I have been encouraged to study and practice the definitions of trust.
One definition is “Consistency over time is trust” credited to Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella in his book, Hit Refresh: The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft’s Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone. Clearly, doing the same thing over and over again will build a reputation of reliability. Repetitive behavior can be counted on to not surprise others; this definition of trust might be synonymized as being “solid and dependable.”
Another definition of trust offered in an internet search is perhaps a more metaphysical one. “We need people in our lives with whom we can be as open as possible. To have real conversations with people may seem like such a simple, obvious suggestion, but it involves courage and risk.” –Thomas Moore, Care of the Soul: A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life
Some things don’t make sense until they’re over. In the meantime, friends, human and more-than-human, make life tolerable.
Shiba – photo by author
what will be, will be
years have flown so why pretend
it doesn’t matter
Three muses informed today’s senryu.
“Does Pinocchio turn into a real boy?
In the last moments of the film, as the newfound family walks out together, Jiminy Cricket comes to the end of his narration. He says that many stories were told about Pinocchio, with some claiming he becomes a real flesh-and-bone boy. However, Jiminy doesn’t know if that ever happened. But he says it doesn’t matter. What matters is that Pinocchio was brave, truthful and unselfish and that made him as real a boy as any!“http://www.thereviewgeek.com/pinocchio2022-endingexplained/
It’s a Long Road to Freedom by Miriam Therese Winter
It’s a long road to freedom, a winding steep and high But when you walk in love with the wind on your wing And cover the earth with the songs you sing The miles fly by
I walked one morning by the sea And all the waves reached out to me I took their tears, then let them be
I walked one morning at the dawn When bits of night still lingered on I sought my star, but it was gone
I walked one morning with a friend And prayed the day would never end The years have flown so why pretend
Here are two different topics that totally connect for me.
First,Etta Pearl was the first rescue dog I adopted. Found near a dumpster, lost or abandoned, she needed and received help. Unfortunately, she was blind and deaf and very agitated. For some convoluted reason, I thought I was ready to take on this challenge.
I’ve since learned that there’s a term for when a rescue shelter wants to help an animal but knows they are extremely medically challenged AND they don’t want to hurt their statistics for being a “no-kill facility.” The term is outsourced euthanasia.
If a private individual adopts an animal and then proceeds with a vet-recommended end-of-life procedure, then the animal is “liberated” from their suffering AND the rescue shelter does not record the death on their records.
In Etta Pearl’s case, her extreme agitation led to obsessively walking in tight circles and biting anyone who tried to comfort or feed her. The vet said it was a clear case of canine cognitive dysfunction aka “doggie dementia.” My first rescue adoption lasted less than three weeks.
Second, is …
Richard Rohr‘s Daily Meditation From the Center for Action and Contemplation Week Forty-Eight: The Prophetic Path: Motivated by Love
It All Begins with Union
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. —Romans 8:38–39
This week we focus on people who call us to act out of loving union with God for the sake of others. Father Richard considers union with God as something that has already taken place, whether we experience it or not:
We are already in union with God! There is an absolute, eternal union between God and the soul of everything. At the deepest level, we are “hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3) and “the whole creation … is being brought into the same glorious freedom as the children of God” (Romans 8:21). The problem is Western religion has not taught us this. For most Christians that I’ve worked with as a priest, God is still separate and “out there.” Most people are still trying to secure God’s approval. Our ego over-emphasizes our individuality and separateness from God and others. We limited God’s redemption to the human species—and not very many individuals within that species! [1]
Daily contemplative prayer helps us rediscover our inherent union and learn how to abide in Presence, trusting that we are already good and safe in God. We don’t have to worry about our little private, separate, insecure self. Jesus taught, I am one with you and you are one with your neighbor and we are all one with God. That’s the gospel! That’s the whole point of Communion or Eucharist; we partake of the bread and wine until they convince us that we are in communion. It seems easier for God to convince bread and wine of their identity than to convince us.
Believe it or not, we’re not here to save our souls. That’s already been done once and for all—in Christ, through Christ, with Christ, and as Christ (see Ephesians 1:3–14). By God’s love, mercy, and grace, we are already the Body of Christ: the one universal body that has existed since the beginning of time. You and I are here for just a few decades, dancing on the stage of life, perhaps taking our autonomous selves far too seriously. That little and clearly imperfect self just cannot believe it could be a child of God. I hope the gospel frees us to live inside of a life that is larger than the one our small selves have imagined. The larger life of the Body of Christ cannot be taken from us. It is the very life of God which cannot be destroyed. [2]
As Thomas Merton wrote in his journal, “We are already one. But we imagine that we are not. And what we have to recover is our original unity. What we have to be is what we are.” [3]
[1] Adapted from Richard Rohr, Emotional Sobriety: Rewiring Our Programs for “Happiness” (Albuquerque, NM: Center for Action and Contemplation, 2011), webcast. Available as MP3 audio download.
[2] Adapted from Richard Rohr, “There Is Only One Suffering; There Is Only One Happiness,” homily, September 13, 2015.
[3] Thomas Merton, The Asian Journal of Thomas Merton, ed. Naomi Burton, Patrick Hart, James Laughlin (New York: New Directions, 1973), 308. Rohr’s emphasis.
As I prepare for Thanksgiving Day in America, it’s helpful to remind myself that everything in life matters. I hope you enjoy the holidays ahead. I hope you enjoy the poem below.
photo by author
SEAGULL ON A DOCKby Patrick J Cole
You may see the bird,
or the many posts beyond it.
You may even see the harbor shoreline not that far ahead
Yesterday, I listed the many lost companion animals of my past; most of them were dogs, dearly beloved dogs.
A good friend is a part-time palm reader. They recently read my palms and saw two very clear signs. First, there would be big dogs in my future and second, there would be small dogs. We both laughed.
I’m writing this on a very early Wednesday morning. In a couple of hours, I will be visiting the Stray Rescue of STL facility to walk dogs for the morning. It’s something I look forward to every week. One at a time, I will walk mixed breed dogs that have been abandoned and then rescued for hopeful re-homing.
Last Wednesday, I walked Goten, Supreme, Fury, Luck of the Irish and Pepto. Not sure who I will walk today. I’m always hopeful at least one of last week’s dogs will have been adopted or fostered in the meantime.
Here’s wishing you a day filled with joy and, if you’re lucky like me, a day that includes the love of a dog.
Today is a good day to learn more about Ilia Delio. Check out the references below.
“God Is the Source of Our Life
When we search long and hard enough to know the source of our own lives and the source of life at the heart of creation, we discover that the whole creation is pregnant with God. To see, to contemplate and to be transformed so as to become what we love marks the path of Franciscan prayer. The problem today is that we love many things—our freedom, independence, financial wealth, status, power and whatever else our culture tells us will make us happy; thus, there is little room within us to fully embrace God. God, in a sense, has to push through all the things that clutter our lives in order to dwell within us. Franciscan prayer calls us back to poverty, penance, conversion and a heart full of mercy, values and attitudes that are counter-cultural but life-giving. Only when we acknowledge our need for God can we begin to find God. Prayer begins in the poverty of the desert and is the cry of the poor person who is far from home and seeks the way to the source of life.
“Masterfully written and intensely enlightening, Franciscan Prayer could very well be considered the essential handbook for all those seeking to pray and live the Franciscan way. With exquisite execution, Franciscan theologian Ilia Delio clearly outlines what it means to pray as a Franciscan. Through her experience as a discalced Carmelite nun and then her transformation into Franciscan scholar, Sister Delio brings to light the “contemplative,” “cosmic” and “evangelizing” aspects of Franciscan prayer.”
Bio
“Ilia Delio is a Franciscan Sister of Washington, D.C. and holds the Josephine C. Connelly Endowed Chair in Theology at Villanova University. A native of Newark, N.J., she earned doctorates in pharmacology from Rutgers University-School of Healthcare and Biomedical Sciences and in Historical theology from Fordham University, N.Y. She is the recipient of a Templeton Course in Science and Religion award and the author of twenty-two books, including The Unbearable Wholeness of Being, which won the 2014 Silver Nautilus Award and a Catholic Press Association Book Award. Other books include Care for Creation (Catholic Press Book Award 2010), The Emergent Christ (Catholic Press Book Award 2013) and Making All Things New: Catholicity, Cosmology and Consciousness nominated for the 2018 Grawemeyer award. Her books have been translated into Italian, Spanish, Portugeuse, Polish and German. In 2015, she became general editor of a new book series by Orbis Books called “Catholicity in an Evolving Universe” of which there are currently ten books scheduled for publication. She lectures nationally and internationally on topics including evolution, artificial intelligence, consciousness, culture and religion.
Dr. Delio’s work in Science and Religion is influenced by the Jesuit scientist, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955) who devoted his spiritual writing to bridging Christianity and evolution. Like Teilhard, she sees the essential need to integrate Science and Religion toward a new way of thinking, consonant with evolution. Her research interests focus on exploring divine action in a world of evolution, complexity, emergence, quantum reality and artificial intelligence. She continues to lecture and write on religion and evolution, catholicity, cosmology and culture, artificial intelligence and human becoming. Her work has a wide public audience and can be found on the website: www.christogenesis.org.”
So grateful to have the opportunity to walk the fur friends at Stray Rescue of St. Louis. Above are the five that reminded me yesterday that love still exists, and we can be a part of giving and receiving it, whenever we volunteer at our local animal rescue facility.
“INTERNATIONAL DOG DAY: A SPECIAL DAY TO CELEBRATE ALL DOGS AROUND THE WORLD!
The International Dog Day is observed annually on August 26 to honor all dogs – no matter shapes, sizes, age and breeds – and encourage adoption to all those who have yet to find a home and a family forever.
It is a good and symbolic occasion to celebrate man’s best friend and to remember that every dog around the world should deserve a better life: a life of joy, love, protection, care and respect. A special day to raise awareness about dog adoption because if you are looking for a life’s companion, shelters are full of four-legged friends who are waiting for their chance and will bring just happiness to your days.
Today we also want to give special thought to all dogs that are still left behind in many parts of the world because people, government or local authorities do not care. We should remember all dogs killed, abused, mistreated, but also those who live homeless, in suffering with no care and need to be helped and rescued.
This day was created in 2004 by Colleen Paige, a pet and family lifestyle expert and animal advocate who chose to celebrate the day on August 26 as it was the date that her family adopted their first dog ‘Sheltie’ from an animal shelter home.
Since the first celebration in 2004, National Dog Day has grown in popularity and is now celebrated across the world as International Dog Day.
Today choose to celebrate by giving your dog an extra cuddle, but also do not forget the others and help them by volunteering in a shelter, making a donation or consciously adopting your friend forever.
Be sure to spend this day acknowledging how wonderful and valuable dogs are and give them something positive back as they deserve.”
I return to Stray Rescue today to walk some big dogs. Plenty of dogs looking for love and attention. The feelings are mutual.
In his book HOW TO LIVE WHEN A LOVED ONE DIES, Thich Nhat Hanh explains:
“Letting Emotions Flow Through You
Do not be afraid of your painful feelings and difficult emotions. If we try to repress our painful feelings, we create a lack of circulation in our psyche which can lead to depression or other psychological problems. Just as the body needs good circulation of the blood to remain healthy, we also need good psychological circulation. …
Mindfulness is the blood of our psyche. Like the blood in the body, it has the power to eliminate toxins and heal our pain. Every time our pain is embraced by mindfulness, it loses some of its strength; it becomes weaker each time. …
When mindfulness circulates in our consciousness, we begin to experience well-being. We needn’t be afraid of our pain when we know that our mindfulness is also there, ready to embrace and transform it.” p.56
Life Matters 