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My Friend Andy
If the dogs who are friends with unhoused people could talk, what stories they would tell! Thank goodness for the realm of fiction where their voices can be heard, as in this tale told by a canine narrator named Fluffy who walks through town every day with their family.
Fluffy wants to play with Andy, a playful gray dog they pass every morning along with his busking human friend. But we can see a taut leash holding Fluffy back — they're never allowed to go closer.
So what happens when Fluffy, chasing a ball, runs out of the park and gets lost among car tires and the sea of human legs? Now Andy's voice enters the story, and clearly he speaks for his unhoused human as well when he says, "You can stay with us. We'll help you find your way home tomorrow." Andy's human picks up Fluffy and we see this threesome walking safely beneath the traffic's roar into a well-lit tunnel, where they set up camp for the night.
The story continues in this heartening vein of loving care and diligent efforts by Andy's human, against the odds, to reunite Fluffy with family. And when he succeeds, you can imagine the thaw that melts the previous distance between Fluffy, Andy, and their respective humans.
Emma Chinnery's endearing illustrations underscore her reminder that, housed or unhoused, we all deserve respect and care. We enthusiastically recommend this book for readers ages four to eight.
A reminder that, housed or unhoused, we all deserve respect and care.
Three Simple Lines
We have been living and writing with the help of this book for several months now. The great Natalie Goldberg is one of our Living Spiritual Teachers. We have learned much from her.
Goldberg is a teacher of writing, a Zen Buddhist, and the author of one of the true classic manuals for would-be writers, Writing Down the Bones, first published in 1986. Goldberg’s gift is to communicate the application of spiritual practice to the writing craft.
She will hook you from the opening sentence of Three Simple Lines: “Haiku is a refuge when the world seems chaotic, when you are lost, frightened, tangled, and nothing is clear.”
Her own responses to haiku samples from classic authors in the genre (and there are dozens of them on these pages) run the full range of human emotion, such as: “I read this and cock my head, listening deeper than my pain and confusion.” And, “My busy thoughts are settling.” And, “I move deeper into the truth of my life.”
She describes being introduced to the practice of writing haiku by the poet Allen Ginsberg at Naropa Institute in 1976. Another great teacher, the seventeenth century Japanese poet Basho, is introduced as a haiku master from whom twenty-first century people might still learn a great deal. Later in the book, Goldberg makes her way to Chuson-ji, a collection of temples in the mountains where Basho wrote many of his haiku, as well as to Otsu, in the outskirts of Kyoto, to see Basho’s grave. There are many trips back and forth between New Mexico and Japan.
At one point, Goldberg summarizes: “What is the Way of haiku? Bare attention, no distractions, pure awareness, noticing only what is in the moment. Being connected to seasons, unconnected to self-clinging. And then, out of that, composing your experience in three lines that go beyond logic, that make the mind leap. In the center, a taste of emptiness. A frog, a crow, a turnip — the ordinary right in front of you is the realm of awakening.”
This demonstrates her beautiful writing, deep wisdom, and her Zen orientation. We highly recommend Three Simple Lines, and not only to writers and would-be writers.
Why should every person consider composing haiku? Because we all need to live these ways. And as Natalie puts it: “To put this experience down in three lines is to transmit a taste of what is possible and pass it on. Great generosity.”
Writing haiku as a way of Zen living.
10 Reasons Why Gandhi Is My Hero
Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) was a visionary whose spiritual maturity still shines like a beacon in the night. He is my hero. When we lived in New York, I frequently visited a statue of him in Union Square off 14th Street. Others who also honor Gandhi often put garlands of flowers around his neck. The statue reveals the vulnerability in his frail body but I could also see his determination and perseverance in his stance, striding ahead with a walking stick. I am reminded of Gandhi's desire to give of himself completely in service of others. He slept only a few hours every night and would walk long distances even when in his seventies.
At home I have on my desk a bronze statue of this extraordinary man whose legacies still animate the lives and work of people like me. In honor of Mohandas K. Gandhi Day (see our Naming the Days tribute to him) I have listed 10 reasons why Gandhi is my hero.
1. He was aflame with love.
"Gandhi was a pioneer in these new realms of consciousness. Everything he did was an experiment in expanding the human being's capacity to love, and as his capacity grew, the demands on his love grew more and more severe, as if to test what limits a human being can bear. But Gandhi had learned to find a fierce joy in these storms and trials. . . . By the end of his life he was aflame with love."
— Eknath Easwaran in Gandhi the Man
2. He expended all his energy in service of others.
"Late in Gandhi's life a Western journalist asked, 'Mr. Gandhi, you've been working fifteen hours a day for fifty years. Don't you ever feel like taking a few weeks off and going for a vacation?' Gandhi laughed and said, 'Why? I am always on vacation.' Because he had no personal irons in the fire, no selfish concerns involved in his work, there was no conflict in his mind to drain his energy."
— Eknath Easwaran in The Compassionate Universe
3. He gave his mission his best shot.
" 'Full effort is full victory,' said Gandhi. You need not be troubled if you have made mistakes, or if your ideal has slipped away. Just continue to give your best. If you fall, pick yourself up and march on. If you cannot run, walk. If you cannot walk, crawl. Nothing in life is more joyful or more thrilling. The effort alone brings a continuing wave of joy in which every personal problem, every suffering and humiliation, is forgotten."
— Eknath Easwaran in The Compassionate Universe
4. He reframed greed.
"There is a story told about Mahatma Gandhi. On his train trips he used to get off at every stop and collect money for the poor. A friend said of him, 'If you want to see somebody consumed by greed, look no further.' Of course, instead of being greedy for himself, he was greedy for the poor."
— Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat in Spiritual Rx
5. He practiced compassion in creative ways.
"One day Gandhi stepped aboard a train as it started to move, and one of his shoes slipped off and dropped on the tracks. Unable to retrieve it, he calmly took off his other shoe and threw it back along the track to land close to the first. When an amazed passenger asked why he had done that, Gandhi smiled and said, 'The poor man who finds the shoe lying on the track will now have a pair he can use.' With the eyes of his imagination, Gandhi saw a man with bare feet, saw him coming across a lone shoe and desperately searching for the other, and saw the disappointment on his face when he didn't find it; seeing these things, Gandhi did what he could to help."
— Donald McCullough in Say Please, Say Thank You
6. He redefined success.
"Without realizing it, Gandhi had found the secret of success. He began to look on every difficulty as an opportunity for service, a challenge which could draw out of him greater resources of intelligence and imagination."
— Eknath Easwaran in Gandhi the Man
7. He emphasized the privilege of giving.
"Gandhi reminded us that it was everyone's privilege to give. We should thank the poor for giving us the opportunity to undo some of our karma."
— Ekanath Easwaran in The Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living, Volume 3
8. He showed us how a mantra could be one's staff of life.
"Rama, Gandhi's mantram, is a formula for abiding joy. Gandhi used to walk for miles every day repeating it to himself until the rhythm of the mantram and his footsteps began to stabilize the rhythm of his breathing, which is closely connected with the rhythm of the mind. When fear or anger threatened him, clinging to Rama used the power of these emotions to drive this formula for joy deep into Gandhi's mind.
"Gandhi said: 'The mantram becomes one's staff of life and carries one through every ordeal.' "
— Eknath Easaran in Gandhi the Man
9. He was the essential pioneer of nonviolence.
"In its positive form, nonviolence means the largest love, the greatest charity. If I am a follower of nonviolence, I must love my enemy. I must apply the same rules to the wrong-doer who is my enemy or a stranger to me, as I would to my wrong-doing father or son. This active nonviolence necessarily includes truth and fearlessness. The practice of nonviolence calls forth the greatest courage."
— Mohandas Gandhi in Mohandas Gandhi: Essential Writings edited by John Dear
10. He passed on his spiritual legacy to all of us.
" 'I have not the shadow of a doubt that any man or woman can achieve what I have, if he or she would make the same effort, and cultivate the same hope and faith.' Gandhi, who always claimed he had no more than ordinary capacities, is proof that these spiritual laws do work, and that by obeying them we can transform our character and consciousness. Gandhi belongs to our own century and faced many of the problems we ourselves are facing today, and even though physically dead, he still continues to give new direction to our civilization."
— Eknath Easwaran in The Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living, Volume 1: The End of Sorrow
Quotations and stories that illustrate why Gandhi ideas and ideals still inspire and animate people.
The Way We Get By
Kindness is a human virtue that can be caught, and it also can be taught. In long-ago cultures it was the quality of life that ensured the survival of communities. In South Africa the term ubuntu conveys a sense of personhood in which each person is seen as interdependent with others. We are bonded because we share and care; we have a built-in propensity to help others.
Kindness is emphasized in all the world's religions, and recent scientific research has shown that being kind is also good for our health and makes us happier. But let's remember this point: kindness is a choice; we decide that we want to make a difference (no matter how small) in the life of someone else.
Aron Gaudet is the director, editor, and co-director of photography of this incredibly inspiring documentary about three elderly people in Bangor, Maine, who have chosen, sometimes at great inconvenience to themselves, to be kind. They serve as airport greeters of American military troops leaving or returning from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their story offers a fresh, intimate, and poignant depiction of how the spiritual practice of kindness can enrich one's own life and give meaning to others. It is also about aging, loneliness, war, and facing death. Gaudet focuses on three troop greeters — 87-year-old Bill Knight, 75-year-old Joan Gaudet (the director's mother), and 74-year old Jerry Mundy.
Bill is a veteran of World War II who lives on a farm and deeply misses his wife who died many years ago. He derives great satisfaction from his participation in the troop greeters program given his respect for soldiers and the sacrifices they are making for their country.
Bill has a batch of challenges which deplete his energy. Credit card debt forces him to move out of his cluttered farmhouse to a smaller place closer to the airport. In the process of throwing away the debris and possessions of his lifetime, Bill is forced to deal with his grief over the death of his young son and the loneliness he feels today. In addition, he has been diagnosed with cancer, and it seems to be spreading throughout his body. This compels Bill to face his feelings about death. Nonetheless, he is ready, able, and willing to go to the airport at any time of the day or night to be present for the soldiers.
Joan suffers from constant pain and is forced to sleep in a chair at night. She takes a large amount of pills and tries to make the best of her physical ailments and vulnerabilities. Joan has raised eight children and is now enjoying her grandchildren. Of the three volunteers profiled in this documentary, she is the only one who speaks of her doubts about the war in Iraq and the validity of the United States trying to shape that country's future.
Joan is a very emotional woman and prefers to greet returning troops; she has been unable to say goodbye to those leaving for the wars. But when her granddaughter is ordered to go to Iraq, she goes to the airport along with the rest of the family to wish her well. It is a very touching moment in the film.
Jerry is a very gregarious man who has lived alone for many years. His beloved dog has been his best friend. At the airport, he is the one who comes across as most cheerful as he hugs soldiers, thanks them for their service, jokes around, and directs them to tables full of cell phones they can use to call loved ones. He makes them feel good with his natural charm. Jerry is slowed down by heart problems but is soon back on the job as a volunteer.
In an age when movies are celebrating gangsters, comic book figures, and assassins, it is most refreshing to see a film in which three elders are saluted as heroes of another kind: not of violence, swagger, or macho but of genuine acts of human kindness. We need many more screen depictions of ubuntu heroes who build up and support human community and well-being by their love and hospitality. Equally important, as the Baby Boom generation moves into the last stage of life, we desperately need more positive portraits of elders who find meaning and happiness in the service of others. The Way We Get By advances both of these ideals, and that is why we consider it one of the Best Films of 2009.
An extraordinary documentary that celebrates the kindness of three elders who serve as troop greeters in Bangor, Maine.
Alan Jones, Exploring Spiritual Direction
The ancient art of spiritual direction is a way of affirming the simple truth of God's wild generosity. The spiritual director or friend of the soul is someone who listens to us lovingly and accurately and, by the gift of caring attention, reveals to us God's open heart. As such, spiritual direction has political and social implications of tremendous importance because it is, of its very essence, an antidote to violence. It is a strategy of inner disarmament — the dismantling of the arsenal of destruction we amass inside ourselves.
The ancient art of spiritual direction
Rick Jarow, Alchemy of Abundance
I know people who turn their homes into havens of generosity, hosting people from all over the world, becoming crucibles of understanding and bridges across cultures and generations as they create a new definition of family — an extended family that welcomes strangers as warmly as lifelong friends and relatives. Maintaining a sense of community like this creates a deepened and broader sense of home and expands our experience and understanding of environment.
I know people who turn their homes into havens
Prayers for a New Millennium
Mary Lou Kownacki is a Benedictine Sister and an award-winning author of such books as Between Two Souls, and A Monk in the Inner City. She has been instrumental in developing innovative programs that serve the neighborhoods of Erie, Pennsylvania, including founding the Inner City Neighborhood Art House, where she teaches poetry to children. She was named as an Ambassador of Peace for Pax Christi, the Catholic peace movement. She is also the Director of Monasteries of the Heart and Benetvision Publishing.
In Prayers for a New Millennium, Kownacki offers heartfelt prayers infused with the words and memories of her decades of daily scripture reading. The booklet is divided into three sections, one with prayers to God the Son, one with prayers to God the Holy Spirit, and one with prayers to God the Father. The prayers range in topics from technology to the environment, from sin to holiness, from secularism to unity.
An inspirational booklet of prayers that reflects a lifetime of Benedictine spirituality and devotion.
The Character of Virtue
In the forward to this theological work, writer, pastor, and theologian Stanley Wells explains how he asked Stanley Hauerwas (named by Time magazine in 2001 as "America's best theologian") to serve as godfather for his son Laurie. Both men agreed that Hauerwas would write a letter to mark the child's baptism (October 27, 2002) and one each subsequent year on that anniversary. These anniversary letters, each commemorating a virtue, continued through 2016, with a final missive dated January 31, 2017.
Although Hauerwas laments the fact that "the church has lost its political and social power and is increasingly losing its power to form the lives of even those who want to be Christian," he believes that the Gospels, St. Augustine, and the Holy Spirit are sturdy enough foundations "to help us negotiate the dangers of the world in which we find ourselves."
Instead of beginning with the virtue of love, Hauerwas puts kindness at the head of his list of 14. He sees it as "the very character of God." Throughout these letters to his godson, the author presents the interplay between the virtues. For example, when kindness becomes narcissistic, it needs to be rescued by the virtue of honesty.
One of our favorite chapters discusses the virtue of patience. Knowing how to wait in the midst of suffering or loss is no easy matter. Forming patience takes time, and Hauerwas challenges us to see baseball as a spiritual teacher of "the habits of peace." (See excerpt.) Hauerwas also connects patience with the virtue of hope — it enables us to persevere in the face of difficulties or roadblocks.
Courage is another spiritual resource that is given a deep assessment which takes it far beyond heroism. He reminds his grandson that living nonviolently means recognizing that you have fears but not letting them run your life.
Hauerwas ends with a study letter heralding character as an orientation and an art of living well:
"I've spent a lifetime trying to convince those who think about ethics that character and the virtues are crucial for any adequate account of what it means to live well. Of course, character and the virtues are manifest in the decisions we make, but the kind of decisions and choices we make are determined by our character."
A sturdy look at the virtues contributing to the art of living well.
Contemplative Walks
This spiritual practice takes walking from an experience of observation and listening, as in a "Neighborhood Walk"), and turns it into a contemplative experience to increase your self-awareness and your feelings of deep connection to the neighborhood. It is designed to encourage such democratic values and virtues as caring, generosity, service, and consideration.
First, grow your awareness of yourself by walking in your neighborhood. In The Four Virtues: Presence, Heart, Wisdom, Creation, professor of psychology Tobin Hart recommends simply observing your surroundings as you walk. Afterwards, reflect on what you noticed about your surroundings as well as what you noticed about how you typically move through the world: Are you usually in a hurry, rushing too much to notice much? Or do you tend to walk around with an open heart and often feel hurt when others don’t respond in kind? Or do you operate with a level of protection and defensiveness as you go through your day?
Once you’ve identified your habitual way of moving through the world, consider how Hart’s reflective questions might open you to new ways of caring for yourself:
What is it like for you [to move through the world in this way]?
What has this done for you in the past?
Where did you learn this?
Is there a change you would like to make to your style?
What would it look and feel like?
How might you make it happen?
Do you have concerns or doubts about a change like this?
How might you address them?
What will you do?
With your new self-awareness and thoughts on self-care, extend that awareness and caring to those around you by taking another walk -- this time as if you’re taking a tour of the neighborhood. Consider your awareness of and consideration for others in your neighborhood with these reflective questions:
What do you observe? Is there trash in the street? Are there signs of water problems -- like dying grass and shrubs? Signs of someone having trouble "keeping up" -- like a visible need for house repairs? Or signs of someone doing well -- like a new car or improvement project? Are people sitting together outside or is there no sign of anyone around?
Are your observations of your surroundings on this walk different than they were on your first walk?
What might your observations indicate?
Does what you see in any way impact your conclusions from your self-reflective walk?
Keeping in mind the democratic virtues, how do you want to respond to your neighborhood observations? Share your answer with someone in your household and at least one neighbor.
Guidance for taking two reflective walks in your neighborhood.
O Lord, Forgive and Give
For our insensitivity to your creation,
For vandalism and violence,
For crassness and carelessness,
Forgive us, O Lord.
For hardness and hatred,
For cruelty and callousness,
Forgive us, O Lord
For baseness and blindness,
For rebellion and ruthlessness,
Forgive us, O Lord.
For greed and gracelessness,
For indifference and ignorance,
Forgive us, O Lord.
For disrespect and drabness,
For lack of sense and laziness,
Forgive us, O Lord.
Grace and goodness,
Love and liveliness,
Give us, O Lord.
Calm and carefulness,
Generosity and goodness,
Give us, O Lord.
Asking for forgiveness for our imperfection.