Awesome Things Volume VI

The beautiful spring like day we had last Sunday. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the temperature was warm, and the snow melted away. I turned off my furnace, opened my windows, and aired out the house. After all the cold and snowy days of late, it was a welcome change.

Scoring tickets to the Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival to be held this summer in Chicago. Every few years Eric Clapton hosts an all day concert to benefit a rehab center that he founded. Most of the greatest guitar players alive participate. Besides Eric, I will be seeing the Allman Brothers Band, Steve Winwood, Jeff Beck, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, ZZ Top, and many, many more that I can't remember at the moment. It's not official yet but I think Carlos Santana has also been added to the bill. This concert sold out in 15 minutes after the tickets went on sale last Saturday. As a true blue, card carrying rock and roller, getting these tickets is HUGE for me.

Employment. Some people where I work recently lost their jobs. Many people in our society would like to have any job. I am happy to have the job I am doing right now. Yes, it's never easy to get out of bed. Yes, some days and some people occasionally make me crazy. I don't like everything I have to so. However, I have a great boss and I'm not just saying this because it's performance review time. I have great co-workers. I have a great team. Most days I actually enjoy myself and I can honestly say I never really dread coming to the office. So, I am very grateful not just to have a job but to have this job. If I have to work, and I still do, I don't know how it could be much better.

Friends. It's a great thing to have friends. My best friend and I have been friends since we were 15 years old. We met in 6th period study hall in our sophomore year of high school. That was 44 years ago. My youngest friends are in the 20's. My oldest friends are in their mid 80's. I have many kinds of friends. I have work friends, music friends, spiritual friends, lunch friends, and a few friends that defy description. Friends are a gift and good friends get us through the rough patches of life. My best friends are truly dear to me. Always keep in mind, however, than if you want a friend, you must be a friend.

Gratitude. I have learned in my life that happiness is directly related to my gratefulness. The more grateful I am for the good things I have and the bad things I don't have, the happier I am. When my now college age nieces were teen age girls, they always seemed sad. I used to call them "The Princesses of Sadness". I think young people are often sad because they haven't yet learned to be grateful. Look around the world and then count your blessings. Be grateful and you will be happy.

That moment in the evening when you finally get to sit down. You've worked all day and met all those challenges. You picked up the kids at school or the daycare. You cooked dinner and cleaned up the mess. Maybe you've thrown a load of laundry into the washing machine. You squeezed in a shower or a bath and changed your clothes. Finally, you become one with your favorite chair. Maybe you have a fresh cup of coffee or tea and the morning paper. (Who has time to read the morning paper in the morning?) You can breathe. Life did not get the best of you this day. It is time to take your well earned rest. Chairs are great for napping, too. I am a world class napper.

Sons. I have two sons. One of them, Nick, is 28 years old today. He is a seminarian at St. Meinrad School of Theology in Indiana. The school is run by Benedictine monks. My other son is Mike, Jr. He is married and the father of my granddaughter. I am happy because both of my sons have turned out well and seem happy with their lives. I am blessed to have a good family. We're pretty normal which means we sometimes drive one another crazy but overall we get along well and we take care of one another.

The Contemplative Life

This week I had lunch with a friend who is a chaplain in the psychiatric ward of the local VA hospital. Every few months we get together for some engaging conversation about the spiritual life. This week we discussed the contemplative life and the experience of God. Both are weighty topics and there are many opinions about what each of them means. I do not pretend to have the definitive answer. I will share a few thoughts about what they mean to me. I believe the contemplative life is a life lived in awareness. It is a life lived in an awakened state. It is being present to the moment. Sometimes these moments sweep you away and you become lost in them. Those are the kinds of moments that I often refer to as "Zen Moments". You can't plan them and you can't make them happen. The contemplative life becomes a way of being and a way of seeing life. Too often in our lives we are unaware and asleep as we go through the motions of living our lives. Contemplative living is a spiritual wake up call.

What is the experience of God? I don't think it can be talked about without the use of analogies. No one can say, "The experience of God is......". All one can say is "The experience of God is like....". Even with the use of analogies, there is no certainty the comparison is accurate. In terms of the experience of God, what is real and what is imagination? If I am asked what the experience of God is, I must say, "I don't know". If you believe that God is love, then perhaps every experience of unconditional love is the experience of God.

All I can do is not get hung up on all the different opinions, theology, the incidentals of religion and traditions, and try to be open to the experience of life. If there is a God, it is through my life that I will experience Him....or Her.

My Son The Seminarian

Twenty-two priesthood students from Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology received the ministry of lector on Tuesday, February 9, in the School’s St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel. Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein, OSB, of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, installed the lectors.

The ministry of lector is conferred upon those who prepare and proclaim readings from Scripture at Mass and other liturgical celebrations. A lector also may recite psalms between the readings and present the intentions for the general intercessions.

My son can be seen above. He is the person to the far left.

Life Is Good

My life is very good right now. I am grateful for my continued employment. I have been with my company for 24 years and I hope to ride that wave all the way to the beach. Materially, my cup runneth over. This is due in part to the generosity of my wife's deceased parents. However, some credit must also be given to my wife and I for consistently working for 35+ years. We are at a point in our lives where we are reaping some rewards for all the labor of our lives. Although most of my life has always been good, much of it has also been a struggle. If I paid all my bills and had $100 left in my checking account, something would break that cost $110. I like it that my ship has come in. Most of them in the past have taken on water and sunk in the harbor before they could dock. Now that one finally docked, it relieves some of life's pressure. It enables me to do some things that have needed to be done for a long time. My house is old and is need of some updating and repair. Raising two sons from boys to men gave it quite a beating at times. My wife and I are able to spoil ourselves a little. For example, my favorite room in my house, where I spend most of my alone time, was mostly a collection of hand me downs, leftovers, and stuff no one wanted. Now, after completely emptying the room, re-painting it and having new carpet installed, I have been able to put it back together with some thought. At the same time I have tried to downsize, de-clutter, and simplify. The rest of the house is also getting a much needed makeover. You won't see it on television but it's amazing what a little paint, some new carpet, and a few new accessories can do to improve your living space. Less you think my wife and I are totally self absorbed, we are also in a better position to help our children with some of their needs and wants. I can't deny that I like when my own needs are met but there is also great happiness to be found meeting the needs of others and making their lives a little better. The ability to be generous is a gift to the giver. Speaking of givers, my thanks to two of the most generous people I ever knew, my father in law and mother in law. We are grateful for your generosity and we miss you.

Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival

I'm heading down that rock and roll highway one more time. I just scored tickets for the Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival to be held in Chicago on June 26th, 2010. I am estatic!

Here's a news release with some details.

Eric Clapton has revealed both the plans and the players for his third Crossroads Guitar Festival. The single-day event will return to Toyota Park in Chicago on June 26. Not surprisingly, it boasts a lineup loaded with real-life guitar heroes including BB King, Buddy Guy, Jeff Beck, Steve Winwood, Robert Randolph and Sheryl Crow. Um...do we really need to say that Clapton will headline? Duh.

"I do it because I want to hear these players," Clapton told Rolling Stone. "It comes from the heart of a musician. It's not a business deal and there is an enlightenment in that." True. And the event benefits the Crossroads Centre, an addiction-treatment facility that Clapton founded, therefore, we'll even forgive the big corporate sponsorship that has kinda taken over the official website.

In addition to guitar rockers like ZZ Top and the Allman Brothers, Clapton personally assembled a lineup that highlights many different shades of the guitar, not just shredders. Better brush up on your air guitar moves if you plan on attending -- you'll have an entire day to bust them out.

Awesome Things Volume V

Not running off the road on my way to work this past Monday morning. I know I may be in the minority but I still love the snow even though we've had more this winter than in recent memory. My neighborhood was beautiful if treacherous. The trees and bushes were breathtaking in their beauty. The drive to work was slow. I don't think I ever went over 40 miles an hour. Yes, the snow can be challenging, and like most people I hate that I have to leave home on such a morning, but for me it's all worth it because it's all so lovely. This season we've had a real winter and I like that.

The anticipation of spring. Most people, even snow lovers like me, are looking forward to spring. It is approximately one month away. Even now, under all the snow, the regeneration process is in movement. Below ground and within all the trees and bushes, the perennials are preparing for the day when they will burst from the ground or bloom on the trees and bushes. In my nearly 59 years of life, this has happened right on schedule 58 times, and I have a high degree of confidence that it will happen again this year. Life and nature are always renewing themselves. We need to do the same.

Zen Moments. What is Zen? Zen is being where you are and doing what you are doing. "Zen moments" is a term I use to describe those unplanned, perfect moments that can appear in our day. These moments are never announced in advance and part of their joy is the surprise they bring into our life. A couple of summers ago I went to a concert and saw Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. At one point Tom Petty stopped singing and said to the audience, "Wouldn't it be great if life was alright just for a moment"? Well, these "alright" moments exist but you have to be able to recognize them. Life is full of pressures and demands. It is easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of them. Sometimes you just have to pause, breathe, and be in the moment. Using a musical analogy, you have to learn to be in the space between notes.

Today I heard birds singing as I left my home. Can spring be far away?

An open mind. "If your mind isn't clouded by unnecessary things, This is the best season of your life". This was said by someone named Wu-Men. Our minds are often full of unnecessary thoughts. According to Buddha, most of our suffering is a product of our own minds. The reality is that most of our fears....the ones that cause us suffering....never actually happen. If we keep an open mind, we will discover that most of life is good. Yet, we continuously focus on the little that is bad, or we live in fear of what will likely never happen to us. I have lived approximately 21,499 days so far in my life. My estimate is that less than 1% of these days has been really bad. That's only 215 days in 59 years. The chances of having a good day are overwhelmingly in my favor. I try to not cloud my mind with unnecessary things like worry. I keep my mind open and I live life as it unfolds each day. I am reminded of a humorous story of two monks. One was an older, senior monk. The other a younger, junior monk. Both were meditating side by side. The young monk kept peeking at the older monk. Finally, the older monk smiled at the younger monk and said, "This is it. Nothing else happens". Such is life. Open you mind, live life, stop worrying so much, and be happy.

Seeing the ground. Although I am a snow lover, it is good to once again see the ground. Starting with yesterday, we will have a string of 40+ degree days and maybe some rain. This will go a long way to melting the old snow that's been on the ground for a week or so. I think what I really like is falling snow. After it's been laying around on the ground for days, and it's getting dirty and unattractive, I'm ready for a meltdown.

Speaking of meltdowns....

Another awesome thing is watching the Ice Age movies with my granddaughter. She and I both like prehistoric mammals and dinosaurs. I have a collection of dinosaurs that has gotten progressively smaller. My guess is some of them were abducted by Chloe and if I went to her house I would find my T Rex next to one of her Barbie dolls in her toy box.

Friday lunches with my regular lunch buddy. For me the weekend begins with my workday lunch on Friday. Most of the time I go with the same person. She has been my regular lunch buddy for a number of years. We were co-workers in the past but now we are true friends. Friday lunches are different than any other workday lunch. You can see the finish line of another work week. Friday lunches are more relaxed and usually longer than on other days. My lunch buddy and I are very comfortable with one another. We sometimes talk about work but mostly about our families and our lives with the added enjoyment of much laughter because we make one another laugh and who doesn't need that by the end of the work week? Today was especially nice because we went to a new Irish pub we had never been to before and the walk back to the office was very nice because the sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the snow is melting. Spring was in the air.

Snow Poems

Snow Falling on Snow by Robert J. Wicks

In a cozy little corner I sit and pray,
wrapped in a warm sweater with a candle
lit before a mysterious icon.

Outside, the snow is swirling and the
wind whooshing and the tree branches
scratching against the house wanting to come in.

Then in the spaces in between, when the
wind is forgotten and all is quiet…
I open my heart to listen.

And as I hear the peaceful sound of snow
falling on snow, my soul slowly softens…
and my worries retreat to the edge of the room.
Finally I realize with joy that no matter
how uncertain life may become,
I will always be safe and warm
when I am at home with You.
Amen

First Snow by Mary Oliver

The snow
began here
this morning and all day
continued, its white rhetoric everywhere
calling us back to why, how,
whence such beauty and what
the meaning; such
an oracular fever! flowing
past windows, an energy it seemed
would never ebb, never settle
less than lovely! and only now,
deep into night,
it has finally ended.
The silence is immense,
and the heavens still hold
a million candles; nowhere
are the familiar things:
stars, the moon,
the darkness we expect
and nightly turn from. Trees
glitter like castles
of ribbons, the broad fields
smolder with light, a passing
creekbed lies
heaped with shining hills;
and though the questions
that have assailed us all day
remain - not a single
answer has been found -
walking out now
into the silence and the light
under the trees,
and through the fields,
feels like one.