My colleague Tony made this observation in a discussion last week:
“We can be powerful without being perfect.”
It really struck me as an important concept, one that I need to constantly remember on my journey of life.
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My colleague Tony made this observation in a discussion last week: “We can be powerful without being perfect.” It really struck me as an important concept, one that I need to constantly remember on my journey of life. [...] “Life is not about avoiding broken eggs. Life is about presence (broken eggs and all)” – Terry Hershey There’s so many problems, so many things to be fixed. We live in fear of what is and what’s to come. And meanwhile, we spend our lives constantly focusing on the future. Here’s the deal: Your presence [...] I’ve observed a number of conversations recently where people are coming up against what appears to be a brick wall of tasks. There’s so much work to be done, an infinite number of problems to be fixed, a huge number of people to convince…. Daunting is a relatively weak word for what it feels like. [...] Jesus has been reaching out to every one of us, every day, with a tremendously simple message. It’s not rocket science, folks, or it wouldn’t be accessible to all. [...] “It is for us to make the effort. The result is always in God’s hands.” – Mahatma Gandhi In our culture, we are very focused on results. Goals, money, achievement – things that represent the crowning results from our work. But you might notice that this leaves little room for God to work in our [...] I had the opportunity to sing Compline with the schola from another parish last night – a wonderful and prayerful experience. But earlier in the week, the director tangentially referred to me as “the professional.” Say what? I mean, I’m a neophyte at this chant, and have only been working on it for a few [...] I’ve felt quite guilty about my inexperience as regarding Sacred Music: I’m a convert to Catholicism, so I have no first-hand knowledge before about 1980. I didn’t know chant until I started with this schola about five years ago. I didn’t know Latin, and my knowledge is still quite sketchy. [...] I was listening to a wonderful podcast this afternoon, where Katherine Barron and Jennifer Willits were talking about the book, “Choosing Beauty.” But I don’t want to talk about the book. Instead, they brought up an important concept: When you bad-mouth or gossip about someone, what you’re doing is stealing. Stealing their reputation. [...] I subscribe to a lot of online newsletters, because it helps me to maintain a broader perspective and generates new ideas. I ran across one yesteday that held a real challenge for me. In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. [...] I just wanted to pass along this pointer to a newsletter that I’ve been reading for a couple of years: Terry Hershey’s Sabbath Moment. Check it out, and if you like it, sign up here. This is probably the only newsletter that I always save until I have some quiet time to read and ponder. [...] |