Category: Mind

If you’ve been following this blog for awhile, you’ve picked up on the fact that I enjoy sunrises.  I’m an early riser, and I love to sit on my back porch, coffee in hand and watch the dawn of a new day.  It’s worth the effort!

Yesterday, a young man I know started a new job.  I’ve been friends with Diego and his parents for almost fifteen years now, and  I guess you could say that I’ve become one of his mentors.  Like most twenty-somethings, he’s always got something going on in his life to talk about.

About four months ago, Diego quit his job in a huff.  The boss wasn’t the nicest person, and he had had enough.  Although he found another job quickly, it wasn’t exactly right either.  But he stuck with it, and it has paid off well for him.  A few weeks ago the owners asked him to become the manager of one of their busiest and nicest restaurants.  That’s a big complement for someone so young, but he’s got tremendous potential and they saw it.

He has been so excited over the last few weeks, talking about all his big plans.  I have really enjoyed those many conversations, since over the years, working in the same job, it’s been easy to fall into the trap of mediocrity.  Why change, if its already working? If you’re creeping up into middle age, I’m sure you can relate.

Just listening to this young man share his dreams and hopes has gotten me dreaming and hoping again.  His fresh start, which began with such excitement yesterday, has got me thinking about some fresh starts I need to make in my own life.

No matter what we do, or how old we are, the new day always provides us with the potential of change.  When Diego called yesterday morning, asking if he could stop by on the way to his new job, I said of course.

He pulled up and almost jumped out of the car.  He looked great, dressed in clothes he had purchased the night before.  He was ready to conquer the world.  What a joy it was to share a few minutes with him, and what a blessing that he thought to spend some this with me.   When I walked back to my office, I had a little extra bounce in my step.  Happiness can be contagious, can’t it?

Today has been a day of recollection.  As I enter my last week of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, I’m to review my journal and look for ideas/concepts/situations that remind me of how God has been moving in my life over the last 30+ weeks.

I hardly got through my first entry written on  September 23rd, 2009, when I acknowledged just how present God has been to me throughout this time. As I flipped through the many pages of these daily entries, I was struck by the fact that this has been the first time I’ve really stuck with the task of journalling.  I’m grateful that I’ll always have a record of all these many, many experiences, and I’m hoping that I’ll keep with it.  I guess in some sense, this blog will also fulfill the role of a daily journal, but now I get to share my experiences with you 🙂

Through my reading of my journal, I was also reflecting on how much more disciplined I’ve become over the last several months.  I’m a procrastinator by nature, I guess, although I do have pretty good follow-through once I start something.  But you have to be disciplined if you want to get something out of this great legacy of St. Ignatius.

When he penned the Spiritual Exercises in the 1500’s, Ignatius was writing as a layman, and he intended the exercises for laypeople.  Only later did he form the group that would eventually become the Society of Jesus.

There are two main ways to complete the exercises as Ignatius intended.  The first way is to do a 30 day silent retreat, done with the help of a spiritual director.  The second way, which is how I am doing them, is called the 19th Annotation, and is usually done over the span of 34 weeks.  It can be done one on one with a spiritual director/guide or it can be done in a group setting.   For those who are adventurous, it can even be done online through Creighton  University.

I’ll be writing a lot more about the exercises in upcoming daily blogs, and may even create a separate page so as to do them justice.

I leave you with these words from the autobiography of St. Ignatius, entitled, A Pilgrim’s Journey.  He was writing about himself when he wrote,

He was astonished at these changes, which he had never before experienced, and said to himself, “What kind of life is this that we are now beginning?”

So, as St. Ignatius points out, the end of the Exercises marks a new beginning.  Where will the Wind take us?

Yesterday, some elderly friends of mine returned to Maryland after spending the winter in Florida.  This year, it was cold down there for much of the time, and they were excited to come north.

I’ve known this couple for nearly twenty years, and they are faithful friends. I have watched them grow old, and now they are beginning to struggle with their health.  Their friends are dying off, several this winter while they were away.  They didn’t have the chance to say goodbye.

I know from them and other people I’m close to, its hard to get old, to not be able to do what you want to do, when you want to do it, to slowly lose control.  As I was driving home, I was thinking about the passage from John’s gospel, where Jesus says to Peter, “when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you are old, someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go” (John 21:18). I guess Jesus wasn’t just talking to Peter, but to all of us. It will happen. The important thing, I think, is what we do with it.

My friends continue to be as active as they can, take care of their sickly neighbors, and keep a positive attitude.  When I told them I was bringing over Lentil soup, they were genuinely excited to try it.  They know I’m trying to eat healthier, and they are too.  They loved the soup, especially on a cold rainy day like it was here in Maryland.

Just about everyone I know is trying to get healthier, especially focusing on what they eat.  I’m finding it so much more fun to do it with the people I care about most, whether it’s in person, on the phone, or through this blog.