The View Up Here

I'm trying determine the name of my little boat . What ends up happening is that anything that is uttered by anyone becomes a candidate for a name. My friends have gotten in on this, and while it is great fun, it hasn't been terribly productive.  Thus far the rejected suggestions and ideas (in no particular order): Pain Killer Englebert (as in...Humperdink) Rebel Scum Rubber Ducky Spirit of '22 Bob's Your Uncle  Maid of the Moist Persnickety Anger Management Huo Yuanjia (Chinese folk hero and freedom fighter) Freedom Fighter (But why would you want to fight freedom? This is analogous to...) Near Miss (If it's a near miss, that means you hit it.) Can you see how this is getting me nowhere? I mean, it's amusing, but I still need to name my boat. And no, I won't call it "Boaty McBoatface."  If you have a suggestion (serious or otherwise), please leave it in the comments. God bless.

The kayak, I'm talking about the kayak! The inflatable kayak, that is.  Last summer I went kayaking for the first time in my life. Totally fell in love with it, and at the end of the season, I did some research and bought myself an inflatable kayak - the Intex K-1 Challenger. (Thank goodness for off-season pricing.) Since I do not have a place to store or a way to transport a hard shell kayak, it seemed like the sensible thing to do. It comes with everything (some assembly required). Yesterday was my first day getting it in the water. I was a bit nervous at first (will my butt sink this thing? once I get into it, will I be able to get out? what happens if I spring a leak in the middle of Irondequoit Bay?). I'm happy to report that my little insecurities were put to rest. I had a blast paddling at Mendon Ponds with a friend who took out her canoe. Tomorrow I'm taking it to the Erie Canal for another session. Now I just need a name for my little boat. 

I'm now in Day Three of living my Rule of Life. After working on this and receiving the blessing of my spiritual director, I began to live in an intentional way according to my Rule of Life on the Feast of St. Elijah. You might ask what a rule of life is, and well you may. Essentially, a rule of life is a means by which someone comes closer to God (or really, to any desired outcome, I suppose) by virtue of lifestyle and daily schedule. The trick to all of this is to keep it reasonable in what the individual (in this case, myself) is able to sustain. The point isn't to set oneself up with an impossible standard that will constantly be disappointed. For instance, part of my Rule of Life is to go to Mass every day possible. At first, I tried to appoint certain Mass times for each day of the week, but it immediately became clear to me that in summer, those early Mass times might not always be attainable. I am not concerned with what time or where I go to Mass as much as getting to ...

This morning, my T'ai Chi instructor, Binh, asked me to help with teaching the absolute beginner section of the class. I've been working with him for the last year in private to fine tune my form and become ready to teach. I only had the group for a few minutes this morning, but it was humbling and a true honor. Talk about pressure! But I absolutely loved it. One of the other advanced students joined us so that the beginner students could have someone at the front and back of the class to follow, which was very helpful. I never thought when I started taking T'ai Chi (again, for what, the fourth time in my life?) that I would be able to teach, myself. Of course, I'm only teaching the first part (part one of three in the Yang style long form).  But it's a tremendous honor, and I feel accomplished in this.  One of the ways I committed to this path of study last year was to order a couple of T'ai Chi uniforms. It actually helps my focus when I'm not just wearing...

After so much neglect, it was time to spruce up ye olde blog. I'm certainly not the same as I was several years ago when I began blogging. So much has changed - all for the good - so why not visually express that here?  The color families are among my favorites:  retro-ish ocean blue-green and cranberry. I took the photo in the header a couple years ago at Nantasket Beach in Hull, MA, close to where I grew up.  I will be blogging more about my practice of Tai Chi, experience with prayer, thoughts about living out my faith, and other delights such as film reviews and the occasional socio-cultural commentary. That's all for now. Cheerio.

Today I prayed my Rosary specifically for the conversion of China. The tyranny of Communism includes the destruction not just of ideas, but of people.  Human rights are trampled on, and history is rewritten. I recall my former Chinese students explaining patiently to me that they knew their government was censoring news and other forms of media, but that the government is there to protect them, like a parent. The notion that free flowing information was stopped up, censored, rewritten and repackaged held no repugnance for them.   For these young minds, having been wholly formed in this way, I pray.  I pray that the dignity of the human person regains its place over the supreme power of the State. I pray that freedom of religion and self-expression will find a place in China one day. I pray for Cardinal Zen of Hong Kong, who was arrested for his pro-democracy efforts and faithfulness to the Gospel. Since childhood, I have been attracted to and fascinated by the history, la...

This time, I really did forget that I had a blog. It's been over a year since my last post, and the only reason I remembered I had a blog is the link from my website. I'm not kidding. It's almost like I was busy with life or something.  Life.  Working, moving, working, discerning... I can't even crunch into a post what the last year has been like. I will say it has been challenging and at times I was in a deep depression (that is to say, mid-winter). But it has also presented amazing opportunities for friendships, spiritual depths, and personal development.  With only two weeks left of school, I'm looking forward to a summer of kayaking, Tai Chi, writing, and playing music with my new group "The Ivy Leagues."  Then there is the ongoing contemplative stance of listening and saying "yes."  I will blog more frequently as the powerful grip of the school year comes to a close.  Please pray for me, and be assured of my prayers for any readers I may hav...