Spiritual – Page 22 – The Future is Open

June 22, 2011

Peace makers

Teachers are peacemakers. That may or may not be a no-brainer to you. Recently I’ve been reexamining that after a conversation with a colleague. It’s difficult if not impossible to teach someone who is resistant. You can’t fill a jar with the lid on.

Therefore teaching is more about relationships than anything else. it follows too that leadership is about relationships too. Force causes resistance. There is a Tao of leadership and teaching.

“Hence the sage is able to accomplish his great achievements. It is through his not making himself great that he can.”

The Peace Pole pictured above at St. Bonaventure University reminded me once again of the centrality of relationship and peace to the educational process.

June 19, 2011

Peace Path

I’m walking on Peace Path. Only sounds here are my footsteps and an occasional bird chirping. I’ve walking more lately on my visits to the Mountain. I feel drawn more to solitude. It is inviting me and I’m trying to listen. Today is Trinity Sunday.

June 19, 2011

Holy Peace

I’ve been away for a couple weeks but my heart is always here at the Mountain. Here I find the peace and solitude that sustains me each day. It was here that I came back to the active practice of my faith eleven years ago. I’m walking on the Mountain Road now as I blog with my iPhone. It’s Fathers Day and I have been fortunate to have two men I called father. One was my biological and the other was a stepfather who loved and cared for me as his own. Now, I still have Our Father who us in heaven and earth. I walk with him now on this road and each day in my life. The older I get the more I am aware of his loving presence.

June 16, 2011

Sunset

I was thinking earlier that it was here in this community that Franciscan Friars first lived in Cattaraugus County. Ellicottville, New York is more often thought of as a winter resort but it is one of the jewels of Western New York and it glistens year round. I love the quiet here at Nannen Arboretum which is located just inside the village. I have found peace and quiet here on Wednesday evenings this spring. I am drawn to this contemplative setting and here I find solitude immersed in the sights and sounds of this quiet tract of land.

June 15, 2011

Merton’s Heart

Merton’s Heart is a hillside clearing just across the Allegany River south of the campus of St. Bonaventure University. It’s always a reflection point for me. Tonight proved to be no exception when I arrived on campus. A quick look to my right and just past McGraw Field the beloved view of that hillside clearing named by Fr. Irenaeus Hirscher, OFM. Thanks to Fr. Irenaeus for supplying me and many others with a visible reminder of Thomas Merton. Merton’s Heart is always an invitation to prayer for me. Tonight was no exception.

June 10, 2011

The king shall rejoice

I have written often of Psalm 63. It is one of my favorites in the Bible. It is one written by King David when he was in the wilderness being pursued by Saul. Personal wildernesses come from time to time for all of us and when mine do I return to this psalm. I read it and meditate on it in the watches of the night. I look at the passage metaphorically because I think that is how it was written. The Bible is full of metaphors for life and this is one more that reminds me that God is in charge.

But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by the Lord shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be shut!

June 9, 2011

Instagram

I’m really enjoying a new iPhone app called Instagram. Tonight when I was at Nannen Arboretum in nearby Ellicottville, New York I used Instagram to transform a lovely picture into one that appears a bit more surreal than it was. I love the qualities of the photo and it captured a dimension of the beauty of the pond. As I walking back to my car it occured to me how exhilarating the iPhone is.

June 9, 2011

Nannen at dusk

Once again I’m sitting beside a pool of still water. Only the occasional croak of a frog breaks the silence. It’s almost dusk. It’s restful here and a great way to end a busy day that saw local temperatures in the low ’90’s. What a contrast from the cold snow of winter and the abundant rains that punctuated our spring.

June 8, 2011

We are not saints

The following quote comes from a Quaker house of worship and it is prominently displayed in the library under the chapel at Mt. Irenaeus. I first saw it on a Sunday in the spring of 2000 and it still is powerful for me. That Sunday I was wondering what God may be and I’m still wondering. I hope the wonder never ends.

If you are wondering what God may be, looking for a purpose in life, craving company, or seeking solitude come to our Meeting for Worship! We shall not ask you to speak or sing. We shall not ask you what you believe. We simply offer you our friendship, and a chance to sit quietly and think, and perhaps somebody will speak, and perhaps somebody will read, and perhaps you will find here That which you are seeking… We are not saints, We are not cranks, We are not different… Except that we believe that God’s light is in everyone waiting to be discovered.

June 7, 2011

Imagination

“Imagine a world where the representatives of the greatest military power on earth are humbled by an unarmed healer from the backwaters of Galilee. If you can imagine this kind of world, you possess … an imagination ready to discern the reign of heaven.”

– Stanley Saunders