I’ve been listening to Linux for Everyone since its inception almost two years ago. I’ve been a Linux user for almost twenty years and it’s my daily driver for most of the last fifteen years. Prior to December 2018 most of my LInux machines were repurposed Dell computers. That changed following a trip to Denver in 2018. I was the guest of System76. I was their for the rollout of their Thelio line of Linux desktops. One of the first people I met at the factory was Emma Marshall. She’s the Happiness Manager. Emma is one of the happiest and zaniest people I’ve ever met. I remember walking in the door of the factory and seeing Emma and her team. Hanging from the large LCD display of her computer was a rubber fish. I told her how much I liked the fish as it reminded me of friend I used to teach with. Emma offered to give me the fish as a keepsake. Following the day long factory visit System76 took us to downtown Denver for a wonderful meal and socializing. When it came time for me to leave and hail the Lyft driver who would take me back to the hotel, Emma made sure that I made the right connection. She’s a wonderful person and I was pleased to see that Jason Evangelho had a nice interview with her on his podcast today.
A prayer for you
This beautiful poem comes from Br. Richard Kendrick, OFM Cap. from Ireland.
Lockdown
Yes there is fear.
Yes there is isolation.
Yes there is panic buying.
Yes there is sickness.
Yes there is even death.
But,
They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise you can hear the birds again.
They say that after just a few weeks of quiet
The sky is no longer thick with fumes
But blue and grey and clear.
They say that in the streets of Assisi
People are singing to each other
across the empty squares,
keeping their windows open
so that those who are alone
may hear the sounds of family around them.
They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland
Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.
Today a young woman I know
is busy spreading fliers with her number
through the neighbourhood
So that the elders may have someone to call on.
Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples are preparing to welcome
and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary
All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting
All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way
All over the world people are waking up to a new reality
To how big we really are.
To how little control we really have.
To what really matters.
To Love.
So we pray and we remember that
Yes there is fear.
But there does not have to be hate.
Yes there is isolation.
But there does not have to be loneliness.
Yes there is panic buying.
But there does not have to be meanness.
Yes there is sickness.
But there does not have to be disease of the soul
Yes there is even death.
But there can always be a rebirth of love.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.
Today, breathe.
Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic
The birds are singing again
The sky is clearing,
Spring is coming,
And we are always encompassed by Love.
Open the windows of your soul
And though you may not be able
to touch across the empty square,
Sing.
Br. Richard Hendrick, March 13th 2020
The new reality of the nones
“I find a tremendous yearning among Nones and the millennial generation (born between 1982 and the early 2000s) for a more just and unified world. Many of the millennial generation are wholemakers involved in greening the earth, immigration reform, peace and nonviolence, economic justice, and environmental sustainability. They seek authentic community life, ways of meditation, and alternative gift economies; they believe that institutional religion is out of touch with the world. Like transhumanists, the Nones long for religious ideals without the institution.”
— Making All Things New: Catholicity, Cosmology, Consciousness by Ilia Delio
http://a.co/j9EYNyA
‘We Have to Get a Climate President in Office’: Jane Fonda Says Bernie Sanders Is the Only Climate Candidate
I’m with Jane. We have a real climate emergency which will shorten the lives of our children and grandchildren prematurely. We need a president and leaders who recognize imperative of climate change.
Thank You Elizabeth
Thank you Senator Warren. I was hoping that this election cycle we’d have the courage to nominate a woman to be the Democratic Party standard bearer. Unfortunately you didn’t fare well in the primaries. I liked your positions on the issues. I think it’s high time we elect a woman president. Afterall, women make up the majority of the electorate. Source: Thank You Elizabeth
Turn away from sin and follow the Gospel
That’s frequently said by priests and others who administer ashes to the faithful on Ash Wednesday. Today is the beginning of Lent. What is Lent and what does it mean in 2020? What is sin? Everyone might have a different answer on that. How about lack of universal healthcare? That’s a sin. What about income inequality? What about endless war and inaction on climate change? Those are global sins we can all easily see. I’m challenged by Lent. What can I do to make a difference in the world around me? What can I give or give up that will change me and the world we live in? Agnus Dei qui tolli peccata mundi dona nobis pacem. Peace be with you and us all.
Breath of life
It’s that season in the United States when some folks roll out the “real Christian” card and it’s usually around a woman’s right to choose. I hope most folks choose life. I’m glad my Mom chose life. Even with its ups and downs it’s been a great life. That being said I do support a woman’s right to choose. There are many who assert that life begins at conception and while that may be their belief I believe that life begins at first breath. I used to work in labor and delivery forty some years ago while serving in the United States Navy and babies had to take their first breath. Some babies had difficulty and required extra help and we were there to assist them. Breath is the miracle of life. All living things breathe therefore breath is life.
Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. — Genesis 2:7
Sunshine
Walking is therapy. In the past six years I’ve found that the more I walk the more content I am. Winter makes it harder to walk but this winter has been more open than most. I’m averaging 3.4 miles per day. Some days are too cold and some days are too icy but today was one of those days of full sun and temperatures climbed into the mid thirties. I have a membership at the YMCA in nearby Olean but I prefer to walk outside. Sunshine is part of the tonic that aids my good health too. Today was full sun and bright blue skies.
I’m a person who is inclined to depression and walking is therefore therapeutic. Today I prayed as I walked too. The repetition of a short prayer as I walk is a form of mindfulness and keeps negative thoughts at bay. Walking spurs my creativity too. Sunshine and walking are the ingredients of peace in my life.
“He thrives before the sun, And his shoots spread out over his garden.
– Job 8:16
Relationships
I stopped by Abbey of the Genesee earlier today and this was one of the paintings displayed in the foyer. It’s probably not completely accurate as Jesus and those he hung out with looked less like Europeans than the images here. Nonetheless,I was struck by the simple relationship they were enjoying sharing a meal together. It’s really too bad that religion can’t be more about simple relationships and less about authoritarian rule keeping. One invites while the other repels. I’ve often thought how powerful it would have been to hang out with the historical Jesus. He must have been a remarkably charismatic individual. It’s too bad that his message of peaceful relationships has been overshadowed by systems that seek more to control than to embrace and accept.
A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah
I come here often. It’s one of my favorite places to sit in silence. There is peace in this place and I long for it as the psalmist did. I love the bread store too and I’ll be stopping there before driving back home. There is a peace here that surpasses all understanding.
