Faith & Life Inspirational Message

Even if you are a Christian, I have concluded it depends on where you are---what is your context---how aware of Holy Week and the impending Easter you are.  If you are a Christian and work in a mainly secular environment, you may be relatively unaware of Holy Week.  For many it does not dawn on them until at least Thursday.  And of course, in the secular world there is absolutely nothing special about Thursday. But even in the secular world, Friday often assumes special connotations.  It might be a holiday---a day off.  It is at my College.  So I suppose it is the one day Jews, Muslims, atheists, and other non-Christians are thankful for their Christian brothers and sisters!  But for the Christian, Friday---Good Friday---is an interesting one. I suspect that for many Christians Friday is simply skipped.  They see Easter a very special and nothing else really matters.  The resurrection is key for them.  Why bother with anything less.  Let’s skip sadness and depression and go straight fo

This year the Jewish sacred time, Passover, coincides with Easter.  Because Passover is so important to Christians, too, let’s talk about Passover a couple days before it begins on Friday.  I want to take cognizance of that as the day unfolds.  Obviously, it is a special day for the Jew.  It is a day of deliverance.  It is a day when the Jew knows God is for them.  Passover is the story of God’s deliverance of the Jew from the bondage of Egypt to the ultimate freedom of their own place---their own land. Of course, that history is itself riddled with controversy.  The struggle over the land is a continuing saga to this day.  But that is not the story for this Passover day.  Rather, we need to focus on the essential theme of bondage/freedom.  Perhaps that is one of the most basic human situations.  Passover is the assurance that bondage is not the ultimate fate of being human. Even if I am a Christian, I should take Passover seriously.  Growing up in my Quaker family, I actually had no c

While I routinely read the New York Times online, I don’t always expect to be inspired spiritually.  I know the Times does quite a few stories about religion, but too often religion is treated as a political issue or terrorist issue or the like.  Sometimes religion gets tied up with sociology as in demographics.  All these are interesting, but not necessarily inspiring.  For this reflection piece which I call inspirational, I need something that gives me a chance to be inspired and to be inspiring.     I got lucky.  Or maybe God just stepped in to help me.  The help came in an editorial for the Times.  The editorial is by Margaret Renkl, whom I did not know.  But her title was compelling.  The title read, “Easter Is Calling Me Back to the Church.”  I was a little surprised to see an editorial like that in the famous global paper, but I jumped into it.  It was good and I want to share some of it, as it has inspired me.     In many ways Renkl’s story is the story of many people I know. 

I have a few magazines and periodicals I routinely read simply because they always tell me things I want to know, although I did not even know I want to know it.  That might seem odd until you think of something about which you had no clue.  After learning about it, you are so grateful for learning it.  It is like having a friend tell you things the friend knew you would be interested in knowing.  One of the pieces I routinely read is NCR---the National Catholic Reporter.  For many reasons I am interested in the Catholic world and happenings.  Over time these writers tell me things I did not know but I wanted to know!     In a recent volume I learned there is a new book coming out based on interviews with Pope Francis.  So far the book is only out in about three European languages.  The English edition is not due for some time. Carol Glatz, a regular NCR writer, informs me this time.  She has a captivating title for her article on the new book: “Young and old: Two thrown-away generatio

Recently I have had the occasion to return to a book I read a few years ago.  Big Questions, Worthy Dreams was written by Sharon Daloz Parks, first published in 2000 and now available in an expanded recent version.  I have been following Parks’ writings for quite a long time.  In fact I tried to get her to join my faculty once upon a time.  Her book deals with how faith develops among younger people, primarily high school and college-aged students.  Her subtitle tells it all: Mentoring Young Adults in Their Search for Meaning, Purpose, and Faith.  Since this is the age group with which I have spent so much of my time, I wanted to know what her research revealed.     In one of her chapters she deals with the image (or metaphor) of home.  Rightly, she notes that image is not used to the extent its parallel image is used, namely, journey.  If you read the spiritual literature of the church or other religious traditions, frequently you find the image of journey.  Easily, we talk about our

As I began to study religion in college, I began to acquire information and knowledge that helped me to think about my own religious heritage.  Acquiring some knowledge also helped me to think about life.  In the days when I was growing up on an Indiana farm, there was not the technology that exists today.  Because of that, I spent great deal of time by myself riding a tractor in some field.  There were only things to do: think and daydream.  I did a huge amount of both!     This life was a good life.  But there was one drawback, which I did not recognize at the time.  The drawback was that I did not have enough information, experience and knowledge to make sense of life.  I was given a rudimentary religious education that probably helped make sense of life.  But I don’t think I paid much attention and, certainly, did not really “own” it as my perspective.  In some ways it was like a borrowed or rented perspective.     I doubt that I was unusual.  I do not think babies come equippe

I will be up front.  Walt Whitman was a nineteenth century Quaker and I also am a Quaker.  Of course, I could have said he was a poet, which is what most people would first think about when asked about Whitman.  He wrote poetry that was to be used in speeches and in hymns.  Of course, he was a product of his time.  He lived and worked through the wrenching Civil War period of American history.  He has much still to teach us and so I see him as a prophet, too.  Poet and prophet was he.     I regularly read a few papers as part of my daily routine.  One paper I actually get in printed form, along with my morning cup of coffee.  I am probably the last generation who is willing to pay money to get my hands dirty from the print.  My girls think I am nuts.  But there is the tactile experience of unruly paper after trying to fold it in half in order to free up the other hand for the steamy coffee.  Maybe I am nuts.  Other papers I read online---papers both from my original home town and paper

A word that is being used a great deal in the circles I find myself is resilience.  In fact, it is a concept my co-authors and I have included in our new book, Exception to the Rule .  The reality behind the concept, resilience, is not new, but the need for the idea is more prevalent than for a long time.  We might explore why today there is such a need for the language of resiliency, but that will come in another reflection.  First I want to explore the nature of resiliency and why it is such an important spiritual concept for humans.     As I said, you bump into the idea of resiliency in many places today.  However, one of the recent places I read about it was Krista Tippett’s wonderful 2016 book, Becoming Wise .  I like her subtitle, “An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living.”  Toward the end of her book she notes, “I’m glad for the language of resilience that has entered the twenty-first-century lexicon, from urban planning to mental health.”  Indeed, the word is becoming ubiq

Spiritual growth is something I have thought about and tried to cultivate for decades now.  I think one of the important things I realized early on is spiritual growth is not automatic, like physical growth.  Of course, it takes some cultivation of physical growth.  But given some time, some food and a modicum of care, babies grow and turn into little people.  Our cells divide and other physiological things happen without our thinking about it.  At some point we become adults!     Emotional growth is not as simple.  Any of us can realize we came to be physically adults, but emotionally it is easy to remain childish and immature.  It is not unusual to find adults throwing temper tantrums!  Airports and shopping malls are two good places to witness this phenomenon.  Emotional growth takes time and some intentionality.  It normally takes some help.  Usually we need the help of others to help us monitor and reflect on our actions and to learn and grow from them.      One of the areas I rec

As I read through one of my favorite sources of religious news, my eyes landed on this intriguing title: “Shakespeare for your spiritual direction.”  The reflection is by Robert Morneau, whom I do not know.  As I read his very short bio, I learned that Morneau is a priest, a poet and retired auxiliary bishop in Green Bay.  I laughed when I also read he is a Packers’ fan.  I would guess everyone in Green Bay, WI is a Packers’ fan.      With some relish I jumped into the short article.  It begins with a good couple sentences.  “The spiritual journey is complex terrain, so many twists and turns, so many mountains and valleys, so many unknowns and thrills.  The wise person seeks a guide.”  This is very true.  I like the imagery for spiritual journey.  It is complex terrain.  Clearly, it is not a straight line from belief to sainthood.  There are twists and turns.  There are mountains and valleys.  Of course, much of the journey is dealing with the unknown.  Occasionally, there may be thril

There are many ways people would describe the point of their lives.  For many the list would entail their own kids and, maybe, grandkids.  Work is the source of meaning for many people.  It might be their churches, synagogues or mosques.  I am sure I cannot imagine some of the answers some folks might have to the question, what is the point of life?     Even if we have figured out the point of life for ourselves, it is not a given that we are living life in a way that makes it certain that we will achieve what we said was the point of life.  Sadly, there are too many people who can tell you what the point of life is and, yet, in the next sentence confess they are living far from being able to pull it off.  I felt this way when I was younger.     There are others who would simply not be sure what the point of their lives was.  They can give you canned answers or, perhaps, some kind of platitude.  But their heart really is not in it.  For example, it is easy to say the point of life

I have no idea where the image came from; I have never thought about this before this time.  Suddenly there popped into my head the curious question, what if I were a drop of water?  It was not raining outside.  I was nowhere near running water.  Perhaps it was God’s gift to me or I really am going crazy!  I prefer to think it was the former.  God gave me a question---albeit a curious question.  What if I were a drop of water?     There are always a couple ways of looking at something: being and doing.  If I were water, that takes care of the being aspect.  If I were water, then I am (be) water.  The “doing” aspect is more intriguing in this case.  If I were water, what would I do?  Of course, the obvious answer is I would get things wet!  So the question is, if I am a single drop of water, what do I want to get wet?  A single drop is not much water.     If I were a drop of water, what could I do to make a difference?  Maybe it is because I am a farm boy, but the answer came to me.

As many of you know, I like to try to follow a daily discipline of some devotional time.  No doubt, the key word is discipline.  It is so tempting to define spirituality and the spiritual journey in a way that excludes discipline.  It is easy to make spirituality the same thing as religion.  For many Christians religion is a matter of belief---of doctrine.  Certainly no Jew would begin with doctrine, nor would a Buddhist.  On the other hand, the Christian tends to begin a discussion on religion with some kind of “I believe” statement.     I am not against belief.  It is clear to me that one cannot really be spiritual without having some kind of belief.  For many it will be a belief in God.  This is not where the Buddhist would begin.  I certainly have my own beliefs and, hopefully, some kind of coherent belief system.  For example, what I think about God should correlate with how I think about the world.     Belief systems do not necessarily have an element like discipline.  I am c

I read an interesting little essay by Dana Greene about a new book out by the Benedictine monk, David Steindl-Rast.  I have never met this monk, but I know about him.  I have read some of his stuff and watched him on YouTube videos.  His new book, i am through you so i (with small letters in deference to e.e. cummings), is autobiographical in nature.  It is not a book I have read, but want to do so.  I know this monk is pretty old (b 1926).  He was born in Vienna, so has a fairly heavy accent even after these years in the USA.     Greene describes things I already know about Steindl-Rast.  He has studied Buddhism seriously and other non-Christian traditions.  He is probably best known for his focus on the theme of gratitude.  That theme is a rather “in thing” these days.  But it is a great theme, so I am fine with its popular status. I always liked his focus on this theme as a way to happiness.  As I see it, happiness is normally a by-product of something else.  It is hard to “be happ

Those of us who go to college and graduate school make some friends that we track all through our careers.  Sometimes we don’t have much contact with them, but we watch their careers take off or take different kinds of turns.  Often we watch them through the books they publish.  Today we frequently track them through social media like Twitter.  If they are in our academic discipline, we might see them periodically at conferences.     One such person I have known for decades now is Parker Palmer.  Although we never were in school together, we have known each other since the earliest days of our careers.  In the earliest days he was not a Quaker, but he was at a Quaker institution and was flirting with Quakerism.  Because he was serious about his spiritual search, he became in many ways more Quaker than those of us who grew up as Quakers!     He figured out how to take the best from my own Quaker tradition and “package” it in teaching and leadership situations to become “somebody.” 

On the surface the title for this inspirational reflection seems absurd.  You don’t have to have advanced college degrees to know what the word, deprivation, means.  It means something that is taken away from me or something that is withheld from me.  Normally, if someone says that they have been deprived, it is a complaint.  They often say something like, “I was ripped off!”      I reckon that most of us would see deprivation as totally negative.  No one in their right mind would hope to be deprived of anything at any time.  So with this title, I suspect you think that I am up to no good.  Surely there is something fishy going on here!  So let me develop a little more the idea of blessed deprivation.     I am not sure what triggered the thoughts in my mind.  I was in the middle of a group that I offer some leadership.  We were focusing on a particular chapter in Gerald May’s book, The Awakened Heart .  In that chapter May addresses the idea of making space.  He talks some about em

It is commonplace for people to think of churches, synagogues and mosques when you talk about religion.  Everyone would say that those are not the only places where religion can happen, yet most of us associate religion with those kinds of venues.  I think that is much less so when we talk about spirituality.  I am sure there is a wide range of definitions of spirituality, but most folks I know think it is different than religion.  While many of us think spirituality may be related to religion, few people I know think the two are the same thing.     I am not sure I associate religion with churches, but I do think there often is an institutional aspect to religion that most of us do not associate with spirituality.  And since I spend most of my time teaching “spirituality,” whatever that is, I am more focused on that.  So when I am with students, I am often talking about spirituality in ways that are not very connected to the church.  Most students with whom I find myself do think the

Spirit and body are two important ideas that have been involved in spiritual history for centuries.  Concerns with both spirit and body are seen throughout the scriptures in many religious traditions.  We don’t have to look to scriptures to find awareness and discussions of these two themes.  Every one of us should know a little bit about both spirit and body.     We should know something about the body because each of us has---or is---a body.  The body is an amazing thing.  It is partly a machine.  It is mostly to me, anyway, a miracle.  I never cease to be amazed at my body---how it works, etc.  The body clearly grows and develops.  I marvel at the eight pound little baby.  Within a year that baby’s body doubles in size!  It is a good thing that is not our annual compounding rate!  All things being normal, our early third of life means we have a body that is capable of so much physical prowess.  Even in the middle third of life, we are capable of so much.  Even today, many of us ar

There are a few books I keep going back to read.  Maybe it is because I am getting to the place where I can’t remember everything I read.  That may be true, but that was also a problem in my twenties!  Even in college, I could not remember everything I read.  Unless you have a photographic memory, that is going to be a problem for everyone.      One book I return to time and time again is Gerald May’s book, Will and Spirit .  I find that book so helpful, because he develops what he calls in the subtitle a “contemplative psychology.”  Until his recent death, May was a psychiatrist who founded and ran a spirituality center in Washington, DC.  He spent most of his adult life working at the intersection of psychology and spirituality.  He works with some basic concepts in ways that I find quite illuminating.     One such concept that intrigues me and about which he helped me understand some things, is the concept of the “self.”  This idea of self is an important one in spirituality wor