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Gift of Silence
Due to COVID-19, the world community has paused. Humanity has been forced to stop, allowing for a type of collective vulnerability that has rarely, if ever, happened before. This shared experience has forced us to examine ourselves individually and culturally in ways we might never have been able to do during our times of “normalcy.” The first observation is one of sadness. Sadness for those who have died, usually alone, and for the families who have had to watch a loved one die from afar. Sadness for the millions who have lost their jobs and, with that, their dignity, and now struggle to find ways to support their families and…
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The Greatest Illusion
For the last few nights at the dinner table, we have been reading excerpts from the book The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy. I can’t recommend this book enough, whether you are 12, 22, 42, or 92 years old. This passage from the book struck me most last evening… the dialogue between all four characters (boy, mole, fox, and horse) stood lakeside, watching the beautiful and peaceful swans pass by. “How do they look so together and perfect?” Asked the boy. “There’s a lot of frantic paddling going on beneath,” said the horse. “The greatest illusion,” said the mole, “is that life should be perfect.” -Charlie…
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Listening to Time
Tick. Tick. Tick. If we are quiet enough, the constant tick of a second hand can penetrate the subconscious and even seep into the depths of our souls. It is the sound of a more profound truth that we both yearn for and fear. I remember hearing a story in Switzerland, the land of “time,” about a young gentleman who came into a store to look for a watch. After inspecting a particular watch for about five minutes, he looked up at the owner and asked, “What can it do?” The store owner replied, “It tells the time.” “That’s it?” asked the young gentleman, and walked out. Time is an…
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Perfectly Average
Without a doubt, being a parent is one of the most rewarding and challenging vocations. Every parent knows this. This certainly isn’t anything new. It truly is self-giving. This is probably why it is so rewarding: because it isn’t about you at the end of the day. As parents, we certainly get our daily reminders of that. (The once-a-month slight nods of appreciation from our kids before returning to being unable to put their dirty dishes in the dishwasher, WHAT IS THAT!!) I recently talked with some parents about our kids being average. I remember the look on their faces as if I called my son a bad word or…
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Baseball, Friendship, and Bathroom Prophecy
Since returning to the States, it has been great to reconnect with some friends. Due to the time difference while living in Switzerland, it was hard to connect even if the desire existed. That said, it’s incredible how easily you can pick up right where you left off with your close friends. This made me think, what makes a connection like this possible? One good friend of mine is someone that I met while playing professional baseball. We were both 18 years old and fresh out of high school. We immediately connected with the same love of music, but honestly, besides that, there wasn’t much of a commonality. He was…
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Mystery and Mirrors
The winds were overwhelming but calming. The periods of rain were drenching but refreshing. The brisk air cut through your skin but awakened the very breath of life. Standing in its midst was somehow a confrontation with truth. The Highlands of Scotland, with its history and mysticism, struggle for freedom, and bloodshed was one of the most peaceful places I have been. Isolated by its barren lands yet consumed by its beauty, it was a paradox that touched me deeply. How could such bareness and lack of color produce such overwhelming beauty? How can a place engrossed with emptiness be overflowing with an undeniable presence? Standing in…
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The Castle on the Hill
A few weeks ago, the lyrics echoed through the household just as I heard them for the first time. Years ago, when driving my two sons down a narrow country road in Worb, Switzerland. “I’m on my way Driving at ninety down those country lanes Singing to “Tiny Dancer” And I miss the way you make me feel, and it’s real We watched the sunset over the castle on the hill” -Ed Sheeran “Castle on the Hill” Listening then, as we passed the 12th Century Worb Castle like we did every day, I couldn’t help but wonder what impact this song, this place and this castle would have on all…
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Change
We can learn much from a tree. Colorful. Spectacular. Beautiful. Standing, being who they are meant to be. That said, in a few weeks they will experience loss. Bare. Exposed. Vulnerable. Enduring change after change after change. Nevertheless, there they remain. Bold. Present. Living. Standing, being who they are meant to be. “In a higher world it is otherwise, but here below to live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.” -St. John Henry Newman
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Yes, I Am In Your Business
Since moving back to the States, chances are that if I were in the next aisle from you in Target, I would have heard everything you were saying to your friend on the phone. I listened to what type of cheese you ordered standing in the deli line at the grocery store (and how many people were coming to your house for the dinner party). I heard every single conversation that 20 different parents were having simultaneously at the bus stop! Even sitting at a local café, I am completely distracted by the dialogue between the two workers behind the counter and between the couple in the corner discussing their…
