On the Scene ~

Seeing to it.

What is Belief? ~

What we believe is merely that which we hope is true.

Crucial Decisions ~

All the really important decisions in life-- I had no real knowledge what it was all about: Priesthood, Marriage, Children. All a blind leap.

With 80 Plus ~

The liberating awareness that there is really nothing we have to believe in . . . once we have learned to trust.

Not Knowing ~

The most important things we do in life we do without knowing: like taking a spouse, like choosing a career, like bringing up children. We take the leap!

Piano-Playing Rewards ~

I learn something about myself, namely, if I let go, the brain shows me that it already knows the patterns that determine where my fingers should be.

When playing I feel I am in the company of the Giants: Bach, Mozart, Beethoven. . . partaking in their creative genius.

Not Knowing ~

cntraveler.com

Maybe it has its advantages. Had the pilot known what was about to happen would he then have been able to perform the Miracle on the Hudson?

Mother Theresa ~ Love Affair

She carried on a love affair with Christ. Later she complained that He had forgotten her completely. But she went on loving . . .

Not Knowing ~

The old monk said: It is not what we know but what we don't know . . . that effects our life most.

Forlorn ~

Do the stars shine friendly down at me tonight blinking through such small radiant eyes, or are they cold? They seem to be holding back all the glory that is behind, dispensing of it in miserly measured portions.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ~ Departing

Stayed overnight with Nancy, my sister. We took our morning walk together. It was raining. Under umbrellas we walked in silence but each of us knew what the other one was thinking. We had breakfast, a little extended agape. Talked about Mother and Dad. The way things were. It had stopped raining when we walked out the driveway. I looked up at the trees. Then we got in the car and were off to the airport.

Butler, Pennsylvania ~ Departing

My brother Jack's house on Washington Street. I stand here looking. Jack's Ann is fighting her battle with cancer. When Jack dies the last of us will have been taken from this spot on the globe, our earthly home. Oh, dear little town of Butler where my fondest memories lie entombed . . . it is hard, ever harder to leave you, not knowing whether I'll return.

Positioning Oneself ~

The monk asks what. He doesn't ask why.

Floating with God ~

Early Irish monks had an unusual way of doing God's will. They would get into a small boat and let it float to wheresoever. . . Now that sounds strange, but somehow I like the idea of floating with God.