The View Up Here

Hey, if you're gonna steal, steal from the best, right? (The best being Stanley Kubrick.) This year was intense. Change... doesn't even describe what I experienced in 2012. A move from one side of the country to the other. From married to separated to almost-divorced (NYS gets to decide when that will be official). I started a new job with an old employer. I wrote a screenplay and a novel (still revising both). I saw the desert for the first time and watched the sun set over the Pacific Ocean for the first time. I acquired the Exxtreme Camry for those pesky L.A. freeways.  I met an inspiring, amazing, loving community of Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, learned how to lean on God rather than on my own limited power and vision, and above all, I discovered that I am truly loved. I went from asking 'who am I, what am I doing, where am I going' to knowing in the deepest part of my soul and heart that "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live,...

In my last post, I wrote about the Light of the world. This morning I found an article on another blog that reflects the ideas I presented in that post. Here's a very appropriate quote from that article, referencing Meister Eckhart, a Christian mystic, theologian and preacher from the thirteenth century. He wrote that ...the story of the virgin birth is the story of Christ being born within us through the union of the Spirit of God with our own flesh. It is about birthing the Spirit within us. Ultimately, the story of Jesus’ birth is not about the past, but it is about discovering the “Light Within” each of us in the present. http://progressivechristianity.org/resources/a-light-in-the-darkness/ I clearly need to read some Meister Eckhart. Put that on the list, when I'm done with my current and immediate queue that includes St. John of the Cross ( A Spiritual Canticle of the Soul and Bridegroom of Christ) , Bernard de Clairveaux ( A Lover Teaching the Way of Love: Sel...

The last week and a half has brought tragedy in the midst of the most joyous season – the season of Light. The violent deaths at Newtown, CT and Webster, NY are horrific. And don’t forget that violence and death to men, women and children occur every moment all around the world. In the U.S., we tend to be insulated from this dirty little fact of life on planet Earth until we are hit home. And then when we are, we are tempted in the wake of such horrid acts to abandon hope, to think to ourselves “what is the point of it all?” or to lock and load. For those who may or may not believe in God (The One, The Source, The Universe, The Father, etc.) the question gets lodged in our consciousness:  “ Why?”   I’m going to blatantly steal from a homily given by Fr. Jim Hickey at Holy Family Church in Rockland, MA to address this. I was there two Sundays ago (Dec. 16) – just two days after the school shooting in Newtown – and he hit us full force between the eyes in his homily. Fr. Hick...

I have so many thoughts pinging around at the moment that I'm not sure where to begin. First, I suppose, an update is in order. This better not happen while I'm there. 1. In two days, I'm flying to The Land Where I Was Birthed for a week of holiday love and awesomeness with my family and dear friends. Thankfully, I have a non-stop flight. And I have a winter coat to borrow for the week. Spaz will enjoy my roommate and Elliott the Cat for company during my absence, but then she'll be without a human being overnight for the first time in her life between my roommate's departure for her holiday and my return. Our neighbor will come over to feed and play with the cats, but I anticipate a very grumpy Spaz when I return. Funny how everything comes back to the cat. Anyway. 2. Fell off a chair while hanging a lovely cedar Christmas garland a couple weeks ago. As has been pointed out to me - a dangerous holiday. I twisted my "good" knee rather badly, bu...