Good Morning Digital Neighbors! Happy Wednesday Friends & Refugees, Early Birds and Later Dayers, Conversants and Lurkers, Phamily & Misfits, ADD Irregulars, WSN Curators, and Curmudgeons!  Today's reflection is one of my favorite ones from the past.  David Whyte's wonderful book Consolations - The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words.  It is a treasure trove of reflection on the gift of language and the power of words.  His reflection on gratitude is outstanding.

GRATITUDE is not a passive response to something we have been given; gratitude arises from paying attention, from being awake in the presence of everything that lives within and without us. Gratitude is not necessarily something that is shown after the event; it is the deep, a priori state of attention that shows we understand and are equal to the gifted nature of life.

Gratitude is the understanding that many millions of things come together and live together and mesh together and breathe together in order for us to take even one more breath of air, that the underlying gift of life and incarnation as a living, participating human being is a privilege, that we are miraculously part of something, rather than nothing. Even if that something is temporarily pain or despair, we inhabit a living world, with real faces, real voices, laughter, the colour blue, the green of the fields, the freshness of a cold wind, or the tawny hue of a winter landscape.

To see the full, miraculous essentiality of the colour blue is to be grateful with no necessity for a word of thanks. To see fully the beauty of a daughter’s face is to be fully grateful without having to seek a God to thank. To sit among friends and strangers, hearing many voices, strange opinions; to intuit inner lives beneath surface lives, to inhabit many worlds at once in this world, to be a someone amongst all other someones, and therefore to make a conversation without saying a word, is to deepen our sense of presence and therefore our natural sense of thankfulness that everything happens both with us and without us, that we are participant and witness all at once.

Thankfulness finds its full measure in generosity of presence, both through participation and witness. We sit at the table as part of every other person’s world while making our own world without will or effort; this is what is extraordinary and gifted, this is the essence of gratefulness, seeing to the heart of privilege. Thanksgiving happens when our sense of presence meets all other presences. Being unappreciative might mean we are simply not paying attention.

Paying attention- LOVE IT. One of my most frequent reminders in my preaching. We get more out of life by paying attention and not simply existing. a priori state of attention that shows we understand and are equal to the gifted nature of life. The gifted nature of life- hold on to that thought, the gifted nature of life makes all the difference in what we think about our story.

that the underlying gift of life and incarnation as a living, participating human being is a privilege - EVERY SINGLE PERSON IS PRIVILEGED - some more than others, but every single one of us. A personal philosophy built on the dialectic of privilege & victimology will lead to legions of unhappy and resentful souls, and not because they lack privilege, but because they lack the appreciation of the gift of living. To focus on what you lack will never help you discover what you possess and what is unique about you. To be a someone amongst all other someones - welcome to LIFE, Digital Neighbor. 😁 The people I love the most and care for the least are still someone amongst someones. It is not always easy to remember that when thinking ill of those you care for the least.

We sit at the table as part of every other person’s world while making our own world without will or effort; this is what is extraordinary and gifted, this is the essence of gratefulness, seeing to the heart of privilege. Thanksgiving happens when our sense of presence meets all other presences. Amen.

Thank you all for allowing me to sit and share at your table.  I have been so blessed by the people God or fate has placed on my life path and I have been delighted that these digital paths have opened up my horizon so wonderfully.  I greatly appreciate the personal sharing, the cultural commentary, the political ranting and wrangling, and above all the shared laughter and memes.

Easter Monday – Gratitude for Freedom

Good morning, Digital Neighbors!  Happy Monday and Blessed Easter Friends to all you good souls on Locals and Substack.   Yesterday ended up being a catch-up day after Mass and brunch with my sister’s family. It was a great day to celebrate the joy of the Risen Lord.   I caught up on some sleep and some of the issues I missed while away from the time drain that was my typical internet habit.  I am sure I will return to some active consumption, hopefully with a more intentional attitude than I had before my Lenten media abstinence.

I caught up on some of the Douglas Murray – Dave Smith JRE and much of the debate that followed on it.  I have read a couple of Douglas Murray books, and I watched many hours of his interviews and appreciate his common sense and insightful commentary.   The internet, as divisive and drama driven as it I always is, seems to have fallen into the Dave Smith is dunce and Douglas is right or Murray is an elitist and credentialist who doesn’t believe in free speech.

I will still have to take some time before I have a more comprehensive understanding of this, but I tend to tilt towards free speech absolutism in the arena of public discourse and debate.  I am a fan of self-determined groups deciding among themselves the degree of free speech that they want to share within their group.  After all it is a voluntary group, and one is free to leave the group if you disagree.  If you don’t have freedom of association then you have even bigger problems than lack of freedom of speech. *cough* *cough* All the proponents of groupthink and herd feel demand conformity of thought or silence of opinion.

I have added this clip from the Darkhorse Podcast which has always remained one of my favorites for honest and critical thought.

I think Brett and Heather are very fair minded in this clip.  Can one admit they are ever wrong, mistaken or ignorant on a topic?   Brett and Heather fall into the circle of based conversationalists like Gad Saad, Scott Adams, and our gracious hosts at RR and Phetasy. Each has their own style but are all directionally pointed towards freedom rather than compulsion.  There are many others, but Scott is an adamant critic of calling out the arrogance of the experts. Some experts are reliable because they keep asking questions and offering critical thought. They are not only knowledgeable about their subject, but they are also capable of self-criticism and humble admission of error. It makes one more credible, not damaged goods. If someone has repeated and consistent errors most of us will stop listening to them. Some experts are not reliable because their commitment is to their preconceived and pre-committed ideas.  Such idealogues can be charismatic and convincing, but in the end, they champion a cause and not the honest discussion of the topic. It happens in every field. It used to just be religious institutions that compelled thought and behavior for centuries, now it can be any group with real or perceived authority and power. Just ask the Enemedia and Academia.

Arriving at approximate truths in public discourse takes time, is messy and requires some humility to admit when you went down the wrong path and committed too much energy to being in error.  I don’t know that most of humanity can embrace such raw honesty and humility. Imagine spending years on a particular cause to find out you are wrong? It is too easy to think that one has wasted their time and effort, but if you are honestly seeking is it ever a waste of time?  I don’t think so.   5 years down the road and I am happy that I asked questions during Covid. It opened the door to more questions and patience.  

·       I appreciate experts, but I don’t take their opinions as Gospel.

·       I appreciate questions asked in a critical manner.

·       No one and no idea are above question or criticism.

·       Yes, even dumbasses can ask critical questions of experts and should not be dismissed because they are a dumbass.  One can acknowledge their history of error, incompetency or ignorance, but if they have an honest question, its dismissal reveals the dishonesty of the expert.

·       Experts can be blind to their bias just like any of us. Experts can lie just like any of us.  Experts can be joyfully mistaken.

·       Arriving at the shores of understanding and approximate truth/testable reality takes time.  I am suspicious of anyone demanding immediate compulsion of thought and subsequent behavior.

Sorry, more than I wanted to write on a Monday morning.  Thank you if you took the time to real. Comment always welcome.  

Good afternoon Digital Neighbors, ADD Irregulars, WSN Niche’ Curators and Crusty Curmudgeons & Curmudgeonettas!!!  It will be so good to be back at home with you here at @ Padre’s.  You have been missed over these days of Lent. While I was absent from the community, you were all in my prayers. I have lurked on the fringes to check in on the community a few times throughout Lent, but other than the one post I have done a good job abstaining from the daily flow of on-line life.    I was not completely away from the internet during these days, I chose to partake of Megan Kelly’s morning update and Victor Davis Hanson’s Daily Signal to keep minimally aware of things.  I also had news from 1440 and the Loop in my e-mail to keep me from being brainwashed by the Huffington Post which is the news provider for AOL. But 10 to 20 minutes of news as opposed to an hour, or more was a major change for me.   All in all being away from constant saturation in the news and current events were a net positive.  I missed our morning chats, but I have not missed the intrusive nature and preoccupation with news and current events that was becoming my norm prior to Lent.

            Do I still care about current events and news? Of course, but I am hoping that this period of fasting and abstaining from the “sky is falling” nature of the news will help me moderate it more in my future consumption and conversation.  It is hard to find the balance between being informed & engaged without being consumed and mired in the news. The culturally compromised have nothing more meaningful to talk about than news and politics.  I am thankful that while we at times have a heavy vibe of news, politics and current events at Padre’s, especially after coming off of a national election, that is not all we discuss or share here. I am so very thankful for our humor and varied interests and hobbies we share.  I am looking forward to more moderation with politics and news as I move further away from the election.  I still have no expectations when it comes to our posts and conversations, but the day-to-day stuff of our lives as digital neighbors matters as much if not more than whatever good articles or news events we might share.  That is just my reflection of abstaining from the past norm, I have no idea what the new norm will look like, but I have hopes of it being more personal and expansive than it was prior to Lent.

But, my main intent with this first post of Easter is about the most fundamental awareness regarding life.  Life is either a gift or a given. How we live in that awareness makes all the difference.  I knew it before Lent, but more silence, prayer and reading have doubled down on that awareness and further enriched it for me.  It is something I strive to remember and abide in each day. It is too easy to forget when I get overwhelmed by the present moment.  Life as a gift is the farthest thing from a pollyannish look at life.  Life as a gift still has all the trials, sorrows and disappointments that any life would have. Life as a gift comes with fundamental and foundational points that anchor me to reality as I experience it.

1.    If life is a gift, I believe there is a Giver.

2.    From as far as I can tell, much of my life and goodness is unmerited.

3.    Since the Giver has blessed me so, how can I not respond with gratitude?

4.    Upon seeking the Giver, I believe that oddly enough He has chosen to communicate to a particular people (the Jews) at a particular time culminating in the sending of His Word, Jesus Christ.

5.    The story of Christ is not something I passively review and reflect upon, but something I am actively invited to experience and embrace.

6.    I don’t know how the Giver calls everyone else, but I know how He called me, and how I arrived where I am. I wouldn’t boast of 100% clarity, but rather 90% trust in Him.  The last 10% is still being worked out it as the Giver tries His best to make me the Tom He created me to be.

7.    I am so profoundly thankful that the Giver and His Son called me to priesthood, may daily life is built upon gratitude/thanksgiving, the Eucharist.  Celebrating Jesus as Immanuel in the Sacrament is what my life is all about, everything else flows from that.

I look forward to catching up with all of you tomorrow morning and in the days to come. I will be sharing the morning invites with our neighbors at Rubin Report and Phetasy in the hopes that some of them might want to pop in on Padre’s or our Coffee Talks & Speakeasies to see what it is about and connect with the same wonderful souls I have met since joining Locals.  See you in the morning my dear friends.