyard worker during the war. He worked as a checker at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy. His job was to go around and check on the number of rivets completed. Riveters were on piecework and got paid by the rivet.

Kilroy would count a block of rivets and put a check mark in semi-waxed lumber chalk, so the rivets wouldn’t be counted twice. When Kilroy went off duty, the riveters would erase the mark.

Later on, an off-shift inspector would come through and count the rivets a second time resulting in double pay for the riveters.

One day Kilroy's boss called him into his office. The foreman was upset about all the wages being paid to riveters and asked him to investigate. It was then that he realized what had been going on.

The tight spaces he had to crawl in to check the rivets didn't lend themselves to lugging around a paint can and brush, so Kilroy decided to stick with the waxy chalk. He continued to put his checkmark on each job he inspected, but added KILROY WAS HERE in king-sized letters next to the check, and eventually added the sketch of the chap with the long nose peering over the fence and that became part of the Kilroy message. Once he did that the riveters stopped trying to wipe away his marks.

Ordinarily the rivets and chalk marks would have been covered up with paint. With war on, however, ships were leaving the Quincy Yard so fast that there wasn't time to paint them.

As a result, Kilroy's inspection 'trademark' was seen by thousands of servicemen who boarded the troop ships the yard produced. His message apparently rang a bell with the servicemen, because they picked it up and spread it all over Europe and the South Pacific. Before the war's end, 'Kilroy' had been here, there, and everywhere on the long haul to Berlin and Tokyo.

To the unfortunate troops outbound in those ships, however, he was a complete mystery; all they knew for sure was that some jerk named Kilroy had 'been there first.' As a joke, U.S. servicemen began placing the graffiti wherever they landed, claiming it was already there when they arrived.

Kilroy became the U.S. super-GI who had always 'already been' wherever GIs went. It became a challenge to place the logo in the most unlikely places imaginable (it is said to be atop Mt. Everest, the Statue of Liberty, the underside of the Arch De Triumphe, and even scrawled in the dust on the moon.)

And, as the war went on, the legend grew. Underwater demolition teams routinely sneaked ashore on Japanese-held islands in the Pacific to map the terrain for the coming invasions by U.S. troops (and thus, presumably, were the first GI's there). On one occasion, however, they reported seeing enemy troops painting over the Kilroy logo! In 1945, an outhouse was built for the exclusive use of Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill at the Potsdam conference.

The first person inside was Stalin, who emerged and asked his aide (in Russian), 'Who is Kilroy?'...

To help prove his authenticity in 1946, James Kilroy brought along officials from the shipyard and some of the riveters. He won the trolley car, which he gave to his nine children as a Christmas gift and set it up as a playhouse in the Kilroy front yard in Halifax, Massachusetts.

New Strength

May the sun bring you new energy by day,

may the moon softly restore you by night,

may the rain wash away your worries,

may the breeze blow new strength into your being.
Apache Blessing

www.gratefulness.org

Borders

The borders between love and hate, evil and good, beauty and ugliness, heroism and cowardice, care and neglect, guilt and blamelessness are mostly vague, ambiguous, and hard to discern.

It is not easy to live faithfully in a world full of ambiguities.
We have to learn to make wise choices without needing to be entirely sure.

Henri Nouwen

No Longer Lamed

Sin and death lamed me so that I could not walk in God's ways.

My sobriety and spiritual fitness free me to walk and indeed to run and leap in the way of the Gospel.

You give sight to the blind of heart:
-- in your light, I see light.

You raised up those paralyzed by sin:
-- in your love, I leap for joy.

You give life to those who were dead:
-- in your resurrection, I place all my hope.

Seeing With the Eyes of the Heart

From Henri Nouwen Society

On the Journey To Seeing With the Eyes of the Heart

written by DAVID HOOVER

Centuries ago, St. Augustine was asked why Christians performed the various spiritual practices of their faith. He responded, "We do these things to restore health to the eye of the heart, whereby God may be seen." Since I read these words many years ago, the image of seeing "with the eye of the heart" has haunted me. As have Jesus' challenging words "You have eyes to see, but do not see." And so for me, the prayer before all prayers has been the prayer of the blind man, "Lord, may I see."

Henri Nouwen points out in The Return of the Prodigal Son that in Rembrandt's picture the father is apparently almost blind. The father "recognizes his son, not with the eyes of the body, but with the inner eye of the heart." With the eye of the heart, the eye of love, the father sees deeply, and is able to recognize and release the son's true identity as his beloved son - an identity hidden beneath the crust of all the son's misguided attempts to find love and life in a "far country."

May we each allow ourselves to be seen as truly beloved in the eyes of God's love. And may we learn to see others with the eye of the heart. Then at last we will be able to live in "the house of love," wherein we can both see God's love and be God's love.

- DAVID HOOVER works for the Center for Spiritual Development in Orange, California. He is a spiritual director and workshop/retreat presenter who has presented workshops on figures in contemporary spirituality including Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, and Henri Nouwen.

HenriNouwen.org

From A Healthy Mind & Healthy Heart

Love is so exquisitely elusive.

It cannot be bought,

cannot be badgered,

cannot be hijacked.

It is available only in one rare form:

as the natural response of

a healthy mind and healthy heart.
Eknath Easwaran

Words to Live By

www.gratefulness.org

The Journey Of Commitment

Exerpt from DailyOM

Entering into a committed relationship is in fact a spiritual journey that we undertake with another person.
By being able to love and care for someone else with an open heart, we will find that we can reach a greater level of personal transformation, evolving along our path and learning powerful lessons about ourselves that we might not otherwise be able to do on our own.

Five Lessons About The Way To Treat People

1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady

During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read the last one:
"What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50's, but how would I know her name?

I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

"Absolutely, " said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say "hello."

I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

2. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain

One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960's. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance! e and put her into a taxicab.

She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached. It read:

"Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away... God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others. Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole"

3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those who serve

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.

"How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked.

"Fifty cents," replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled is hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.

"Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired.

By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient. "Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied.

The little boy again counted his coins.

"I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies. You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

4 - Fourth Important Lesson - The obstacle in Our Path

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.

The peasant learned what many of us never understand. Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

5 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister.

I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes I'll do it if it will save her." As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded.

He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away".

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

"Work like you don't need the money,
love like you've never been hurt,
and dance like you do when nobody's watching."

Accepting Yourself

You are a human being with every right to be here, learning and exploring.
To label yourself good or bad is to think too small.
What you are is a decision-maker and every moment provides you the opportunity to move in the direction of your higher self or in the direction of stagnation or degradation.
In the end, only you know the difference.
If you find yourself going into self-judgment, try to stop yourself as soon as you can and come back to center.
Know that you are not good or bad, you are simply you.

DailyOM

Fear Less

Nothing in life is to be feared,

it is only to be understood.

Now is the time to understand more,

so that we may fear less.
Madame Marie Curie

www.gratefulness.org

Did Not Recognize Him

I may seek my Creator, weeping when he is not to be found in prayer, in worship, in my daily round of activities, only to come upon him in the most unexpected of places and discover that he has been there all along.
It was I who did not recognize him.

Unifier Of Opposites -- The Color Green

Unifier Of Opposites

The Color Green

Green is a combination of the colors yellow and blue, each of which brings its own unique energy to the overall feeling of the color green.
Blue exudes calm and peace, while yellow radiates liveliness and high levels of energy.
As a marriage between these two very different colors, green is a unifier of opposites, offering both the excitement of yellow and the tranquility of blue.
It energizes blue’s passivity and soothes yellow’s intensity, inspiring us to be both active and peaceful at the same time.
It is a mainstay of the seasons of spring and summer, thus symbolizing birth and growth.

Green is one of the reasons that spring instigates so much excitement and activity.
As a visual harbinger of the end of winter, green stems and leaves shoot up and out from the dark branches of trees and the muddy ground, letting us know that it’s safe for us to come out, too.
In this way, green invites us to shed our layers and open ourselves to the outside world, not in a frantic way, but with an easygoing excitement that draws us outside just to sniff the spring air.
Unlike almost any other color, green seems to have its own smell, an intoxicating combination of sun and sky—earthy, bright, and clean.
In the best-case scenario, it stops us in our tracks and reminds us to appreciate the great experience of simply being alive.

Green balances our energy so that, in looking at it, we feel confident that growth is inevitable.
It also gives us the energy to contribute to the process of growth, to nurture ourselves appropriately, without becoming overly attached to our part in the process.
Green reminds us to let go and let nature do her work, while at the same time giving us the energy to do our own.

Today's DailyOM

The Ability To Be Happy

I hold within myself the ability to be happy.

I don't have to put expectations on others to make me feel loved or special.

I don't have to look for a new relationship to be happy.

I can find it within me.

When I try to be happy because of other people, it means they have the power to take my happiness away.

When I make myself happy, I'm the one in control of my emotions.

The only person who makes me feel a certain way is me.

12 Steps, Principles & Prayers

12 Steps, Principles & Prayers

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Serentity Prayer

God, grant me the Serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.
Taking, as He did,
this sinful world as it is
not as I would have it.
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life,
and supremely happy with Him forever in the next.
Amen.

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First Step
We admitted we were powerless over alcohol --
that our lives had become unmanageable.

Principle:
Surrender:
(Capitulation to hopelessness.)

Honesty:
After many years of denial,
recovery can begin when with one simple admission
of being powerless over alcohol --
for alcoholics and their friends and family.

Prayer:
Today I ask for help with my addiction.
Denial has kept me from seeing how powerless
I am and how my life is unmanageable
I need to learn and remember that
I have an incurable illness and that
abstinence is the only way to deal with it.
Amen.

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Second Step
Came to believe that a Power greater than
ourselves could restore us to sanity.

Principle:
Hope:
(Step 2 is the mirror image or opposite of step 1.
In step 1 we admit that alcohol is our higher power,
and that our lives are unmanageable.
In step 2, we find a different Higher Power
who we hope will bring about a return to sanity
in management of our lives.)

Faith:
It seems to be a spiritual truth,
that before a higher power can begin to operate,
you must first believe that it can.

Prayer:
I pray for an open mind so
I may come to believe in
a Power greater than myself.
I pray for humility and
the continued opportunity
to increase in my faith.
I don’t want to be crazy any more.
Amen.

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Third Step
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives
over to the care of God as we understood him

Principle:
Commitment:
(The key word in step 3 is decision.)

Commitment:
(The key word in step 3 is decision.)

Prayer:
God, I offer myself to Thee – to
build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt.
Relieve me of the bondage of self,
that I may better do Thy will.
Take away my difficulties,
that victory over them may bear witness
to those I would help of
Thy Power, Thy Love and Thy Way of life.
May I do Thy will always.
Amen.

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Fourth Step
Made a searching and fearless moral inventoryof ourselves.

Principle:
Honesty:
(An inventory of self.)

Soul Searching:
There is a saying in the 12-step programs
that recovery is a process, not an event.
The same can be said for this step --
more will surely be revealed.

Prayer:
Dear God,
It is I who has made my life a mess.
I have done it, and I cannot undo it.
My mistakes are mine, and I will begin
a searching and fearless moral inventory.
I will write down my wrongs, but
I will also include that which is good.
I prayer for the strength to compete the task.
Amen.

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Five Step
Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another
human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

Principle:
Truth:
(Candid confession to God and another human being.)

Integrity:
Probably the most difficult of all the steps to face,
Step 5 is also the one that provides the greatest opportunity
for growth.

Prayer:
Higher Power, my inventory has shown me who I am,
yet I ask for Your help in admitting my wrongs
to another person and to You.
Assure me, and be with me this Step,
for without this Step I cannot progress in my recovery.
With Your help, I can do this and I will do it.
Amen.

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Sixth Step
Were entirely ready to have God remove all
these defects of character.

Principle:
Willingness:
(Choosing to abandon defects of character.)

Acceptance:
The key to Step 6 is acceptance -- accepting
character defects exactly as they are and
becoming entirely willing to let them go.

Prayer:
Dear God, I am ready for Your help in removing
from me the defects of character which I now
realize are obstacles to my recovery.
Help me to continue being honest with myself and
guide me toward spiritual and mental health.
Amen.

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Seventh Step
Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

Principle:
Humility:
(Standing naked before God, with nothing to hide, and
asking that our flaws—in His eyes—be removed.)

Humility:
The spiritual focus of Step 7 is humility,
asking a higher power to do something that
cannot be done by self-will or mere determination.

Prayer:
My Creator, I am now willing that you should
have all of me, good and bad.
I pray that You now remove from me every single
defect of character which stands in the way
of my usefulness to You and my fellows.
Grant me strength, as I go out from here to Your bidding.
Amen.

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Eighth Step
Made a list of all persons we have harmed, and
became willing to make amends to them all.

Principle:
Reflection:
(Who have we harmed? Are we ready to amend?)

Willingness:
Making a list of those harmed before coming into
recovery may sound simple.
Becoming willing to actually make those amends
is the difficult part.

Prayer:
Higher Power, I ask for Your help in making
my list of all those I have harmed.
I will take responsibility for my mistakes, and
be forgiving to others just as You are forgiving to me.
Grant me the willingness to begin my restitution.
This I pray.
Amen.

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Ninth Step
Made direct amends to such people wherever possible,
except when to do so would injure them or others.


Principle:
Amendment:
(Making direct amends/restitution/correction, etc.)

Forgiveness:
Making amends may seem like a bitter pill to swallow,
but for those serious about recovery it can be
great medicine for the spirit and soul.

Prayer:
Higher Power, I pray fro the right attitude to make my amends,
being ever mindful not to harm others in the process.
I ask for Your guidance in making indirect amends.
Most important , I will continue to make amends by staying abstinent,
helping others, and growing in spiritual progress.
Amen.

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Tenth Step
Continued to take personal inventory and when
we were wrong promptly admitted it.

Principle:
Vigilance:
(Exercising self-discovery, honesty, abandonment,
humility, reflection and amendment on a momentary,
daily, and periodic basis.)

Maintenance:
Nobody likes to admit to being wrong.
But it is absolutely necessary to maintain
spiritual progress in recovery.

Prayer:
I pray I may continue:
To grow in understanding and effectiveness;
To take daily spot-check inventories of myself;
To correct mistakes when I make them;
To take responsibility for my actions;
To be ever aware of my negative and
self-defeating attitudes and behaviors;
To keep my willfulness in check;
To always remember I need Your help;
To keep love and tolerance of others as my code;
And to continue in daily prayer how I can
best serve You, my Higher Power.
Amen.

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Eleventh Step
Sought through prayer and meditation to improve
our conscious contact with God was we understood Him,
praying only for knowledge of His will for us
and the power to carry that out.

Principle:
Attunement:
(Becoming as one with our Father.)

Making Contact:
The purpose of Step 11 is to discover the plan
God as you understand Him has for your life.

Prayer:
Higher Power, as I understand you,
I pray to keep open my connection with You and
to keep it clear from the confusion of daily life.
Through my prayers and meditations I ask especially
for freedom from self-will, rationalization, and wishful thinking.
I pray for the guidance of correct thought and positive action.
You will, Higher Power, not mine, be done.
Amen.

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Twelfth Step
Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of
these steps, we tried to carry the message to alcoholics,
and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Principle:
Service:
(Awakening into sober usefulness.)

Service:
For those in recovery programs,
practicing Step 12 is simply "how it works."

Prayer:
Dear God,
My spiritual awakening continues to unfold.
The help I have received I shall pass on and
give to others, both in and out of the Fellowship.
For this opportunity I am grateful.
I pray most humbly to continue walking day by day
on the road of spiritual progress.
I pray for the inner strength and wisdom to
practice the principles of this way of life in all I do and say.
I need You, my friends, and the Program every hour of every day.
This is a better way to live.
Amen.

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Lord, take me where you want me to go;
Let me meet whom you want me to meet;
Tell me what you want me to say
And keep me out of your way.
Amen

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St. Francis' Prayer

Lord, make me a channel for thy peace
that where there is hatred,
I may bring love;
that where there is wrong,
I may bring a spirit of forgiveness;
that where there is discord,
I may bring harmony; that where there is error,
I may bring truth;
that where there is despair,
I may bring hope;
that where there are shadows,
I may bring light;
that where there is sadness,
I may bring joy.
Lord, grant that I may seek rather
to comfort than to be comforted;
to understand, than to be understood;
to love, than to be loved.
For it is by self-forgetting that one finds.
It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.
It is by dying that one awakens to Eternal life.
Amen

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Good Morning, This is God!
I will be handling all your probems today.
I will not need your help.
So have an awesome day.

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Meet Me In The Stairwell

'MEET ME IN THE STAIRWELL'

You say you will never forget where you were when you heard the news on September 11, 2001.
Neither will I.

I was on the 110th floor in a smoke filled room with a man who called his wife to say 'Good-Bye.'
I held his fingers steady as he dialed.
I gave him the peace to say, 'Honey, I am not going to make it, but it is OK.
I am ready to go.'

I was with his wife when he called as she fed breakfast to their children.
I held her up as she tried to understand his words and as she realized he wasn't coming home that night.

I was in the stairwell of the 23rd floor when a
woman cried out to Me for help.
'I have been knocking on the door of your heart for 50 years!' I said.
'Of course I will show you the way home - only believe in Me now.'

I was at the base of the building with the Priest
ministering to the injured and devastated souls.
I took him home to tend to his Flock in Heaven.
He heard my voice and answered.

I was on all four of those planes, in every seat, with every prayer.
I was with the crew as they were overtaken.
I was in the very hearts of the believers there, comforting and assuring them that their faith has saved them.

I was in Texas, Virginia, California, Michigan, Afghanistan.
I was standing next to you when you heard the terrible news.
Did you sense Me?

I want you to know that I saw every face.
I knew every name - though not all know Me.
Some met Me for the first time on the 86th floor.
Some sought Me with their last breath.

Some couldn't hear Me calling to them
through the smoke and flames;
'Come to Me... this way... take my hand.'
Some chose, for the final time, to ignore Me.
But, I was there.

I did not place you in the Tower that day.
You may not know why, but I do.
However, if you were there in that explosive moment in time, would you have reached for Me?

Sept. 11, 2001, was not the end of the journey
for you. But someday your journey will end.
And I will be there for you as well.
Seek Me now while I may be found.
Then, at any moment, you know you are 'ready to go.'

I will be in the stairwell of your final moments.

Speculation On The Subject Of Barabbas

What became of Barabbas? I ask but no one knows
Let off his chain he went in the brightly lit street
he could turn to the right go straight turn to the left
spin around in a circle crow cheerfully as a rooster
He the Emperor of his own head and hands
He the Governor of his own breath

I ask because in a sense I took part in the whole thing
Swayed by the crowd in front of Pilate's palace I cried
along with all the others free Barabbas free Barabbas
Everyone was shouting and if I alone has been silent
it would all have happened as it was ment to happen

So perhaps Barabbas went back to his gang of thieves
In the mountains he kills swiftly and plunders deftly
Or maybe he set up a pottery workshop
and now cleans his crime-stained hands
in the clay of creation
He's a water carrier a mule driver a moneylender
a shipowner -- a ship of his carried Paul to Corinth
or -- the possibility cannot be excluded --
he became a valued spy in Roman pay

Behold the marvel at the vertiginous play of fate
with possibilities power and smiles of fortune

By the Nazarene
was left alone
without alternative
with a steep
pathway
of blood

Zbigniew Herbert

Zbigniew Herbert (t 1998) was a spiritual leader of the anti-communist movement in Poland.

From Magnificat, Holy Week 2008, Vol. 10, No. 1

The Best Way to Self-Knowledge

Solitude, silence, and prayer are often the best ways to self-knowledge.
Not because they offer solutions for the complexity of our lives but because they bring us in touch with our sacred center, where God dwells.
That sacred center may not be analysed.
It is the place of adoration, thanksgiving, and praise.

Henri Nouwen

The Spring Rains

Expect to have hope rekindled.

Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways.

The dry seasons in life do not last.

The spring rains will come again.
Sarah Ban Breathnach

www.gratefulness.org

Smiles

What sunshine is to flowers,
smiles are to humanity.
These are but trifles, to be sure;
but, scattered along life's pathway,
the good they do is inconceivable.

Joseph Addison

www.gratefulness.org

The Ability To Choose

God grant me the serenity

To accept the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things I can,

And the wisdom to know the difference.

--Reinhold Niebuhr

Some things I can change:
the youthfulness of my spirit,
who my friends are,
my hair color,
my weight,
my adult experiences,
my achievements,
my character,
my reaction to someone else's use of alcohol or other drugs,
whether my eyes will shine,
my job possibilities,
what I will bequeath,
how I feel,
my ability to act on today's opportunities,
how well I will live,
whom I forgive,
how much I love,
the future.

I thank God for my growing ability to choose

Infinite Value

A long life is a blessing when it is well lived and leads to gratitude, wisdom, and sanctity.

But some people can live truly full lives even when their years are few.

As we see so many young people die of cancer and AIDS let us do everything possible to show our friends that, though their lives may be short, they are of infinite value.

Henri Nouwen

Visit HenriNouwen.org for more inspiration!

Heal Thy Broken Body

Reprinted from Henri Nouwen Society Weekly Reflection -- March 19, 2008

On the Journey To Seeing With the Eyes of the Heart

written by VICTORIA S. SCHMIDT

Let my hands heal thy broken body are words purposely placed near a broken crucifix in the Home for the Dying run by the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata, India.

The story behind the broken corpus of Jesus is that a mentally ill person, in anger, took the cross from the wall and threw it at Mother Teresa.
In that instant, Mother Teresa picked up the broken Jesus and instructed one of her sisters to place it back on the wall with those words.

It was Mother Teresa who taught me to see with the eyes of my heart twenty- seven years ago, when I went to India to volunteer with her community.
Having been caught up in the busyness of life and building a career, I had paid little attention to the importance of seeing with the eyes of my heart.
I know today that I do not see clearly what is unless I am seeing through the eyes of my heart.
Mother Teresa taught with her own life that Christ dwells in every soul, that God lives within every human person.
In knowing this truth, I must see everything through the lens of my heart.
However, as with many spiritual truths, knowing this does not make it easy, and I struggle to live this truth.

On my journey towards seeing with the eyes of my heart, my prayer is to have the wisdom to know when I'm looking through the wrong lens and when I am indeed letting the eyes of my heart allow my hands to heal the broken world.

- VICTORIA S. SCHMIDT lives in Springfield, Illinois (USA). She has a missionary heart that has been formed by thirty years of missionary work around the world. She currently serves as Director of Theresian World Ministry, an international Catholic women's organization.

Walking Life's Tightrope

Being on the tightrope is living;
everything else is waiting.

--Karl Wallenda

Life itself is a risk.
When I hold on too tight, remain too guarded, and anxiously try to control every factor, I become stiff and reactive rather than calm, focused, and responsive.
The guidance of my spiritual path teaches me to let go of my anxieties and leads me to peace of mind.
When I learn to do this, I can deftly walk my path and more effectively maintain my balance in dealing with whatever comes up.
Today I will calm myself while walking on my path.

Pain Leveling

http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2008/03/pain-leveling.html

Who I Am Makes A Difference

A teacher in New York decided to honor each of her seniors in high school by telling them the difference each of them had made. She called each student to the front of the class, one at a time.

First, she told each of them how they had made a difference to her, and the class. Then she presented each of them with a blue ribbon, imprinted with gold letters, which read, "Who I am makes a difference." afterwards, the teacher decided to do a class project, to see what kind of impact recognition would have on a community. She gave each of the students three more blue ribbons, and instructed them to go out and spread this acknowledgment ceremony. Then they were to follow up on the results, see who honored whom, and report to the class in about a week.

One of the boys in the class went to a junior executive in a nearby company, and honored him for helping him with his career planning. He gave him a blue ribbon, and put it on his shirt. then he gave him two extra ribbons and said, "we're doing a class project on recognition, and we'd like for you to go out, find somebody to honor, give them a blue ribbon, then give them the extra blue ribbon so they can acknowledge a third person, to keep this acknowledgment ceremony going. Then please report back to me and tell me what happened."

Later that day, the junior executive went in to see his boss, who had been noted, by the way, as being kind of a grouchy fellow. He sat his boss down, and he told him that he deeply admired him for being a creative genius. The boss seemed very surprised. The junior executive asked him if he would accept the gift of the blue ribbon, and would he give him permission to put it on him. His surprised boss said, "Well, sure." the junior executive took the blue ribbon and placed it right on his boss's jacket, above his heart. As he gave him the last extra ribbon, he said, "Would you take this extra ribbon, and pass it on by honoring somebody else. The young boy who first gave me the ribbons is doing a project in school, and we want to keep this recognition ceremony going and find out how it affects people."

That night, the boss came home to his 14-year-old son, and sat him down. He said, "The most incredible thing happened to me today. I was in my office, and one of the junior executives came in and told me he admired me, and gave me a blue ribbon for being a creative genius. Imagine!

He thinks I am a creative genius! Then he put a blue ribbon that says, "Who I am makes a difference", on my jacket above my heart. He gave me an extra ribbon and asked me to find somebody else to honor. As I was driving home tonight, I started thinking about whom I would honor with this ribbon, and I thought about you. I want to honor you. My days are hectic and when I come home, I do not pay a lot of attention to you. Sometimes I scream at you for not getting good enough grades in school, and for your bedroom being a mess. Somehow, tonight, I just wanted to sit here and, well, just let you know that you do make a difference to me. Besides your mother, you are the most important person in my life. You’re a great kid, and I love you!"

The startled boy started to sob and sob, and he could not stop crying his whole body shook. He looked up at his father and said through his tears, "dad, earlier tonight I sat in my room and wrote a letter to you and mom, explaining why I had took my life, and I asked you to forgive me. I was going to commit suicide tonight after you were asleep. I just did not think that you cared at all. The letter is upstairs. I don't think I need it after all."

His father walked upstairs and found a heartfelt letter full of anguish and pain.

The boss went back to work a changed man. He was no longer a grouch, but made sure to let all of his employees know that they made a difference.

The junior executive helped several other young people with career planning, and never forgot to let them know that they made a difference in his life . . . one being the boss' son. In addition, the young boy and his classmates learned a valuable lesson, "who you are does make a difference".

A Cosmic Sweepstake

It is a glorious desitny to be a member of the human race, though it is a race dedicated to many absurdities and one which makes many terrible mistakes: yet, with all that, God Himself gloried in becoming a member of the human race.
A member of the human race!
To think that such a commonplace realization should suddenly seem like news that one holds the winning ticket in a cosmic sweepstake.

Thomas Merton

Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander: 157

A Sign Of Imbalance

A Sign Of Imbalance
Overachieving and Overreaching

Overachievers are people who have achieved but still feel the need to do more, creating an imbalance in their lives.
People who exhibit this behavior may be trying to compensate for feelings of insecurity and doubts about their worth.
They may be chasing unresolved issues from their past into the present, or they might not be looking at their lives as a whole, but judging themselves based only on one aspect of their being.
If this is a word that we’ve heard used with respect to our choices and lifestyle, it is worth examining in order to balance our lives for a more rewarding experience.

If we find that we cannot allow ourselves to experience and enjoy the present moment, putting pleasure off into some distant future, it may be a sign that we are being driven to achieve more than is truly necessary.
Pushing ourselves beyond the point of exhaustion, or to the exclusion of important people in our lives, robs us of true and meaningful joy.
Once we make the connection to the eternal part of us, it can nourish us and allow our priorities to shift from chasing after an elusive feeling to being fully present in the moment so that we can live our lives in the now.

Sometimes we need to look to those we love and admire in order to realize what we value about life.
We can take time to note what we like about others, and then turn the mirror to reflect the light of those same words and feelings toward ourselves.
It can be quite a revelation to see ourselves in this nourishing light.
When we can put the energy that we’ve been devoting to a phantom sense of achievement into the truly satisfying aspects of our lives, we can restore the balance between our inner and outer worlds and experience true joyful peace.

http://www.dailyom.com

Opening Our Mind

Giving frees us from
the familiar territory of our own needs
by opening our mind to the unexplained
worlds occupied by the needs of others.
Barbara Bush

www.gratefulness.org

Coming Together in Poverty

Community is the place where our poverty is acknowledged and accepted, not as something we have to learn to cope with as best as we can but as a true source of new life.

Living community in whatever form - family, parish, twelve-step program, or intentional community - challenges us to come together at the place of our poverty, believing that there we can reveal our richness.

-- Henri Nouwen

Seeking God

We must in all things seek God.
But we do not seek Him the way we seek a lost object, a "thing."
He is present to us in our heart, in our personal subjectivity, and to seek Him is to recognize this fact.
Yet we cannot be aware of it as a reality unless He reveals His presence to us. He does not reveal Himself simply in our own heart.
He reveals Himself to us in the Church, in the community of believers, in the koinonia of those who trust Him and love Him.
Seeking God is not just an operation of the intellect, or even a contemplative illumination of the mind.
We seek God by striving to surrender ourselves to Him whom we do not see, but Who is in all things and through all things and above all things.

Thomas Merton.

Seasons of Celebration: 223-224.

We grow and flourish in our own lives in so far as we live for others and through others.
What we ourselves lack, God has given them.
They must complete us where we are deficient.
Hence we must always remain open to one another so that we can always share with each other.

Thomas Merton

Seasons of Celebration: 229

The Merton Institute For Comtemplative Living

The Selfish Man

No man is more cheated than the selfish man.

Henry Ward Beecher

A Secret Formula

A secret formula for finding

(indeed creating)

peace, harmony, and happiness upon the earth:

Serve life first,

in everything you think and say and do.
Neale Donald Walsch

Tomorrow's God

www.gratefulness.org

Act Of Self-Kindness

The old law of "an eye for an eye"

leaves everybody blind.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Forgiving can also help me take back my power.
As long as I believe that someone else's actions are the cause of my present difficulties, I am powerless to change.
Letting go of blame allows me to take responsibility for my life.
All this adds up to a single point.
Forgiveness is an act of self-kindness.
It liberates my life force.
It completes the past.
I can choose now to heal my old unfinished business.
It is time to let go of the pain.
I can place my hurt on an altar and surrender it to God.
Set myself and others free.

Beyond Words

To be alive in this beautiful,

self-organizing universe -- to

participate in the dance of life

with senses to perceive it,

lungs that breathe it,

organs that draw nourishment

from it -- is a wonder beyond words.

Joanna Macy

www.gratefulness.org

Flexibility

Flexibility is a great virtue.
When we cling to our own positions and are not willing to let our hearts be moved back and forth a little by the ideas or actions of others, we may easily be broken.
Being like wild reeds does not mean being wishy-washy.
It means moving a little with the winds of the time while remaining solidly anchored in the ground.
A humorless, intense, opinionated rigidity about current issues might cause these issues to break our spirits and make us bitter people.
Let's be flexible while being deeply rooted.

-- Henri Nouwen

A Chance To Start All Over -- Again

"The solution may not give you everything you want.

Sometimes, it may give you nothing but
a chance to start all over again.

But whatever little it gives you is much more
than you give yourself by
letting your emotions tear you apart. "

-- Dr. George S. Stevenson

Good Cheer

If you're dog-tired at night,
it may be because you growled all day.
--War Cry

Negative attitudes wear me out.

Assuming the worst will happen, focusing on just my faults, constant complaining, are attitudes that bring me down.

The good cheer I send out will come back to me from others who are healthy.

I can choose these cheerful people as my friends, and my happiness will grow and blossom in this good soil.

Distress

Distress speaks to the heart of God who loves me.
Let pride not hide from him those problems and pains for which I have no solutions.

The Mystery of God

Familiarity can breed illusion.
Let me not imagine I can plumb or manage the mystery of my Creator, even by prayer and penance.
There are depths to God I cannot fathom but in which I put my trust.

In humility I pray:

Creator, I seek your face!

Against the presumption that

can come with knowledge:

-- protect me, O Lord!

Against the pride that

can destroy prayer:

-- protect me, O Lord!

Against the temptation to

take you for granted:

-- protect me, O Lord!

Deliver me from pride of spirit and

grant me the humility that

always seeks you. Amen.

T-Bone Steaks, Yellow Roses, And Friendship

I walked into the grocery store not particularly interested in buying groceries. I wasn't hungry. The pain of losing my husband of 57 years was still too raw. And this grocery store held so many sweet memories.

He often came with me and almost every time he'd pretend to go off and look for something special. I knew what he was up to. I'd always spot him walking down the aisle with the three yellow roses in his hands.

He knew I loved yellow roses. With a heart filled with grief, I only wanted to buy my few items and leave, but even grocery shopping was different since he had passed on.

Shopping for one took time, a little more thought than it had for two.
Standing by the meat, I searched for the perfect small steak and remembered how he had loved his steak.

Suddenly a woman came beside me. She was blonde, slim and lovely in a soft green pantsuit. I watched as she picked up a large package of T-bones, dropped them in her basket.. hesitated, and then put them back. She turned to go and once again reached for the pack of steaks.

She saw me watching her and she smiled. "My husband loves T-bones, but honestly, at these prices, I don't know."

I swallowed the emotion down my throat and met her pale blue eyes.
"My husband passed away eight days ago," I told her. Glancing at the package in her hands, I fought to control the tremble in my voice. "Buy him the steaks. And cherish every moment you have together."

She shook her head and I saw the emotion in her eyes as she placed the package in her basket and wheeled away.


I turned and pushed my cart across the length of the store to the dairy products. There I stood, trying to decide which size milk I should buy. A Quart, I finally decided and moved on to the ice cream. If nothing else, I could always fix myself an ice cream cone.

I placed the ice cream in my cart and looked down the aisle toward the front. I saw first the green suit, then recognized the pretty lady coming towards me. In her arms she carried a package.

On her face was the brightest smile! I had ever seen. I would swear a soft halo encircled her blonde hair as she kept walking toward me, her eyes holding mine.
As she came closer, I saw what she held and tears began misting in my eyes.

"These are for you," she said and placed three beautiful long stemmed yellow roses in my arms. "When you go through the line, they will know these are paid for." She leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek, then smiled again.

I wanted to tell her what she'd done, what the roses meant, but still unable to speak, I watched as she walked away as tears clouded my vision.

I looked down at the beautiful roses nestled in the green tissue wrapping and found it almost unreal.

How did she know?

Suddenly the answer seemed so clear. I wasn't alone.

Oh, you haven't forgotten me, have you? I whispered, with tears in my eyes. He was still with me, and she was his angel.

Every day be thankful for what you have and who you are.

Even though I clutch my blanket and growl when the alarm rings.
Thank you, Lord, that I can hear.
There are many who are deaf.

Even though I keep my eyes closed against the morning light as long as possible.
Thank you, Lord , that I can see.
Many are blind.

Even though I huddle in my bed and put off rising.
Thank you, Lord, that I have the strength to rise.
There are many who are bedridden.

Even though the first hour of my day is hectic, when socks are lost, toast is burned, tempers are short, and my children are so loud.
Thank you, Lord, for my family.
There are many who are lonely.

Even though our breakfast table never looks like the picture in magazines and the menu is at times unbalanced.
Thank you, Lord, for the food we have.
There are many who are hungry.

Even though the routine of my job often is monotonous.
Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to work.
There are many who have no job.

Even though I grumble and bemoan my fate from day to day and wish my circumstances were not so modest.
Thank you, Lord, for life.

Alchemy Of The Cross

My Creator gathers up the tears of humanity and transforms them into the waters of life by the alchemy of the cross, where suffering and death are changed into joy and life by the self-gift of love.

Forgive

Forgive, O Lord, forgive.

You forgave your people in the desert:
--forgive your people today when we give our obedience to the gods of this world.

You fed your people in the desert:
-- forgive your people today when we fed on words other than your own.

You gave your people water from the rock:
-- forgive your people today when we quench our thirst at fountains that give no life.

You know, O Lord, our weakness.

You know the seductive power of the gods of our world.

Forgive, protect, deliver your people in our foolish waywardness.

My Highest Aspirations

Far away there in the sunshine

are my highest aspirations.

I may not reach them,

but I can look up and

see their beauty,

believe in them, and

try to follow where they lead.
Louisa May Alcott

Two Spiritual Directions

St. Bernard of Clairvaux said that the pilgrims on the spiritual journey face alternately in two directions: when we look at ourselves, we are saddened by our failings, when we look at God, we rejoice in his love.

Which will I chose today?

The Blindness Of Temptation

The most blinding of temptations can be to appease the powerful or please those I love rather than obey the will of my God.

Blindness

Bllindness is not always a matter of the eye.
Blindness of heart is the greater affliction.
None is so blind, the saying goes, as the one who will not see.
Yet there is always hope in the light of my Creator will break in upon my darkness and set me free.

Creating Problems

Any kind of expectation creates a problem.

We should accept, but not expect.

Whatever comes, accept it.

Whatever goes, accept it.

The immediate benefit is that
your mind is always peaceful.
Sri Swami Satchidananda

Music . . .

Music . . .

gives wings to the mind,

a soul to the universe,

flight to the imagination,

a charm to sadness,

a life to everything.
Plato

I Wish I Were

I wish I were big enough to honestly admit all my shortcomings.

Brilliant enough to accepts praise without it making me arrogant.

Tall enough to tower over dishonesty.

Strong enough to welcome criticism.

Compassionate enough to understand human frailties.

Wise enough to recognize mistakes.

Humble enough to appreciate greatness.

Brave enough to stand by my friends.

Human enough to be thoughtful of my neighbor.

And spiritual enough to be devoted to the love of God.

-- Author unknown --