encouragement

Learning to Ponder in the Age of Social Media

Steve · February 16, 2020 · 2 Comments

This originally appeared as a “Faith Perspectives” column in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on February 13, 2020.

In an age when impersonal communication happens at lightning-fast speeds and with often very little thought or time given to the responses we make other than the very first — and often the most vitriolic — thought that enters our heads, we might all be wise to consider the time-tested virtues of pondering.

Pondering is not merely thinking or daydreaming or simply observing. It’s the work of paying attention and being open, of connecting the facts of the situation with a greater sense of presence, of recognition of the small within the whole, of finding meaning and perhaps even God in the things and actions of the Earth and of our own lives. All that doesn’t come easy at a time when we can tell someone hundreds or thousands of miles away exactly what we think of their inane idea 30 seconds after they post it and ten seconds after we have formed a response in our gut and before it has spent even a fleeting moment in our conscience minds. Such willingness on our part to slow down and ponder takes intention.

The Real Journey is Interior

Steve · January 5, 2020 · 12 Comments

In September 1968, at the height of the Vietnam War and following the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., the Trappist monk and author Thomas Merton wrote in a circular letter to a group of friends these thoughts on life’s journey:

“Our real journey in life is interior; it is a matter of growth, deepening, and of an even greater surrender to the creative action of love and grace in our hearts. Never was it more necessary for us to respond to that action.”

I was eight in 1968, barely aware of all that was going on in the world beyond the St. Louis Cardinals’ run for a repeat World Series championship. This week I turn 60. It’s one of those “big birthdays” that causes you to slow down, reflect on the past and consider what’s left of life.

My wife, Sue, threw a heck of a party for me on Friday night with some family and friends. She filled nine poster boards with photos from various periods of my life and set out copies of some of my books and music projects. Friends and colleagues from these different stages of my life got to see (and no doubt laugh) at the old pictures of me — the runt-sized boy in North St. Louis, the skinny high school basketball player, the heavily bearded young adult with a new bride, the new parent trying to figure it all out without an instruction manual, the expat in England with permed hair, the university magazine editor and administrator, the guy with the chemo-induced thinning hair, the traveler, the husband, the father, the grandfather. Me with all my musical friends and bands over the years. Me with friends I rarely, if ever, see anymore, and me with those who have been nearly constant companions for decades.

Waiting for Christmas with Bright Eyes

Steve · December 20, 2019 · 4 Comments

When author Toni Morrison was once asked how she became a great writer, she responded, “I am a great writer because when I was a little girl and walked into a room where my father was sitting, his eyes would light up. That is why I am a great writer.We become healthy and “great” in our lives because people important to us love us so much that we can see it in their eyes. The sparkle in their eyes and the smile on their lips tell us we are loved, we are accepted, we are valued, no matter what the rest of the world says. That’s a great lesson in parenting and, as we of the Christian faith approach the celebration of Christmas, having “bright eyes” is also a wonderful parable of faith.

What’s Inside?

Steve · August 10, 2019 · 10 Comments

I see you. Faust Park greenhouse. SJG photo.

What’s inside, everyone wants to know
what’s inside? And I’ve always told them,
but I feel something needs to change.
You wanna know what’s inside?
I could tell you if I wasn’t hiding.
My whole life is in here,
in this kitchen, baking.
What a mess I’m making.

Sara Bareilles, “What’s Inside,” from Waitress.

I had the privilege a few years ago of seeing the musical Waitress on Broadway with its original Jenna, the remarkable Jessie Mueller (who also portrayed Carole King in the original Broadway cast of Beautiful). What Jenna is hiding inside is, on the surface, the ingredients in her delectable pies. But on a deeper level, she is hiding her insecurities, a bad marriage, an unwanted pregnancy, and her stifled dreams. And the mess she’s making? Oy vey. Go see the play.

We’re all hiding something inside, and we’re all making a mess of it from time to time. We’re multilayered people, all of us, onions (to shift the food metaphor) that need to be peeled away if we’re ever going to get at our centers.

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Today’s Word: Acceptance

Steve · July 30, 2019 · 6 Comments

Free Hugs. Ferguson Farmers Market, Ferguson, Mo. SJG photo.

“For after all, the best thing one can do when it is raining is to let it rain.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I awoke the other morning with every intention of getting an early walk in around a local lake before the heat of St. Louis summer kicked into high gear. Alas, as I came into consciousness, I heard the pounding of rain on the roof and deck outside my window, the steady drum of thunder somewhere off in the distance. Dang. The best laid plans of mice and men and all that…

There are two ways to respond when life gives us rain when all we want to do is get out in the world and walk. We can pound our pillows in exasperation, pull the covers over our heads and go back to sleep. Or we can get out of bed, thank God for gift of his gentle and good rain, and see what else he has for us to do.