Thoughts on the world of open source
You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a real page turner. Mixing humor, practical wisdom and actual experience this book is recommended reading for anyone who aspires to live more fully.
During Lent I began a process of trying to remove toxicity from my life. Lent is always a time of new beginnings and since I don’t like giving up Chocolate and other goodies, I thought how can I get more positivity in my life. Since the election last year I had become pre-occupied with politics and the changes happening in our country and though I tried to be loving and accepting it wasn’t happening by merely trying to think nice thoughts. There is a wisdom tradition that states that if you pray for the person or persons with whom you are at odds that you will come to love and accept them and you will be free of the resentment that you have. So I began to pray the rosary each day during Lent and one day I realized that I didn’t feel resentful anymore and though my own policy preferences for the country were different than some of my friends I had lost the toxicity. What began as an experiment has become a daily prayer time in the car or walking down the street. Until now I’ve not been a rosary prayer but I have found in it’s rhythm and intention a quiet peace that has overtaken my life and I’m grateful for that. I’ve also rediscovered the creativity that I had lost. I’m not sure how long I’m committed to this practice but I’m here to say that it worked for me and maybe it can work for others too. Peace be with you.
It is no mistake that Easter occurs in the spring and some years like this one it is later than others. This afternoon after lunch I took a walk in the woods here at Mount Irenaeus. All along the trail as I walked slowly through the wood were signs of the earth coming to life after months of slumber during the winter. I marveled at the incredible forces that we lovingly call nature and how this delicate dance plays out each year as the suns warms the earth to just the right temperature. Suddenly flowers appear where only days before were leaves pressed to the forest floor from months of snow and rain. Easter is a time when we celebrate the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. It has been over 2000 years since the historical Jesus was arrested, crucified, buried and resurrected. No matter whether you are a follower of Christ or not there is no doubt that each year the earth enters a period of arrest in late fall, is entombed through the winter and rises again in the spring. This new life which comes from the death of the old demonstrates that death is a part of life. Each spring the earth rises from the dead as it were. The flowers along the trail, the chipmunks and robins scurrying and flying about are cause for rejoicing. Hallelujah! The earth is risen!
Original Blessing by Matthew Fox
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
An incredibly insightful book. This is a remarkable work and one that should leave the reader asking many questions about why the message of Jesus was hijacked by those who decided instead to follow Augustine. This is one of the best books I’ve read recently. Original Blessing is a blessing to read.
Jesus Freak: Feeding Healing Raising the Dead by Sara Miles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Couldn’t put it down. It’s an incredibly well written book. I read her first book and was familiar with her. I also volunteer in a soup kitchen and a food pantry and have lived some of the same journey that she shared. I too see Jesus in the people we serve. Like Sara both the pantry and the soup kitchen are like church. They are definitely a community and they are a huge part of my life. I like Sara too because she is unorthodox and she brings a welcome freshness to holiness and what it means to be holy while remaining wholly human.
Eleven years ago I began blogging. I was afraid at first because I’d never really put myself and ideas out there. It’s risky to blog and yet over the years I’ve really come to enjoy it. I’ve had times where the content flowed and times when it has dried up. It’s fun to look back over the years and see what I was thinking then. I’m 64 now and I have more of an appreciation of my impermanence. Everything is impermanent. We either grow or go. That’s the way of all life and yet somethings seem permanent but it’s only an illusion. What appears solid and permanent is just a collection of electrons, molecules and objects we cannot see. The computer I’m writing on, the internet, the server where the content resides are impermanent and just a mass of whirring electrons, protons and similar waves and particles. I recently read a book, “Making All Things New: Catholicity, Cosmology, Consciousness.” It has invited me to think anew about many things I have wondered about for much of my life. Yet despite this impermanent nature we are all interconnected and interdependent. There is nothing that occurs without affecting everything else in some way. There is no isolation for that too is an illusion.
I first read the quote, “Every wall is a door” by Ralph Waldo Emerson on the wall of a Facebook friend. It continues to be one of my favorites. Just yesterday we got some unhappy news. When bad news comes it invites a response and more often that not I’m prone to think of the misfortune. There is a lot wisdom concerning news like this. Romans 8:28 says. “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Another favorite expression is: “never put a question mark where God puts a period.” Life is full of paradox. In fact I’ve come to regard these paradoxes as a sign of blessing. As I was getting my tea made this morning I reflected on the many blessings in my life.
A little over three years ago I had become depressed at the thought of retiring. I thought my life was over. But in the three years hence I have become a frequent contributor and community moderator at Opensource.com. I have re-entered the classroom teaching and learning about Lego Mindstorms and robotics in general. I’ve taught programming and digital citizenship classes to children and adults. I have become active in the EdCamp movement and look forward regular communication on social media with those friends. I’ve become a successful grant-writer and that has allowed me to give back to the community in ways I could never have imagined. I’ve learned about nutrition and wellness through involvement at The Warming House , Genesis House and the Catholic Charities Food Pantry in Franklinville. Through the interest and work providing sustenance for those less fortunate has led to deeper involvement and learning about organic farming, open source agriculture and other life giving initiatives. I recently agreed to be an animator for justice, peace and the integrity of creation for the St. Kateri Tekakwitha Region of the Secular Franciscan Order and created a website to aid in that process.
What once seemed like the end of the road has become a gateway to new life and new purpose. I am grateful for these opportunities to live, love and grow.
I had a friend tell me tonight that I was one of the few people he met who continues to seek after God or if you will a higher power. I can’t deny that I don’t spend a lot of time reading spiritual and religious works. I am attracted to them and to holy places. I’m not a person who is devoted to piety. In fact piety seems foreign to me, but I cannot deny that I ponder deep questions at times. Recently I have been reading a wonderful book written by Ilia Delio. The title, “Making All Things New: Catholicity, Cosmology, Consciousness” just leapt out at me. It’s not the first book written by the author that I’ve read and probably won’t be the last. I’m very grateful to Sister Ilia who offers scholarship and great insight on a topic that has interested me since I was a young boy. I cannot begin to explain the book here nor do I want to except to encourage you to read if for yourself. It you are spiritual seeker who is looking for insights about the future of Christianity and Catholicism then this book deserves your attention. The following quote comes from the final chapter of the book.
Religion, therefore, is always a genesis, a birthing of the Spirit toward greater unity. Without the dynamic energy of transcendence by which consciousness rises and relationships deepen, religion grows old and weary; it becomes rote, a mechanistic repetition of old ideas. To function out of an old cosmology with old ideas of matter and form, to think that God does not do new things, is to make an idol out of Jesus and to ignore the power of the Spirit.
Delio, Ilia (2015-09-22). Making All Things New: Catholicity, Cosmology, Consciousness (Catholicity in an Evolving Universe Series) (Kindle Locations 4083-4086). Orbis Books. Kindle Edition.
But to an Infinite Mind bathing me round and round I must be as much the object of regard as any solar system. To such a Mind nothing is small, no one thing farther from its scope than another. God could have no difficulty in attending to me, seeing that from the nature of His mental activity, to put it in that way, He could not lose sight of me nor let me go. When an object is immersed in water it gives no extra trouble to the water to close round it. It can’t help doing it. The object may be as small as a grain of dust or as big as a warship; to the water it is all the same.
King, Basil (2009-10-04). The Conquest of Fear (p. 21). Public Domain Books. Kindle Edition.
The quote above is taken from a book first published in 1922. It’s been part of my own library for over thirty years. Lately, like many people I’ve been very concerned with the direction of our society and planet. It’s easy to get lost in the milieu of day to day life. It’s easy to lose heart and lose faith. I’ve also found that in helping others that I help myself. It was in this process of helping to buoy the faith of another that I came back to this classic work. The Infinite Mind, God, Creator or however you might conceive or address this universal force is here to help and provide for us each day. I remember reading this particular paragraph a long time ago and from it gaining some peace that there is a force that protects me and provides for me regardless of my own limiting view of this power. Glad that I reconnected with these thoughts tonight. Peace.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson
I liked it. The title might put some people off and the language might put some people off too. His frank manner of writing attracted me and held my attention all the way through the book. I think it’s a great book and maybe even a candidate for a best seller award. I loved his analogies and examples. I’d recommend this book as a great read to anyone and especially those of us who have doubts about ourselves.