Shadow's tenth winter

It's a marshmallow world out there, and Shadow-dog is not impressed. It's his tenth-eleventh winter already (well, he'll be ten years old at the end of January) and he's never liked snow much, being more like a cat than a dog in many ways. Cuddling is cool, cold weather is not!

Trying to get him to go for a winter walk can be a challenge, especially on grey days. And it's something of an effort, too -- first, to get him to come out of his cosy bed and make his way to the back door (liver treats sometimes help), then to get him into his boots, leash harness, and winter coat (over his cozy blue sweater). 

Then he stands there looking like he wishes he was back in the land of his ancestors (Havanese are descendants of the dogs that once belonged to Cuban royalty), and who can blame him? If I could teleport to a beach near Havana, I probably would.

Considering dog years, he's officially been a senior citizen for quite some time already, and honestly, there are days I can relate. His back end isn't as perky as it used to be when getting up off the couch, and I did something to my hip this morning while running to the bus. Ouch.

It's been quite a while since I've taken Shadow on a 5 km walk, as it's probably time to have mercy on his (probably) achy little body. But it's just not the same walking without him -- he's motivated me to get out and go for the past almost ten years. Suddenly my own walks are shorter to accommodate him. And would I go for a long walk without him? Only with a friend. Or maybe I need to start listening to Ebooks/podcasts to make solitary walks more interesting?

Shadow is less of a walking companion now, and more of a meditation buddy. He climbs out of bed to come snuggle with me every morning as I settle in for tea and prayer time. And perhaps that's actually more important at this stage... we're both getting older, moving toward the winter of life, Shadow and I. But we're still doing things together.

Change is inevitable

Things are always changing. And lately I'm marveling at the changes coming to the city skyline. It's definitely in an in-between stage at the moment -- several skyscrapers are going up in different places, and they change almost daily. Edmonton is having a construction boom, and the crane lights on the latest buildings, one of which will be at least 60 stories, are visible all over the city, but most especially when we walk along the river bank at night.

Just for interest's sake, below are three skyline pictures -- the first from 1975, the second from 2011, and the third taken yesterday. I'll be posting again when those skyscrapers on the right hand side are complete -- you can probably bet on it.

Change is inevitable -- except from a vending machine.

 --Robert C. Gallagher

Laudato Si: Sunday Reflection #41... Change is a comin'

Yippee! We've reached the last chapter of Pope Francis's letter to the world, Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home. Flipping through its pages, I see plenty of highlighted sections, exclamation points in the margins, and words that I bolded and enlarged in red type. You should see my copy of the document (I copied it from the webpage and changed its fonts so I could read it more easily -- my eyes aren't what they used to be!) -- my 88-page constant companion has gotten a little dog-eared these last 10 months or so.

This week, we're looking at the first section of Chapter Six, Ecological Education and Spirituality, paragraphs 202-208. You can access them by clicking here and scrolling down.

The first thing in Chapter Six to be  highlighted, starred and brought to a red 18 pt font are the words in the first sentence of paragraph 202: "it is we human beings above all who need to change." Yes, dear brother Pope, humanity has traded its awareness of all that God has given us to share for the market-induced forgetfulness found in owning through consumerism, but if we work together to reawaken our common responsibility for our planet and one another, renewal is possible. Change is a comin'. But you are right, it will be a "great cultural, spiritual and educational challenge"!

Right at the beginning of paragraph 203 the Pope and his encyclical writing team remind us that we need to pull ourselves out of the "whirlwind of needless buying and spending." So often we buy more than what's required, forgetting that if we want the earth to supply the needs of all, we shouldn't take more than our fair share. Consumer culture's brainwashing demands that we always buy more.

If there's one thing I've appreciated about reading this encyclical's footnotes, it's all the other thinkers to whom I've been introduced. Romano Guardini is mentioned in this paragraph -- a Catholic theologian who realized that with mass production would come a mindset disposed toward mass consumption. Of course, at this point in time, our identity can no longer rest in our ability to consume. Our sister, Mother Earth, calls us to choose a different way. "We have too many means and only a few insubstantial ends..." the Pope tells us, because we have allowed our possessions to become a substitute for a deeper way of living.

But when I look around, I see that we're getting a bit tired of the clutter in our lives, and the lack of depth. Change is a comin'.

Paragraph 204 names a lot of the things that scare me when it comes to the North American dream of The Good Life: self-centredness, greed, empty hearts leading to overconsumption, an ignorance of reality's limits, forgetfulness of the common good, and the exaltation of personal need over social norms. As the Pope notes, global climate instability (which is now causing flooding in Europe as well as forest fires in drought plagued areas like Fort Mac) isn't the only problem -- our obsession with possessions when there are so many poor people on the planet "can only lead to violence and mutual destruction." And it is... you can bet there wouldn't be so many ISIS fighters if they all had the comfortable standard of living we do.

But before Laudato Si gets too alarmist, we are reminded that human beings can find a better way "despite our mental and social conditioning." In paragraph 205, the Pope tells us that

We are able to take an honest look at ourselves, to acknowledge our deep dissatisfaction, and to embark on paths of authentic freedom. No system can completely suppress our openness to what is good, true and beautiful, or our God-given ability to respond to his grace at work deep in our hearts. I appeal to everyone throughout the world not to forget this dignity which is ours. No one has the right to take it from us.

(I think Pope Francis could have left an exclamation mark at the end of that paragraph!)

Just think what would happen if every human being on the planet claimed our dignity as a child of God rather than believing ads that tell us we are what we wear, how we look, what we drive, and so on -- if we all really believed that our value comes more from the love we bear for each other than the money we have or don't have in the bank. I have come to love Pope Francis because so much of what he says and does is meant to remind people of their true dignity and the depths of God's love for them. He's on the right track, but not everyone is travelling with him -- yet. But change is a comin'.

Student boycott
Image from People and Planet

Change can happen, says paragraph 206, especially if we take seriously our power and responsibility as consumers. Do you remember the 2009 boycott against Fruit of the Loom? People in the US, Canada and Britain stopped buying clothing produced by the clothing giant and made a pretty big fuss until it rehired 1200 Honduran workers it had laid off simply because they wanted fair working conditions. It's just one example of how, when enough people wake up to injustice, they can work together to turn things around.

I have been boycotting Walmart for years. The corporation moved into my local shopping mall around 1994... and before long, all the little stores in the mall went out of business because they couldn't compete with the mega-chain's bargain basement prices (that come from unjust business practices toward workers in the developing world). I could go on and on about the injustices of Walmart, but it's all well-documented, even on YouTube.

If you've seen the documentary above, you already understand what Pope Benedict said in his encyclical Caritas in Veritate: "Purchasing is always a moral - and not simply economic - act" (paragraph 66). Maybe you'd like to join me in my boycott? And share it with other people in your life? Change is a comin'.

Remember last week when I was wondering if there was a charter that could bring faith and science together to save our planet? Well, it turns out that there was something slightly different -- an Earth Charter -- written around the turn of the millennium, and it has a pretty cool website that you can access by clicking here. Paragraph 207 of Laudato Si quotes the Earth Charter's call to humanity to turn the page on our past destructive ways: "As never before in history, common destiny beckons us to seek a new beginning... Let ours be a time remembered for the awakening of a new reverence for life, the firm resolve to achieve sustainability, the quickening of the struggle for justice and peace, and the joyful celebration of life."

It has been almost 16 years since the Earth Charter called us to "seek a new beginning" -- and some of us listened, but many still haven't heard. Paragraph 208 is Pope Francis' own little Earth Charter, calling us in a slightly different way:

Disinterested concern for others, and the rejection of every form of self-centredness and self-absorption, are essential if we truly wish to care for our brothers and sisters and for the natural environment. These attitudes also attune us to the moral imperative of assessing the impact of our every action and personal decision on the world around us. If we can overcome individualism, we will truly be able to develop a different lifestyle and bring about significant changes in society.

In the week ahead, what is one thing that we can do to overcome individualism? It's so easy to be caught up in our own little lives, but if we want to change the world, we need to step out of ourselves, extend some hospitality, and build community... perhaps by inviting a colleague for coffee? Sharing some baking? Offering to mow an elderly neighbour's lawn? Anything that brings us together and helps us to see beyond our own walls to the greater good that is around us all the time...

On my birthday two weeks ago I took a small step to overcome my own individualism. I had invited my usual family and friends over for a little pizza party and birthday cake when I got a surprise email from a friend I hadn't heard from in ages. I didn't even know she knew it was my birthday. Somehow, I was prompted (maybe by the Holy Spirit who breaks down individualism) to invite her to join the party and widen the circle. She came -- and was the last to leave, and a good time was had by all.

Not sure what I'll do this week to overcome individualism, but I'll let you know next week. How about you? What will you do? Change is a comin' -- and it starts with us.

*******

A prayer for our earth

All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe

and in the smallest of your creatures.

You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.

Pour out upon us the power of your love,

that we may protect life and beauty.

Fill us with peace, that we may live

as brothers and sisters, harming no one.

O God of the poor,

help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth,

so precious in your eyes.

Bring healing to our lives,

that we may protect the world and not prey on it,

that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction.

Touch the hearts

of those who look only for gain

at the expense of the poor and the earth.

Teach us to discover the worth of each thing,

to be filled with awe and contemplation,

to recognize that we are profoundly united

with every creature

as we journey towards your infinite light.

We thank you for being with us each day.

Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle

for justice, love and peace.

+AMEN.

(A prayer for our earth and all quotations from Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home © Libreria Editrice Vaticana)

Next up: New habits that stick

Laudato Si: Sunday Reflection #20... WANTED: Wisdom

The Treasure Within
by Mary Southard csj
(more of her art can be found at
ministryofthearts.org)

The advancement of human beings is pretty incredible when you really think about it. It's just our wisdom hasn't kept up. In this week's 5 paragraphs of Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home, Pope Francis names some of the amazing technological advances of the past two centuries, and notes our need to rediscover wisdom for our planet's sake. See for yourself by clicking here and reading paragraphs 101-105.

We've completed the second chapter of Laudato Si, The Gospel of Creation, and now we are moving into Chapter three, The Human Roots of the Ecological Crisis, which will look at how "human life and activity have gone awry, to the serious detriment of the world around us." Our encyclical writers "focus on the dominant technocratic paradigm and the place of human beings and of human action in the world" (paragraph 101).

"We are the beneficiaries of two centuries of enormous waves of change" begins paragraph 102, and here's a long list of some of the changes mentioned:

steam engines
railways
the telegraph
electricity
automobiles
airplanes
chemical industries
modern medicine
information technology
digital devices
robotics
biotechnologies
nanotechnologies
domestic appliances
transportation systems
bridges, buildings and public spaces
nuclear energy
information technology
knowledge of our DNA (all in paragraphs 102-104)

And I'm sure there are many more that our writers didn't name. God-given human creativity has brought about all these wonders, many of which have vastly improved the survival and fulfillment of many human beings on earth. The problem is that these things have also given human beings "tremendous power" and dominance over one another and all God's other creatures.

The problem is that our technological advances keep occurring faster than our understanding of what they mean for all of creation in terms of "human responsibility, values and conscience" (paragraph 105). Our awareness of our limitations is clouded by human ego -- "look what we did! Isn't it incredible?!" -- preventing us from remembering that it's not just human beings who are affected by what we do with our discoveries. If we really think about it, there hasn't been a bridge built or a medical procedure invented that hasn't affected the lives of countless creatures, human and non-human, in one way or another. As has already been mentioned four times already, everything is interconnected. But we have the freedom to create, and unfortunately we don't always use wisdom to remember those connections, or use our creativity the way God intended.

The last three sentences of paragraph 105 sum it up pretty bluntly:

Our freedom fades when it is handed over to the blind forces of the unconscious, of immediate needs, of self-interest, and of violence. In this sense, we stand naked and exposed in the face of our ever-increasing power, lacking the wherewithal to control it. We have certain superficial mechanisms, but we cannot claim to have a sound ethics, a culture and spirituality genuinely capable of setting limits and teaching clear-minded self-restraint.

I'd like to underline two key words in this last bit: spirituality and self-restraint. It strikes me that, had human beings created that long list of wonders above while in spiritual, meditative relationship with God, one another, and all of creation, self-restraint would have come naturally, and wisdom would have played a much larger role in our creation of a world with fewer problems. But we humans are often in too much of a hurry to wait for Wisdom, she who calls to us so beautifully in Chapter 8 of the book of Proverbs (click here to read it).

We could all use a dose of wisdom in our lives, especially during this holy season of Advent. We succumb to such a pressured pace in December that it's no wonder we lose perspective. So this week, I would invite us all to slow down and spend some time meditating on Wisdom as she appears in Proverbs 8, and allow her love of truth and goodness to fill our hearts as we prepare for Christ's coming, and as we wait to see what will come out of the Paris Climate talks. Perhaps she can motivate us toward self-restraint when it comes to the consumerism linked to Christmas, and inspire us to find ways to walk more simply on the earth in this holy season.

*******

A prayer for our earth

All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe

and in the smallest of your creatures.

You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.

Pour out upon us the power of your love,

that we may protect life and beauty.

Fill us with peace, that we may live

as brothers and sisters, harming no one.

O God of the poor,

help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth,

so precious in your eyes.

Bring healing to our lives,

that we may protect the world and not prey on it,

that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction.

Touch the hearts

of those who look only for gain

at the expense of the poor and the earth.

Teach us to discover the worth of each thing,

to be filled with awe and contemplation,

to recognize that we are profoundly united

with every creature

as we journey towards your infinite light.

We thank you for being with us each day.

Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle

for justice, love and peace.

+AMEN.

(A prayer for our earth and all quotations from Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home © Libreria Editrice Vaticana)

Up next: #21... "Realities are more important than ideas"

Simple Suggestion # 216... Try a broader perspective

These last few weeks of autumn, during the season when "every leaf is a flower," as noted by Camus, my walks with Shadow pup have been just glorious. The many tree-canopied streets we stroll fill my eyes with sun-flecked greens and golds that are too much to take in from the sidewalks. So I decided to abandon the sidewalks and walk down the middle of the residential roads (moving out of the way if cars come, of course). And I've discovered that my canopied perspective from the middle of the street is better. See what I mean?

As Shadow and I walked under the trees, I started thinking about how important it is to broaden our perspectives whenever possible. Human beings are not meant to be static. When we always do things and see things in the same way, we miss out on a lot of living.

A few weeks ago, my cousin reminded me of this again. She invited me to go with her to our local mosque's open house on "Islam and Non-violence." With all the stories about the extremist Islamic State in the news, the event was timely! Unfortunately, I had a prior commitment and missed out, but she and her parents went and really enjoyed learning about our Muslim brothers and sisters and their beliefs. She commented that it was "very informative and refreshing to hear that Islam is also peaceful" (its name is actually derived from the Arabic word for peace) -- it's mainly the ISIS/ISIL extremists who have twisted the meaning of the Quran's teachings. I hope the local mosque will have another open house soon, as I plan to attend the next one with my cousin.

That's just one example. Sometimes widening our perspective can be as simple as rearranging a routine or doing something differently. I could try brushing my teeth with my left hand rather than my right, or make a different choice for breakfast. Take a different route to work, or listen to another radio station/read an alternative news feed. Try on a new point of view. Imagine walking a mile in the moccasins of someone whose life is completely different. The possibilities are endless! The idea is that by changing things up, we widen our appreciation of the life we've been given and gain insight into the perspectives of others not like us -- and teach our "old dog" a "new trick" or two in the process.

How will you expand your horizons today?

P.S. Looking for more Simple Suggestions? Click here.

Sunday Reflection -- Too much change

It's funny how I always end up on this theme as summer comes to a close. I suppose it's probably because the changes in my garden in early September can't be ignored -- especially when the meteorologists are forecasting frost and snow for the week ahead.

But it also seems that, after the summer's freedoms are reigned in by shorter evenings and cooler temperatures, and we find ourselves indoors facing dark windows, there is time to consider the ebb and flow of life.

Last week, I learned that my neighbour, Olga, would be going into an independent senior's residence. She's already gone, and I didn't even get to have her over for supper one more time, or wish her well in her new digs. Her house is supposed to be put up for sale in the next few weeks, and it brings to mind the changes of last fall, when the 820 sq ft home of another old neighbour was torn down in the space of twenty-five minutes...

to be replaced by...

Though I much preferred Ruby's little house and her amazing garden to this, I've had a year to adjust to the changes across the alley. But losing Olga as a dear neighbour who was next door one day and gone the next makes for a tougher adjustment than living with the mess of having a new home go up behind us. Olga and I won't be chatting across our front lawns as we dig dandelions together from here on. I've just lost my fourth good gardener neighbour in five years.

And there are other changes happening in the neighbourhood -- homes being sold, others being knocked down and replaced, some people moving away, and others moving in. Change is the only constant... and I guess there's no choice but to live with that fact.

But Gracious God, please slow it down just a little! If you'd hold off on that frost for another week or two, I'd really appreciate it...

Yearning, longing, nostalgia, and HOPE on a Sunday

I'm in the mood for some great music this Sunday afternoon, and I've always loved this piece. I learned it when I was travelling with a performing group in Europe -- we sang it in Italy and always received a very warm response from our audiences. At the time, I thought it beautiful, but didn't really think about why it was so well-loved by the Italian people.

25 years later, I understand the essence of the "Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves" (as it's called in English) much better. It was written by Giuseppi Verdi for an opera called Nabucco, and it's based on Psalm 137, a psalm of yearning for a lost country, longing to return from exile, and remembering the beauty of home.

Lately, I've been feeling those kinds of nostalgic feelings about the Church that has been home to me for my whole life, a life which has been lived against the backdrop of the Church's struggle to implement the changes recommended by the Second Vatican Council. Having grown up working in my parents' church supplies store, I was exposed to all the new thoughts and hopes and dreams that came from the Council, ideas like inclusive language, ecumenism, more contemporary liturgical music, a new understanding of original blessing rather than original sin, and the empowerment of the laity in the life of the Church. Since then, it seems, the Church has had a change of heart -- or perhaps it's afraid of further change because it can be so unpredictable -- and now its leadership seems to be taking the Church back to 'safe' old ways, retreating to what it once knew, even though that old knowledge is far out of step with our present times.

As the Church retreats away from the world and into itself, though, it leaves me feeling like the Hebrew slaves in exile, longingly singing for what has recently been lost. O membranza, si cara e fatal -- my heart breaks when I remember some of the positive changes that were made because of Vatican II -- that have now been unmade -- and the many improvements the Council suggested, that have died on the books. Arpa d'ora dei fatidici vati, perche muta dal salice pendi? The harp of the prophets hangs mute upon the willows... and why?? Even as I mourn, I know that if the Church doesn't change soon, it will collapse in upon itself -- and something new will have to rise up from the grassroots.

As part of those grassroots, today I sing along with the Hebrew slaves, but not with their desolate spirit. The melody of their sadness is being transformed into a melody of hope in my heart. Over the weeks since Pope Benedict announced his retirement, hope has risen and many voices have begun to converge, calling once again for positive change -- for deeper inclusivity, openness, transparency, and faithfulness to the Gospels rather than a blind clinging to the tired old doctrines, dogmas, and ways that no longer work -- and I join those voices to sing a melody of hope. Va pensiero sull'ali dorate, fly, golden thoughts, on the wings of the Holy Spirit, and help change to happen...