Faith & Life Inspirational Message

I would have no idea how many times I have told people, “take care.”   And I am sure there are just as many people out there who have said the same thing to me: “take care.”   It is very much like the phrase, “how’s it going?”   Most of the time I hear someone ask me that question, I assume it is not a real question.   It is a figure of speech---something we likely are to say to someone we know as we pass him or her on the street or in the hallway.             I am not against this act of cordiality.   I just don’t assume it means much more than that---people being cordial to one another.   It is an extended form of “hi.”   It is not a negative thing and I am not complaining.   In fact, I know the two phrases can become quite meaningful with the right kind of eye contact or voice inflection.   If I actually stop, look someone in the eyes and ask, “how are you,” with the right kind of v...

One of the books I use in a course on contemplative spirituality that I teach is by my friend and fellow Quaker, Parker Palmer.   Parker’s book, The Active Life , tries to describe what contemplative living looks like for the average person who will not join a monastery.   I like the subtitle of his book: A Spirituality of Work, Creativity, and Caring .     One of the chapters I like focuses on “action, failure, and suffering.”   It is a story about an angel who wants to alleviate suffering---an angel who tries to care.             Clearly all of us know there is suffering in our world.   No doubt many who read these inspirational pieces have known some personal suffering.   I don’t know whether suffering is necessary in life, but I am convinced it is inevitable.   Live long enough and you will suffer.   Something the angel needed to learn was sometimes suffering cannot be allevia...