The Emmaus Dialogue: Act Three, Part Three “ Goin’ to The End of The Line”

The two pilgrims who have been trying to make their escape to a place called Paradise. Suddenly the two do not recognize anything on their passage. Most things and people they encounter are unfamiliar. Pilgrim One starts to show signs of anxiety while Pilgrim Two starts to flip through a book he has in is knapsack.

Pilgrim One: What the heck are you doing? How can you begin to think about reading when we are at the precipice of self-demise? Can’t you take anything seriously?

Pilgrim Two: I am quite serious and this is just not any book.

Pilgrim One: Oh, I expect that this book is the one and only “ Good Book?”

Pilgrim Two: Well, it is a good book in a way. It is one of the journals I have been keeping. As a matter of fact this particular journal is one in a long line of meditation and reflection filled pages.

Pilgrim One: So, do you have a map in there or some great insight that will put us on the right path again?

Pilgrim Two: Well, yes and no. Years ago I met a wise man from the Big East who gave me some advice.

Pilgrim One: Don’t tell me you took that “Course on Miracles” and these are your notes! Don’t you realize that …

Pilgrim Two puts up his hand to signal, “stop” as he interrupts the wound up Pilgrim One’s queries and confrontation….

Pilgrim Two: Hold on a minute will ya! No, this is not that text on “The Course in Miracles: To Find Peace and Happiness” but in a way it is an elementary method of discerning one’s blessings and being mindful of the sacred in all things. This wise man I spent some time with used to quote Einstein for me , “ There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” So, years ago I started to try o be aware of all the miracles and blessings in my life. Then I started to write about these observations and meditations in a journal.

Pilgrim One: What are you talking about? How does this help anything? How does this help us now?

Pilgrim Two: If you let me finish I will tell you. Every morning I sit in wonder and am overwhelmed with humility that the great grace is filling all things in the universe. This wonder-filled canvas of pure peace and love surrounds us and it fills up my spirit.

Pilgrim One: A little simplistic isn’t it? You are not going to lecture me about God, heaven and all that again.

Pilgrim Two: I really don’t care what you label that energy of great love that has caused all existence through magnificent peace and love. By the way, for the record, I don’t believe in your concept that heaven is really the same as some theme park at Disney world or grand resort on the Riviera located above the stars. All one needs to do is look, see and feel. No thinking is required, you know.

Pilgrim One flailing his arms screams out

Pilgrim One: Where are you going with this? How is this going to help us get to where we need to go? I don’t understand.

Pilgrim Two: In the pages of this journal I have tried to write what I am sensing or experienced when I attempt to be present. Sometimes I feel as though great secrets of the universe are revealed. Sometimes I experience a consolation so great that I believe I am a part of the expansive canvas of pure peace. Sometimes the tranquility comes from the stars. Sometimes I can hear to sweet serenity in the songs of the pre-dawn birds welcoming the sun. Sometimes the waft of salt air form the sea along with the lapping waves on the beach are all part of the harmonious symphony of serenity.

Then sometimes I drift and contemplate to wonder of existence : Love, intimacy, compassion and mercy. The miracle of conception and birth comes to mind. Where does that spark come from that initiates all life? How does that happen, really?

I think of how there are no accidents.  Einstein was to have said that,

“ Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.” Whoever and whatever God is I don’t think that this universal magnificence is passive at all.

Then sometimes I drift again and write about true happiness. I reflect on how I have never read a story or poem or heard a song or have seen a movie where the one who has the most possessions or biggest bank account has found authentic happiness or peace.

Pilgrim One now with his face in his hands whimpers

Pilgrim One: I don’t understand. I don’t understand. How is this book and all this going to help us get to where we need to go?

Pilgrim Two:  You see I believe that the help, this gift is all about love. Love is the origin of everything. Love is the reason for existence. Love is that which fills the universe and every moment we love we are experiencing the sacred. We become the divine when we love, as all that is love is divine.

So, we really do not need to get anywhere. We really don’t need to own anything. If I feel lost or feel alone and can’t connect with that which is truly important I look into my journal’s writings and discover that I have witnessed true peace and that miracle of love. And, in this witnessing I realize somehow mysteriously with all my imperfections I am participating of this miracle. Heaven is not a destination. Heaven is where love is. Heaven is here and now.

Pilgrim One: I guess I know what you mean. In the movie “Field of Dreams” the main character meets the spirit of his father who asks

‘Is this heaven?’ and the main character responds that it is Iowa and asks his father’s spirit if there is a heaven and the father says ‘ Oh, yeh, it is the place dreams come true” and the main character looks at his wife and daughter on the porch of their farm house next to a ball field in the middle of his cornfield and smiles saying “Maybe this is heaven.”

The two find a half finished bottle of Merlot and a baguette in their sole knapsack and the companions begin to celebrate.

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is God's gift, that's why we call it the present."

(Final Scene Field of Dreams- smart phone click link)

http://youtu.be/b_wnD6jxREU

( Awaiting on you All - G. Harrison - smart phone click on link)

http://youtu.be/QGI3RWBhuUo

(Looking for My Life - G. Harrison- smart phone click on link)

http://youtu.be/SBov2x9L3UQ

( The End of the Line - Traveling Wilburys - smart phone click on link)

http://youtu.be/cwqhdRs4jyA

 amdg

On the Happenings in Wisconsin

“The lesson lies in learning
by teaching I will be taught
For there is nothing
Hidden anywhere
It is just all there
To be sought”

- Look to your soul, Procol Harum



Who would think that the joy of the Super Bowl trophy returning to Titletown would be short lived?

The heart started breaking when it saw how those who are of the “noble profession” are being treated in various parts of the country. Proof positive that ignorance is the enemy. Maintaining the status quo in this blog and being silent about this issue would be compliance. There is a persistent fear that the oft idealized profession and teachers portrayed in books and movies such as The Blackboard Jungle, To Sir with Love , Dead Poets Society , Mr. Holland’s Opus, Dangerous Minds, Mona Lisa Smile , Music of the Heart, Freedom Writers and so many many more may become fantasies and ineffable anomalies to future generations.



(The job posting and conditions of employment below appeared in a nightmare about what is happening in Wisconsin, Providence , RI , New Jersey and New York.)


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                                                               Wanted

Needed individuals who are compassionate and caring. They will be passionate about their “work” and their clientele equally. These employees are to open doors so their clientele may recognize and use their own God-given gifts. These clients then can, without fear, identify their own verse in the great play and make their own lives extraordinary . Candidates will go out of their way to mentor their charges by freely giving their expertise as well as being a role model demonstrating a positive attitude about aspects of life . These individuals will be expected to always be enthusiastic.Their personal values will meet the highest moral and ethical standards where they will be admired by peers , supervisors and the general community. It is expected that the significant candidates in this career will maintain a high level of subject matter expertise as well as intellectual rigor for their own continued growth and development.

Candidates will be innovators and creative in their delivery of their services. Core competences required for the position include  flexibility and adaptability to the changing environment inside and outside the organization. Successful employees then must be adept with leading edge technology and how it impacts their profession and their clientele. Terms such as “sherpa”, “coach”, “encourager”, “servant”, “counselor” and “facilitator” will be defining qualitative factors of their role. The ability to communicate on all levels at all times and in all circumstances will be an essential measurement of success. Assuring that their charges are equipped with the appropriate tools, knowledge and skills at the completion of their relationship will also be considered to be a minimum performance standard for all hired.


There will also be some basic conditions of employment that must be subscribed to, including but are not limited to:

• Individuals in these positions will have a specific schedule but must be available at all times for emergencies and other organizational considerations. (24/7)
• It is expected that qualified candidates will take a personal interest in the needs and achievement of everyone of their charges personally
• They must be 100 % responsive to all groups who have a stakeholder interest in the success of their clientele as well as the overall institution.
• These individuals will work under all conditions, positive , mediocre and adverse.
• If any level of management exhibits any type of incompetence the candidates are expected to remain silent about their concern.
• Compliance and silence will be expected when basic personnel practices and procedures are violated by supervisory personnel.
• Candidates challenging any action of supervisors or management will be considered disloyal to the clients and the overall mission of the organization.
• Membership in any organization that attempts to protect the interests and integrity of the employees will be considered a disloyal and rebellious act.
• If these employees are ever suspected of violating any real or perceived law they will be dismissed summarily without due process.
• Their day to day and continued employment is completely at the will and discretion of others and can be adjusted in the blink of an eye.
• Assignments and job duties can also be altered at the whim of management.
• Expression by the employee of any political or religious view that might considered contrary to that of management is considered a dismissible offense.
• Total compensation including benefits for all college degreed candidates will always be less than the compensation of comparable careers for college graduates in the private sector.
• Additional supplies and tools needed to successfully complete the job performance will be paid for in full by the employee.
• Management can add to or subtract from these conditions of employment without any notice to anyone anytime.

Each of the above required competences and conditions of employment will be multiplied by a factor of ten for all employees for at least 40% less pay in private and parochial schools.

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Teaching is the only major occupation of man for which we have not yet developed tools that make an average person capable of competence and performance. In teaching we rely on the "naturals," the ones who somehow know how to teach.
~Peter Drucker

Teaching is the profession that teaches all the other professions. ~Author Unknown

A good teacher is like a candle - it consumes itself to light the way for others.
                                  ~Author Unknown



“We sanctify all we are grateful for” – A. DeMello SJ

I am grateful for the teachers who encouraged me to be me.
I will never, ever forget !

amdg


A truth about the Wisconsin matter:

http://blogs.forbes.com/rickungar/2011/02/25/the-wisconsin-lie-exposed-taxpayers-actually-contribute-nothing-to-public-employee-pensions/

What non-political experts are saying about the impact of teachers, their effectiveness and salaries
(Princeton- Brookings)

http://futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=34&articleid=82&sectionid=486

 Click link....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8UL_9R_W-Y&feature=related

Ashes to Ashes: A New Chapter Begins

Now the darkness only stays the nighttime
in the morning it will fade away
Daylight is good at arriving at the right time
it's not always going to be this grey

- All Things Must Pass,

(George Harrison)

In a blink of an eye thirty years seem to have blown by just like that. Yes, just like that. A full chapter written in the book of life was completed just the other day. “Ashes to ashes” is more prophetic than this pilgrim could ever imagine. Now there are blank pages in my journal/log waiting to be filled and navigational charts with no particular course yet plotted. only the current safe harbor and end point identified.

Sitting in the middle of a debate as to the significance of recalling where one was the night the US hockey team defeated the Russian Olympic team at the lake Placid Winter Olympics in February of 1980 fueled an avalanche of emotions. That date and time is burned deep within my heart. I had been burned out at my job at a local college and was separated from my wife. The burn out had foundation in some diseased roots and was killing off any prospect of any type of growth or maturity.

Just three days before my thirty second birthday, Friday February 22,1980, Ginny and I reconciled our separation and we were getting back together. My family had always paid attention to one’s birthday as a “special” day not just for the person who was celebrating the anniversary of his or her birth but also for everyone who was blessed by the gift of the presence of that person in this life. If that wasn’t cause enough to celebrate there was the young college age amateur US Hockey team defeating the powerful twelve year undefeated Russian team made up of mostly professional athletes at the Lake Placid Olympics! Now a nation was celebrating with Ginny and I. “This was truly going to be a memorable birthday” I, recall thinking. It was also the night I received that dreaded phone call with the news that my father had suddenly without warning passed away from a major heart attack. My cheers transformed to tears. It was memorable !!

That day was a week before I was to run my first twenty-six mile marathon. With the encouragement and faith of my family and close friends I endured the emotional and physical draining pain and completed that race that took place two days after a late winter blizzard had coated the roadways. I Dr. Zchivagoed my way across the frozen pathways of the county park with my running companion Bernie at my side for most of the journey. As the pain increased the run became a slow jog and I found myself alone running on empty. Just as my body, and spirit were to hit the proverbial twenty-mile mark wall my brother drove up in his car riding along side me throwing his fist in the air in victorious support! I wasn’t alone, my dad’s spirit and all the prayers of friends and family carried me those last six miles to cross the finish line! It seemed appropriate to have a storm be part of that marathon and week-long experience. I had forgotten though that storms don’t last forever.

It is sad to say that running that 26-mile marathon was not as difficult as attempting to bring back some spark to my career path. You see marathoning required preparation, planning, persistence, hard work and faith, much like career planning. For the next eleven months I tried just about everything to no avail. The despair led me to participate in a training seminar led by the guru of career gurus, Richard Bolles (author of the famous What Color is Your Parachute.). My chute was not opening and I was falling fast!

It was the eleventh hour of the eleventh month since that I day of infamy in Lake Placid and my own emotional upheaval. This pilgrim sailor had been drifting from any sense of faith or religiosity and the drifting had become status quo. I had thought that the events of almost 12 months prior would have catapulted me into action or at least a new calling magically delivering me from the perpetual whirlpool. This educated experienced trained counselor proved his ineptness by not being able to help himself. It was then on an Ash Wednesday not quite one year from that Miracle on Ice that a transformation was unknowingly initiated and would unfold. On my way to lunch that fateful Wednesday I saw Fr. Ken executing his religious duties by dispensing ashes to any passerby who was inclined to be blessed in a conference room. I thought “What the heck. I have nothing to lose.” You can take the boy out of the church but you cannot take the church out of the boy! I was marked and had been for years .

That evening of my reconciliation marking I received the most unusual phone call from this guy Herb who was the President of a local consulting firm. I had been referred to him about a potential job. We spoke for an hour about things like hope and faith of all things. He asked me what I believed in! What a strange interview …what a strange conversation for two strangers …but there was something…something that connected us? He was a pilgrim also but he knew where he was headed. Herb would eventually hire me and became my mentor concerning matters of business and faith .He became a dear friend. Leaving the security of employment at the college by joining Herb and his partner and a their associates my life would change forever. Well, at least for thirty years!

Just about a week or so ago at a mass after receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday at Loyola House of Retreats Fr. Tom offered up a prayer for Fr. Ken. I couldn’t recall how I knew this Fr. Ken. So after mass I met with Fr. Tom and then I recalled Fr. Ken and the ashes almost thirty years ago to the day. I told Fr. Tom this story and we both became a little weepy. The grace of the sacramental “receiving the ashes” started to sink in. I prayed for Fr. Ken.

This pilgrim sailor’s voyage brought me to places and experiences I never dreamed would be possible for me. Most importantly I was blessed with two lovely daughters. The career and successful thriving business introduced me to new companion pilgrims on the long journey home. Eventually the business hit the perfect storm and sank. The desire for personal survival not only increased the art of personal petitioning prayer but it would bring me back to working at a college. I had come full circle.

But we all know that the loop needed to be closed to be complete. Just days before going to that mass on Ash Wednesday at Loyola a couple of weeks ago I was informed that my position at the college where I was working for the past couple of years was eliminated. One third of the positions in our division were wiped from the rolls. As one who used to consult companies how to restructure and reorganize I was now the recipient and outcome of someone’s recommendations. The thirty year chapter had come full circle and to a to a close.

Now there are blank pages in my journal/log waiting to be filled and navigational charts with no particular course yet plotted. only the current safe harbor and end point identified.

Currently personal considerations include retirement, volunteering with a faith-based or national service group, or even some teaching or writing. It isn’t really what we do that matters but how we do it that is important in the big picture. This pilgrim is slowly learning to listen to the voice of the heart, which almost came to a full dead stop a year and a half ago. I am humbly grateful for the journey past, where I am now and for the journey yet to come. My Second Chance Dance has been confirmed and the vessel is cleared to continue the voyage.

“ Say goodbye to your golden yesterdays or your heart will never learn to love the present”

- Anthony DeMello SJ

“At the Day of Judgment we shall not be asked what we have read but what we have done; not how well we have spoken, but how holy we have lived.”

—Imitation of Christ: Book I, ch. 3, Thomas A’ Kempis

amdg

Sometimes on the Journey

Sometimes there are days when everything seems to go right. Sometimes it seems that there are days where nothing goes as you planned it. Some days there are just days when they are in the middle of the ying and yang of life and you wished you had stayed in bed.

The other day was one of "those days."

The Internet was down and the phones were not working in the office and I had a ton of "important" activities I needed to get completed for work but since we rely so much on technology I was lost. The decision was then easy to take some time for some personal business (please don't tell my boss.) It wasn't until I was done with the day that I realized that this potential day from hell was transformed into a series of graces.

Now you know how when you have an older tired car you can dred the experience of bringing the car in for motor vehicle inspection. The "failed" sticker can easily be translated into a proclamation of "many dollars for serious or annoying repairs need to be spent here.". Unexpectedly my twelve year old Volvo passed a motor vehicle inspection (Please do not contact the DMV!) But concerning another car related situation, right after the successful inspection I ventured to an automotive repair store ready to go to war. A couple of months ago this shop replaced a bent rim and wheel on my car and recently the local Volvo dealer realized the wheel this auto shop had me purchase was the wrong size. I was ready to "lawyer up", as my friend Anthony says, and punish this auto-repair shop if I didn't get immediate satisfaction. To my ultimate surprise the store manager was a complete gentleman as he asked to see my receipts and credited my credit card with no questions asked!!

The surprises would continue. Did you ever have one of those delightful surprises that somehow come out the blue from nowhere? I get email messages and phone calls from old long lost friends periodically and though delightful these reconnections are almost expected. I think these reconnections are just checking in to see if I am still alive. But as I came home from my automobile adventures I found an Internet message from an old friend and associate. (Yes, the Internet was now up and running, another surprise!) I had tried to reach out to this man a year or so ago and when he didn't return my emails I thought the worse. I guess I am guilty also of checking in to see if my old friends are still roaming around. When this particular associate and I were working together this man came down with Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS.) So it was truly an unexpected connection when a surrogate of this associate reached out to me on my friend's behalf. I was/am delighted, humbled and grateful that this "companion" reached out to reconnect with me.

Suddenly my trials of the day seemed so inconsequential. These issues never were really significant but I had found cause to develop stress over failed technology, auto inspections and inadequate sales and service. Also, the small victories in each of these situations seemed to diminish in their importance. I am grateful for the small blessings but they were almost meaningless compared to the reaching out of a long lost friend who has suffered so much.” Relationships are what really matters,” I thought.

I don't think this friend knows that our experience together years ago became a subject of one of the chapters in a book I have written. His intelligence, service, compassion and persistence have inspired me always.

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The Long and Winding Road



“Many times I’ve been alone
And many times I’ve cried,
Anyway you’ll never know
The many ways I’ve tried.”

Long and Winding Road, Lennon and McCartney


“Great fidelity to the holy will of God in the little things of every day is what Thomas a Kemps called the Royal Road of the Holy Cross”
Father Hugh Thwarts SJ

In the movie “Romancing the Stone” Kathleen Turner’s character takes a bus along a serpentine mountainous path called a road through the mountains of Colombia. On film it looked quite ominous in real life the road is dramatic as it is spectacular! Well I wasn’t in Colombia but my client Jackson took two associates, Pat and Jim, and myself along a similar type drive up through the mountains outside of Caracas. Pat thought it was cute that every once in a while we would see a tiny doghouse size structure adorned with flowers. Venezuela is known for its abundance of stray dogs and she thought the locals had constructed shelters in the mountains for the animals. Jackson laughed and advised that these structures were memorials for individuals who have died in accidents along this snake hilled roadway going straight up and swerving right and left going down the mountain. Our hearts in our throats we traveled 60km from Caracas through the Macaroon National Park to a small mountain village founded by German immigrants in 1843. It is a transplanted Bavarian village in a valley in the Andes.

http://www.venezuelatuya.com/centro/coloniatovareng.htm

White stuccoed red shale chalets coat the mountainside. The founders called it Colonia Tovar. I must admit that traveling to South America was anxiety provoking enough. Going to unknown village miles from “civilization”, up and down unknown roads to an unknown added to the anxiety and prayers.

Traveling has really been a mixed blessing. I have admitted that earning the frequent flyer miles influenced my time for reflection. Actually my reading, writing and prayer time on airplanes probably had their roots in my anxiety and guilt.
For the most part I really didn’t enjoy the prospect of flying and then there was the fact that I usually didn’t know much about where I was headed or about the people I was to meet on the other end of my journey. What a great metaphor for life isn’t it? Often I really had no idea of where I was going and I was literally running on faith and hope! God knows I can fill volumes about the adventures, places and faces…and maybe I will someday. One of my last trips to Caracas it was about ten days after 9-11. It was the first flight from Newark to Caracas after a hole was left in our hearts and the skyline. Only a dozen or so passengers boarded including a couple of very lonely fear filled mideastern looking travelers who feigned sleep for the duration of the flight. I am not sure if I wrote or prayed the complete flight but I am sure that whatever I did it was intense and focused. The anxiety was not mitigated much when I was greeted at the airport by young packing bodyguard who led me to my full armored SUV. “I have faith, Father, it is trust I lack.” One tradition that was born out of my fears was to visit a church or chapel at every city I would visit. Another was to visit a baseball stadium in each of these cities. Though intended I never did see a ball game in Caracas. I had heard in the movie “Bull Durham” that there are 108 beads in a Rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. I would carry beads and it I didn’t have them handy I would use a baseball or vice versa.

After arriving in Colonia Tovar my group began exploring the quaint pubs and gift shops. Jeem and I lost sight of the others . I had just met and hired Jeem .Pat had recommended him to help with this project, as he was bi-lingual, educated in Spain and successfully managed an American enterprise in Mexico. For some unknown reason we discovered simpatico immediately during our first telephone encounter. He was not convenient to visit as he was in Chicago and I lived in New Jersey. Besides being familiar with the petroleum and convenience store industry in Latin America he was an avid baseball and soccer fanatic. Besides he had a brother in seminary. “So far so good”, I thought. Jeem and I found our way to the local church on the town square when we lost our party in the germanesque village in the Venezuelan mountains. Without hesitation we entered knelt down and prayed together. We were not aware of each other’s beliefs of views on spirituality and God. As we discovered that as we traversed the through the mountains and wandered about the winding lanes of Colonia Tovar we were discovering our own mutual winding pilgrimage to spiritual maturity. During the off hours Jeem, Pat and would have spontaneous explorations about our faith journeys and prayer. If we had taped these exchanges one would think in listening to the tapes that we were missionaries on some struggling crusade. I was reminded constantly of the passage “where there are two or more in my name there I am.” Who would’ve imagined that we three disparate pilgrims would eventually become companions in the mountains of Venezuela? At night I fantasized that Ignatius had commanded us to go forth to spread the word. I have no doubt that God was with us in us every moment in our business encounters in Caracas and the outlands. We wanted so much to find a way to continue to work together beyond this project. God was laughing again as God heard our plans. We were, we are true companions.

The client, Jackson, had requested that my firm help pull together a “country market entry plan” as they tried to develop a brand marketing strategy for Latin America. Jeem was instrumental at helping me craft the plan but there came a point where we needed assistance on the financial banking side. There are so many economic and banking implications when attempting to establish a commercial enterprise that crosses so many national borders. Jeem and Pat would continue to be involved with general business and organizational issues in developing this plan. But, I turned to Herb’s former partner, Les, who since our consulting days together had developed a substantial track record in the banking industry. Though quite bright and an impressive strategic thinker even Les was stumped with some of the minutiae and detail of international banking commerce regulations and processes. Les turned to a former employee of his. His name is Rob and he was a subject matter expert on international financial banking and accounting regulations and operating guidelines. I had met Rob a year earlier when we worked together on another project.

Les, Jeem, Pat and I with a few people from my home staff would work closely Rob. Over time we sensed a change in him. He told me of how his TMJ was acting up and affecting his speech. We assumed that the tension in his jaw was the reason that he had a difficult time articulating what he was attempting to say. He was becoming more difficult to understand each time we would get together. It became more difficult to include him in our weekly conference calls as he vocalization was deteriorating rapidly. Though the ability to communicate effectively was being impacted his ability to think and contribute to our project was not diminished. Rob was used to trials, as he was a competing cyclist. He used to share with us how he trained for miles daily in preparation for the big race he was for which he was training. Pat, Jeem and myself would quietly pray privately for Rob. He had a disarming sense of humor and he was always a delight to be around. He never complained about his condition. Lincoln, one of my staff members, found a way for Rob to communicate with us using technology. Though appreciative of Linc’s efforts Rob wasn’t an early adopter of this technology. Maybe he was self-conscious about his ailment. Rob’s involvement was finally relegated to emailing, instant messaging and typing draft documents. He almost could not speak and he felt embarrassed and wasn’t sure but he started to wear him down and he would feel quite physically fatigued.

Rob’s required involvement in our project gradually came to a close. He never complained about his change in circumstances and remained hope filled that he would improve. I am embarrassed to say that even as of this day at writing this I am not sure if Rob is a prayer filled or faith filled man. I had reached out on several occasions from a spiritual or prayerful perspective to him. He was gracious in his reception for my prayers but never went any further with an indication of his having faith or not. A mutual friend then shared with me that Rob did not have TMJ or a severe case of Fibromyalgia as we all speculated. He was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease. It is a progressive and usually fatal disorder that attacks the nerves and muscles called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Coincidentally this disease was part of the muscular dystrophy that I had become involved with from a fund raising perspective. I wanted all our efforts, money and prayers from this involvement with MDA to some how magically be channeled to healing Rob.

Rob became an adjunct companion of sorts. We were all moved deeply with Rob’s ability to maintain his dignity throughout his severe personal, physical, and emotional and his probable spiritual trials. No words of complaint. As a matter of fact he was always uplifting. His work and diligence was unsurpassed for any healthy individual. I am embarrassed to recall what I paid him for his contribution to the project. If we were to inspect the quality of his work one would never know that his body was fading away. I don’t know many who could deliver the dedication and perfection under normal conditions. After his responsibility in the project ended he continued to correspond with me about the project, business and life in general but he never let on about his declining condition. His journey on that long winding road had taken a turn that would be faith testing to most of us. He became one I would name on my daily prayer list. Again, was this a coincidental encounter? Is Rob another one of those spirits who’s job it is to bless pilgrims on the journey?

As I reflected on Rob and blessing the Gospel reading for today, The Sermon on The Mount, continues to burn deeper into my inner being:

Matthew 5, 1-12
“… Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account...”

As companion Rob taught me much and obviously blessed me as I worked with him on this part of the journey together. He was blessed with his gifts and in his suffering. He was blessed in his service with grace. I would like to say that Rob and I have stayed close over the years after the project. We haven’t communicated much at all. Yet, he is one of many who have written something new in the ashes along the “Royal Road” of my journey.

copyright -2008 - JFSobecki


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A little poem from David Whyte on journeys.


The Journey

Above the mountains
the geese turn into
the light again

Painting their
black silhouettes
on an open sky.

Sometimes everything
has to be
inscribed across
the heavens

so you can find
the one line
already written
inside you.

Sometimes it takes
a great sky
to find that

small, bright
and indescribable
wedge of freedom
in your own heart.

Sometimes with
the bones of the black
sticks left when the fire
has gone out

someone has written
something new
in the ashes of your life.

You are not leaving
you are arriving.

~ David Whyte ~