Tag: last third of life

Finishing First: What It Really Means to Win

How much does winning contribute to a good life? “When winning is pursued with integrity and a sense of purpose, it can be a catalyst for personal growth, fulfillment, and a more meaningful existence,” says writer Alene Dawson. But winning at any cost “can have a dark side, leading to cheating, self-harm, or a failure to connect winning to a larger life purpose.”

Read the article.

From the John Templeton Foundation, found in Daily Good.

About the John Templeton Foundation.

The Martyrs of Memphis

In the summer of 1878, Memphis was besieged by yellow fever. Some 5,000 people died from the mosquito-borne illness.  A community of Anglican nuns from New England could have left like so many did, but they stayed to care for the sick and dying.

Read the story of the martyrs of Memphis.

From Joanna Seibert.

Read about it in Episcopal Church dictionary.

Getting it Down to the Essentials

“Nobody comes to adulthood, let alone to old age, without being deeply hurt,” says Ron Rolheiser. All of us will be treated unfairly at some time in our lives. For that, we should grieve. Therefore the task of our later years is to forgive. It’s not a question of were we hurt; it’s what is my hurt and how can I move beyond it?

Read the reflection:

From Ron Rolheiser.

Wholehearted and Fully Alive

If we are going to experience life in its fullness, we have to be willing to “get in.” Terry Hershey quotes Paul Tillich as saying, “You are accepted by that which is greater than you, and the name of which you do not know. Do not seek for anything. Do not perform anything, do not intend anything. Simply accept the fact that you are accepted.”

Read the reflection.

From Terry Hershey.

Anxiety: Opening Up to God

Brother Jack Crowley of Society of St. John the Evangelist writes about his trials with anxiety attacks. “One thing I have learned in my experiences with anxiety is you never really know how anxious someone is,” says Br. Jack. “Sometimes the most anxious person in the room is the last person you would suspect.”

Read the reflection.

From SSJE.

Adjusting Expectations

She expected to be sitting in front of a lovely lake.  Instead she was looking at a large field of oats. Was this what her spiritual director meant by meeting God where he wants to be met?

Read the reflection.

From Joyce Rupp.

Positive Disruption

Jesus spoke in parables and often about disruption. “Jesus was calling for a radical disruption in his religion, a great spiritual migration,” says Brian McLaren, “and a similar disruption and migration are needed no less today in the religion that names itself after him.” 

Read the reflection.

From Center for Action and contemplation.

Justice and Charity

There is a difference between charity and justice, says Ron Rolheiser. And often, charity gets in the way of justice. Yes we feed the homeless; but do we know how our systems create homelessness in the first place?

Read the reflection.

From Ron Rolheiser.

Why Not to Be Afraid

The disciples were terrified when a storm erupted suddenly on the Sea of Galilee. We, too, face many moments of fear in our lives. Jesus may not take away the fearful situation, but he promises to be with us in it.

Read the reflection.

From Society of St. John the Evangelist.

The Real Work of Mentoring

A mentor is someone who companions and guides us through our Real Work, says Richard Rohr. That work “is always going to be focused on the inside, not the outside. Real Work is second-half-of-life work,” says Rohr.

Read the reflection.

From Center for Action and Contemplation.

Sacred Time

We treat time as a commodity: We talk about how we plan to “spend” it, and calculate how much we will need to complete a certain task.

But author Christine Valters Paintner invites us to a different experience of time; she encourages us to see time as offering us invitations rather than making demands on us.

Our online fall study will explore our relationship with time using the book Sacred Time. It begins Thursday, Sept. 5.

See the details and register.

The Righteousness of God

“We are called into partnership with Jesus to care about how the world around us does or does not conform to God’s design,” writes Frederick Schmidt.   We do that in part by making daily personal choices that witness to God’s presence in our lives.

Read the reflection.

From Joanna Seibert.

Order, Disorder, Reorder

At some point in our lives, there will likely be a death, a disease, a disruption to our normal way of thinking or being in the world. We will find ourselves in great disorder. It is necessary if any real growth is to occur, says Richard Rohr.  

Read the reflection.

From Center for Action and Contemplation.

The Problem of Suffering and Evil

It is a question so many people ask: How can a loving God allow suffering in this world? Is it about God giving us humans free will? Can we see God as a redeeming God instead of a rescuing God? Fr. Ron Rolheiser offers some thoughts.

Read the reflection.

From Ron Rolheiser.

Sanctuaries of Silence

Acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton takes us on a short journey of natural silence. Hempton defines silence not as the absence of sound, but as a void of noise pollution created by modern life, and warns that, with the pervasiveness of noise pollution, “silence is on the verge of extinction.”

Watch and listen.

From Karmatube.

Sacred Time

We treat time as a commodity: We talk about how we plan to “spend” it, and calculate how much we will need to complete a certain task.

But author Christine Valters Paintner invites us to a different experience of time; she encourages us to see time as offering us invitations rather than making demands on us.

Our online fall study will explore our relationship with time using the book Sacred Time. It begins Thursday, Sept. 5.

See the details and register.

Wingspan of the Soul

The world tells us we are not enough: not adequate, not prepared, not smart enough. But Paul, in the letter to the Colossians, reminds us that in Christ we are more than enough. We are inheritors of Christ’s power. 

Read or listen to the sermon from Br. Keith Nelson of SSJE.

From Society of St. John the Evangelist.

How Kids Describe Love

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds: “What does love mean?” The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. Read and enjoy.

Read  what the children had to say.

From Daily Good.

Wise Selfishness

What’s the difference between wise selfishness and foolish selfishness? Feeding the soul of another that also feeds our soul is wise selfishness. An act of loving-kindness is always wise selfishness.

Read the reflection.

From Joanna Seibert.

The Great Divide

A poem.

On the left there is business
It loves to think and problem solve
Perform so hard it wears you down
If only it would stop to breathe and look around

Read the rest of the poem.

From Awakin.

Road Food

Yes, some days are hard. When there is little and we want for more, we see only the lack. Can we instead give thanks for what we have, what has been given, like the manna in the wilderness.

Read the reflection.

From Society of St. John the Evangelist.

Giving One’s Death Away

The mystic John of the Cross said we have three essential struggles in life: to get our lives together, to give our lives away, and to give our deaths away. But what can it mean to give our deaths away? “How we die leaves behind a legacy, a particular spirit, which either nurtures or haunts those left behind,” says Fr. Ron Rolheiser.

Read the reflection.

More about Ron Rolheiser.

A Transformed Heart

The young man wanted to be exceptional, so he piled up accomplishments in every arena of his life.  Then one day he saw a flower. He named it Fran.

Read the reflection.

From Sabbath Moment.

Job’s Emotional Courage

In his anger and distress, the biblical Job wishes he had never been born. He finally feels his feelings. He acts out. “I am convinced that people who do not feel deeply finally do not know deeply either,” says Richard Rohr.  Job’s grief becomes both “whole and holy.”

Read the reflection.  

From Center for Action and Contemplation.

From Me To We: True Love Is A Process Of Humility

A community as a body has more wisdom, strength, and courage than any one of us alone, says Thich Nhat Hanh. “This is called community building. It is the most precious work a monk, nun or layperson can do,” he adds.

Read the reflection.

From Awakin.

Dolphins and Going Deeper

Dolphin lovers know that they are best seen when seas are calm, not choppy. Just so, says Joanna Seibert, when the waters of our lives are stormy, it may be hard to see the path ahead. We must find a sacred place each day where we can rest in calm seas.

Read the reflection.  

From Joanna Seibert.

Healing Takes Place Here

A Vietnam combat veteran worked for years to overcome his insomnia. Then one day he discovered that it was in the midst of suffering and confusion, that healing and transformation could take place, if he stopped trying to escape.

Read the story.

From Center for Action and Contemplation.

Making Companionship With God a Priority at All Costs

Thinking about how little rest African American slaves got, this  thought-provoking reflection offers an invitation for us to let go of all the “doing,” be still, and focus our attention on enjoying God.

Read the reflection.

From Renovare.

Religious Coinage

We misunderstand the biblical story about Jesus driving the money-changers out of the temple. It is not justification for losing our tempers and being angry with those who differ from us. It is about everyone’s access to God.

Read the reflection.

From Fr. Ron Rolheiser.

I Double Dare You

the edges of things are always deceptive.
because we are taught to believe
in endings and beginnings.
 
but the truth is:
There Are No Borders.

Read the rest of the poem.

From Daily Good.

Sacred Mess of Nature

A seed grows into a flower through the mud and mess of nature without questioning nature’s plan. In the same way, “We can only meet what is truly here now, deeply and earnestly, and choose to keep opening to what is,” says writer Lucy Grace.

Read the reflection.

From Awakin.

Nutritious Food of Life

A blind man went traveling alone. When people realized that he was blind they invited him to squeeze things as a way of perceiving them. So it is in our lives: we may have to “squeeze” life to find the reality of it.

Read the reflection.

From Terry Hershey’s Sabbath Moment.

When Fear is All Around

Our society seems to be in the grip of fear these days, not unlike the fear the disciples experienced when the storm came up while they were fishing (Matthew 8:23-27). “Our country is more polarized than at any time in recent memory,” says Bro. David Vryhof, and fear is the result.

Read the sermon.

From Society of St. John the Evangelist.

Sitting in Silence

How must we pray? Sit down. Sit down alone. Sit down alone in silence.

Read the reflection.

From Center for Action and Contemplation.

How must we pray? Sit down. Sit down alone. Sit down alone in silence.

Some Advice on Prayer from an Old Master

Fr. Ron Rolheiser recalls a seminary professor of great wisdom who taught that at the least we must pray the Lord’s Prayer every day. It is, says Rolheiser, both a challenge and a consolation.

Read the reflection.

From Ron Rolheiser.