I’m up at the crack of dawn, clutching a cup of coffee, carrying a laundry bag, paddling toward the laundry room. What to expect? A former client has already left a cautionary note. Behold, a shining new-fangled washing machine, with enough gadgets and signals to alert the dead.
Don your glasses. Push the built-in compression button. Reread all the options. Note the “cycle status” before proceeding.
Advance with caution, lift the lid, review the cycle features.
Using the skill of a licensed airplane pilot, I proceed to load the washer: add soap, water, clothes – white or dark- close the lid.
The green light flashes. I’m off the runway and in the air. The cycle begins!
Yes. The planets and stars are aligning, at least in my own heart.When one of our Sisters read my January blog, “The Expanding Universe”, she replied, “Yes, Jean, the universe is expanding and so are our hearts”.Her words drew me up short as I stopped to notice with shock how deeply I was moved by her statement.
Ah, ha! So that’s what’s been happening to me!If it’s occurring in me, then it must be taking place in you too.In fact, it must be growing in all our hearts if we but take the time to stop and notice the quiet, interior movement in ourselves.
Somehow, I believe that if we can part the heavy curtains on our bleak, negative, unending news reports, we can glimpse a sea of goodness in what seems like a Godforsaken world. I sense that there is a tsunami of love coursing through the universe.This goodness is so noticeable that examples barely need to be repeated.Our families are hopefully havens of peace and security.Our friends are loving and supportive in times of joy and sorrow.Our villages, towns and cities are filled with people of good will. The work long hours to provide for their families while serving on city councils, volunteer activities and church outreach to assist the public. They watch to keep the streets safe and promote healthy lifestyles.In spite of unknown risks, our own London City Council voted unanimously in January 2017 to become a sanctuary city.If that doesn’t speak volumes to testify for our expanding hearts and the desire for peace, love and good will, I don’t know what does.
As we reach out in hope to the future beyond our fears and imaginings, we learn to trust God. Our anxieties are allayed and we sense a peace and inner expansiveness that radiates out into the world to embrace what lies ahead.
As we boldly dare to go forward in joy, we sing the words of Jesus found in St. John’s Gospel: “The light shines on in the darkness and the darkness will never overcome it”. Let’s sing God’s song and dance God’s dance.Let’s hold on to hope; let’s hold on to peace; let’s hold on to love.It becomes clear. The universe is expanding and so are our hearts.
Have you noticed how a seemingly mundane activity can inspire one to reflect deeply on what at first glance is totally unrelated to what you are doing? For me, this experience is like what the wise Jesuits are about, namely 'finding God in all things.'
Let me explain. There is a deeper meaning in all things, if only we have eyes to see. Long dark winter nights are conducive to leisurely activities like reading, playing games, or in my case, assembling the 1000 pieces of a challenging jigsaw puzzle. If you, too, are an avid puzzler like me, do you first pick out all the straight pieces and painstakingly piece together the outer edge? Now, there's the rub. You may congratulate yourself, proud of your perfect outer edge only toeventually discover that something is amiss. It may take quite some time before you finally clue in to the obvious. Some pieces just don't belong where you have put them. If even one piece is out of place, none of the others will fit.
So, this got me thinking. Do we at times find ourselves in the wrong place?Have we found our rightful place in the nucleus of our immediate family or our wider circle, in society, in the universe?Whether I liked it or not, I had to dislodge several puzzle pieces I previously fitted together with such certainty. There was no other way. No huffing and puffing, no prodding would make pieces fit snugly if they did not belong where I had mistakenly thought they belonged. No matter how similar the shape or colour, if a piece doesn't fit perfectly it doesn't fit. There is no mis-fit. Even that oddly shaped puzzle piece for which there seems to be no right place, fits. Once in place it blends in perfectly. What an eyesore, if it were missing.
What is the life lesson to be learned from these interlocking puzzle pieces? In the end, once each piece is in its rightful place, together they form this cohesive stunning picture. Blue pieces which enhance the sky did not belong among the blue pieces of the frozen water. The place for the vibrant red pieces is on the roof, not on the snow covered tree. Together, each and every piece, the sum of all the pieces, is needed to show forth the beauty. Likewise, we each play a unique, irreplaceable part in God's awesome symphony of creation. As the great English poet, John Donne pointed out, ‘No man is an island, entire to itself, every man is a piece of the continent …’ If we honour the otherness of those around us, our lives can securely interlock with theirs. Side by side, we fit snugly where we belong. We are companions on this complicated beautiful journey, this puzzle called life. Yes, of course, at times we ruffle each other’s feathers, and sometimes we need to leave a situation where we do not fit. However, when we find our niche, interlocking snugly with those around us, we might be surprised that we can find God in all things - in everyone, in every place, in everything.
Geoffery Fieger, a smart young lawyer in Detroit MI, was made famous for defending Dr. Jack Kevorkian who was charged and imprisoned for doing assisted suicides. Today Fieger has a TV ad for his law firm, and in it he states “If you don’t stand for something, you stand for nothing”. Kevorkian stood for something and in doing so forced conversations on a hot button issue. Fieger, like a skilled neurosurgeon, fearlessly and creatively defended Kevorkian in a much followed trial. Through it all, we reflected, deepened and grew in our personal, political, religious views.
These words “If you don’t stand for something you stand for nothing” cause me to pause, ponder, and question my own involvement, commitment to beliefs, ideas, and values. I know that sharing in a group, “giving witness” can be affirming and engrains one’s thoughts, beliefs. So what is the hesitation to blog when I have deep beliefs about the value of blogs and like to read what others have written? The answer is likely fear of being open, honest and of being criticized, and yet to speak freely is such a privilege.
So Fieger’s words give me a push. I do some self-talk about my hesitation and with convincing encouragement from a friend, turn to my art and write four Advent reflections.I learned it requires work, discipline, and sorting around ones deepest thoughts, beliefs, plus doing some weaving of words. All of that stretches one into another level of knowing, being and living.
I am convinced that many of the great speakers and writers who we admire today, such as Carol Zinn csj, Pat Farrell OSF, Beatrice Bruteau and others, are so successful because they read, reflect, pray and process ample information and come out of it all knowing anew, finding new questions and avenues to wonder about, explore. As a result, I suspect they become more fully alive and compelling as speakers/writers/believers.
We each have something we are called to “to stand for” or give a voice to. What continually comes to mind, that speaks to you, amazes you, creates dis-ease? Sharing is fruit of wisdom moving in our midst and helps to awaken our consciousness and experience of God.We are each a witness by our prayer, reflections, longings, hopes, concerns which makes for great diversity and oneness at a time in our world when we see growing fragmentation and loss of hope. Opportunities abound “to stand for something or nothing”.
They said it was impossible, as The Mount Community Centre announced its dream to build a community, a sustainable urban village that is welcoming, open and inclusive within the city of Peterborough. Attached to the initial logo was the statement just imagine. Three years ago it was not easy to imagine that the vision described in the brochure could ever materialize. A small group of dedicated citizens undertook the momentous task of transforming over 132,000 square feet of buildings on ten acres of land in the heart of the city. The task was indeed formidable, the risk enormous. The evolution of the project to this point is a story of determination, courage and commitment, and the latest brochures no longer contain the call to imagine.
The dream was built around four pillars of service in response to the needs of the area. The first was the construction of about 80 apartments over time in the light of the critical need for housing in the Peterborough area. The first 43 apartments are now completed and rented, and the last three tenants are moving in over the next month. Plans are already underway for a further 30 – 40 apartments to be constructed within the building. An innovative food centre to answer needs for food security is being realized as a group of experts in the food business, on a very productive committee, have drawn up plans that are now under construction, and a manager has been hired to put into place this many–faceted dream. Another pillar of service is the area of health and social services. A huge open space on the first floor, formerly the dining room of the Sisters of St. Joseph, has been rented by the Victorian Order of Nurses and offers an Adult Day Program for seniors and adults living with a disability or with Alzheimer's Disease, dementia or cognitive impairment. The Victorian Order of Nurses also rents offices to coordinate the Assisted Living Services Program which provides personal support services, homemaking, security checks and care coordination for seniors. Kawartha Land Trust recently relocated their offices to The Mount; an organization and registered charity dedicated to conserving the natural environment and enhancing quality of life in the Kawarthas by protecting properties comprising 3,040 acres of important diverse types of land. Other agencies and organizations continue to negotiate for spaces to rent. The fourth pillar is the development and encouragement of arts and cultural activities. The beautiful former chapel is currently being used for various cultural activities, including music, drama and film, and other areas are busy every day with piano and dance lessons as well as choir groups. These pillars have been planned and operate within a strong commitment to ecological and financial sustainability.
The challenges ahead continue to call for a high level of commitment as the project moves forward to make the best use of this huge asset for the good of Peterborough and Area. The work and the excitement around possibilities continue, but the atmosphere has changed. The constant use of the existing building, and the initial success in the completion of the first phase which has transformed one area of the building into bright and beautiful apartments is not the only change. The minds and hearts of some who expressed little faith in the project and others who had interest but many questions about its viability have also been transformed. Most significantly it has given to those, whose generous and consistent support made possible this foundation, the courage, the stamina and the enthusiasm to carry on with a hope that is based on a story of growth from an impossible dream.
I’m up at the crack of dawn, clutching a cup of coffee, carrying a laundry bag, paddling toward the laundry room. What to expect? A former client has already left a cautionary note. Behold, a shining new-fangled washing machine, with enough gadgets and signals to alert the dead.
