Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow.
Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead.
Just walk beside me and be my friend.
Albert Camus
Little Places
I’ve been thinking of the tiny airport prayer room where I prayed for my Aunt Mary shortly before she died. I’ve been thinking of all the places where I’ve sent my prayers, flying, up to God.
Have all these places made a mark? What is it about the little places which seem so forgettable that makes such an impression on me? The airport chapel. The bicycle shed at Lou and Jean’s. The hospital café. The tree beside the river. The kitchen pantry where I told someone I loved him for the first time.
All these little places seem so ordinary, but they leave an impression I can’t quite explain. But isn’t this, in many ways, the essence of our lives? Celebrating the small, daily things and finding the meaning that’s stuffed inside?
Brief Thoughts (No. 39)
Here, in the light of the sun, we make our way ’round another day. We capture the sense of wonder and merriment, boredom and confusion. It’s all in a day’s work: this compiling of experiences that makes us who we are.
…
The trouble is – many people are taking a narrow view, when a wide view would suit them much better.
…
The threat of terror is upon you again. The threat of everything collapsing all at once. How do you write about that? How do you put that kind of fear, of desperation, into words? Sometimes, the only thing worth doing is admitting that you’re powerless to explain anything that’s going on in this highly insane life.
The Star-Gazer
A long time ago, the people of France hired a man who could gaze at the stars and find the mysteries hidden within them.
But when the people tried to learn his secret – the art behind his abilities – they became quickly bored and discouraged, because they had learned that most of the man’s time was spent in quiet prayer and reflection.
“How dull!” they thought, and left the mysteries of the stars aside for their flashier, fancier pursuits.
So the people danced and drank and feasted in their courts and mansions and halls, while the star-gazer stood outside, alone, in a remote part of the country, far from the lights, watching the heavens, waiting silently for their strange and wonderful wisdom to unfold.
Brief Thoughts (No. 38)
On validation:
Most people spend a lot of their lives feeling ignored or criticized or misunderstood. The cumulative effect of these experiences of being forgotten or corrected is that people feel unsure of who they are – or, in some cases, too scared that who they are isn’t good or lovable enough.
If you give these people a chance to really shine, then they recapture a part of their existence that they have been longing to find – the sense that they indeed have something of value to contribute to the world, and that their life means something important after all.
Brief Thoughts (No. 37)
When I’m talking to Siri on my iPhone, I try – at least some of the time – to be polite and throw in a “please” or a “thank-you.” I know Siri’s not human, of course, but I figure that, if I get in the habit of barking out commands to Siri, I might condition myself to be a little less kind to real people – and that’s not a good habit to get into. Besides, I once read that Siri and Alexa and other digital assistants are usually given female voices as their default setting because, subconsciously, female voices are easier to boss around. Not sure how true of an explanation that is, but I certainly don’t like the implications if it’s even partially true.
There’s an interesting discussion of this topic here.