Faith & Life Inspirational Message

               Recently I heard someone innocently mention something about the ordinary.   That is a word we all understand. I know the word comes from the Latin root, which means it is regular or a normal occurrence.   We also understand the ordinary as much more than a word.   We understand the ordinary to be a description of most of our lives---at least, most of the time.   Ordinary reminds us also of routine.   My own life is pretty routine.   That is not bad; I welcome routine.             At least for me, routine is helpful, dependable and overall good.   If I were in pain, routine would be awful.   Generally, I am ok with the ordinary.   I realize I think about the ordinary in similar ways to routine.   Ordinarily, I have the same thing for breakfast.   Ordinarily, I get up about the same time, read the same papers, etc. ...

                  I was privileged to be on a call recently with author, Dan Coyle.   Dan has written quite a bit about culture, leadership and similar themes.   He is a bright, articulate guy, so I appreciate listening to him and learning ways to improve my own way of living and leading.   I appreciate how he can take some rather complex issues and break them down into smaller, understandable pieces so that we feel like we know how to move forward.               During his conversation he made a point, but did not elaborate.   He said that “leadership and therapy are not all that different.”   This followed up an earlier point where he noted that mental health is much more present and talked about within the work system, at schools, etc.   I would agree with this observation.   All of us with some age on us do not recall this prevalence and ...

       Behind my house is a little river named the Rocky River.  It is appropriately named, because during the summer months, especially, when it is low, there are many rocks in and alongside the river.  I like living by this little river.  When I go out on my deck, I could throw a rock into the river, so it is close.  My baseball arm is not very good anymore, so that tells you how close to the house it is.        In fact, when we thought about buying this place, we were a little concerned that it might flood us.  But we saw a hundred years study and plan and discovered there is almost no chance we could be flooded.  I am ok with that level of risk.  I did not grow up around water, so having it outside my back door was not a necessity.  Sometimes I think I would like to live right next to the ocean, but maybe I would get tired of it.  I do like my Rocky River.      It is a charming r...

             My title for this essay is stolen from a chapter title in Sophfronia Scott’s wonderful book, The Seeker and the Monk .   In this chapter Scott talks about Thomas Merton’s relationship with the young nurse.   In fact, the chapter is really a story of Merton’s quest for love and, in turn, implicates the quest of love that we all undertake.   In so doing Scott refers to Merton’s insightful little piece entitled, “A Buyer’s Market for Love.” (157)   Scott describes this piece as the one which “speaks best to what love has become in our current society---an ongoing quest that takes us outside of ourselves and into a realm that Merton referred to as a market where we trade in love, looking for the best deal possible.”             Scott begins her commentary.   “ I want someone to love me .   Whenever I read or hear someone say that, I picture a person str...

       I have a picture on the desktop of my computer, which I see every time I open it.  I frequently change the picture on my computer, so I am not sure how long this one will stay there.  Normally, I will rotate pictures of my grandkids, so they are “with me” even when they are not around.  I am sure all parents and grandparents understand this. Almost never do I have a picture of myself on my computer screen.  And if I do, it is a picture of me with someone else whom I consider significant in my life.  Of course, every picture is “worth a thousand words.”  And every picture has its own story.       This picture currently on my screen is a group of students who were in a class I have just finished teaching.  Sometimes I think it is a misnomer to say I teach.  More often, I think it is better described as a group of us regularly got together and learned from each other and from some books.  I am not s...

             I follow pretty closely the writings of my friend and Franciscan priest, Dan Horan, offers.  Dan is a well-educated, significantly younger public figure in religion.  He has a radiant personality and an engaging spirit.  When Dan comes into a room, it lights up.  Soon conversation with him right in the middle ensues and laughter breaks out.  Everyone seems to be having fun.  If you did not know, you would not pick him out of a crowd as one who lives like a monk.  But that says more about my own stereotyping than anything else.      Dan reminds me that being spiritual does not have to be a dour choice in the way folks live life.   For me Dan models the way I would like to picture how Jesus was than many of those stuffy nineteenth century Quaker guys in portraits hanging in too many Quaker meetinghouses I visited over my lifetime.   I can’t imagine any young person taking a l...

       I normally don’t use videos or even PowerPoint to do presentations.  I hope it is not simply because I am old-fashioned.  I know their use is almost universal now.  I am willing to use them when I think they are appropriate or add value.  And since that is a subjective judgment, I am sure others we see appropriateness and value much quicker than I do.  That said, I recently made a presentation to a group where I did use a little video.      The topic of the presentation was trust.  I suspect most folks underestimate the significance of trust when you think about teams, co-operation and so forth.  Simply put, when trust is low or missing, things will not go well.  As our new book,  Exception to the Rule , demonstrates, you certainly don’t get high performance when trust is lacking.  Trust is foundational.  And I would add, when I talk about trust, I am also talking about faith.  For me f...