History Tells Us: Voices From Our Past

Boston is one city that all Americans should experience.  It overflows with voices from our past: ordinary people who lived, breathed, and fought for freedom.  As I walked around the city, American History came alive when I saw Old North Church, Paul Revere's statue, and other places that evoked the Boston Tea Party, the Midnight Ride, and Lexington and Concord.

Our hotel, being located in the midst of these historical sites, contained a series of wall panels with important quotes about liberty, justice, and the Common Good. 

How do you make good use of your freedom?
~ ~ Click on image to enlarge ~ ~
(Photo: John Adams,
Boston Harborside Inn - Larry Gardepie)

I have been reflecting on these wall panels over the past several weeks:

• Do we listen to the lessons of previous generations?
• Are we able -- or willing -- to change our current course?
• What inspires us to work for the good of others?

Do your actions inspire others?
~ ~ Click on image to enlarge ~ ~
(Photo: John Quincy Adams,
Boston Harborside Inn - Larry Gardepie)

What troubles me about the recent violence and rhetoric?  We are no longer involved in Civil Discourse.  Leaders and representatives from our earliest foundations disagreed on how to move forward, but they tried to engage in constructive, respectful, and productive conversations. Yes, they represented diverse colonies and interests, but they learned to listen to the needs of the other colonists as well.

What can you do for our country now?
~ ~ Click on image to enlarge ~ ~
(Photo: John F. Kennedy,
Boston Harborside Inn - Larry Gardepie)

This engagement carried responsibilities that future leaders understood: to perfect this imperfect union (Inspiration); to ask what you can do for others (Service); to learn to live together (Community).

These values and other truths became self-evident.

Are we living together or perishing?
~ ~ Click on image to enlarge ~ ~
(Photo: Martin Luther King, Jr.,
Boston Harborside Inn - Larry Gardepie)

Questions we may want to consider in the weeks ahead:

• Do I (we) listen to voices that divide... and why?
• Am I (we) living in fear of others... and why?
• How can I (we) listen and work toward healing?

As John Adams asks of us:  Do we understand how much our freedom cost previous generations? Are we making good use of that freedom?
 

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

Journey of a Lifetime

Over my lifetime, I have had several mentors, spiritual directors, coaches, and role models who have challenged, inspired, and supported me.  Let's take a moment to recall -- and offer a word of thanks -- to those people who have walked with us and encouraged growth and understanding.

One of my earliest role models was a newly ordained priest who described us as Pilgrim People on a Journey Together.

Who has inspired you on your journey?
~ ~ Click on image to enlarge ~ ~
(Photo credit:  Pickles, Brian Crane, 12/08/24)

He described how there would be times in our lives when we would need people to walk alongside us as friends and colleagues... sometimes walking in front of us to lead us... other times to walk behind us to encourage us.  There might be times, he said, when we would need to be carried -- and to be be ready to carry others -- when too exhausted to travel alone.

These images of a Common Unity (community) who is conscious of a Shared Journey, our Vulnerability, and our Need for assistance and direction have stayed with me throughout my life's travels.

How have you prepared for your journey?
(Photo: Ancient Travel, ms Zaandam - Larry Gardepie)

I believe this message from my youth is even more relevant today as we experience:

• Separation and Division... we are called to work towards Unity.
• Hatred and Discord... we are called to remember Love and Kindness.
• Struggle and Strife... we are called to work together for the Common Good.

We don't have to live in a world that doesn't care... we are called to Care!

Where has your journey taken you?
(Photo: Settlement of Oceania, Bishop Museum,
Honolulu - Larry Gardepie)

Our Journey of a Lifetime invites us to:

• Walk alongside... by listening;
• Walk in front... guiding and listening;
• Walk behind... encouraging and listening!

As we carry -- or are carried -- we listen.  We listen for and identify with the message that we don't have all of the answers, we don't have to be right all of the time, and our truth is incomplete without the other.

 

Thank you, Jim, for reminding us that we are Pilgrim People... on a lifetime journey together!
 

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

TMI

Are you confused with some of the new abbreviations used in messaging or texting?  Oftentimes, I must look up the initials so I can understand the response or context of a comment.  Like the difference between LOL and ROFL... AFAIK and LMK... JK and JW.*

I remember the first time I heard someone say TMI in a conversation... looked it up... and then wondered what information was too much?

It seems that modern life has introduced several short cuts... in expressions and language, getting to a desired location, and how we enter or nurture relationships.

Have you ever wondered how something
-- or someone -- developed?
(Photo: Palm Trees at Pu'uhonua o Honaunau
National Historical Park, Hawaii - Larry Gardepie)

Seeing a crooked palm tree among a palm grove got my attention.  I thought, "That's interesting!"  I wondered how it grew so differently than the others:  Had it been lying on the ground before being planted upright?  Was its crookedness intentional?  Was something wrong with it?  Was it diseased?

Then I began noticing other palm trees, Ti plants, and ferns trying to break through the hardened lava landscape.  The energy to survive and flourish! "Isn't that interesting?" became a mantra as I explored the sacred area around Pu'uhounua o Honaunau, a place of refuge for Hawaiians who had broken kapu.

What is revealed when we notice?
(Photo: Night Flight into San Diego - Larry Gardepie)

As I noticed my surroundings, I found that I wanted to learn more:  the TMI (Too Much Information) of our abbreviated lexicon soon transformed into That's More Interesting than the previous discovery.  I wanted to ask questions, understand the differences, and explore what was being revealed.

I believe that is what society and community is about: the opportunity to share information and learn from one another.

Are we interested in seeing what is hidden?
(Photo:  Full Moon among Palm Trees - Larry Gardepie)

Abbreviations may simply be short cuts in a fast-paced, modern world.  But, there could be a risk in using them exclusively:  the meaning might be hidden or misunderstood if the other person isn't aware.  After all, your TMI might be interesting to me!

JW... are there any shortcuts you use that are helpful?

Questions to consider this week:  when we TMI each other (Wow!  Now it's a verb!), are we...

• Asking the other person to stop sharing... or... do we want to hear more?
• Saying we don't care... or... that we are interested?
• Trying to stop communicating.... or... we are ready to move ahead?
  

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* You probably know many of the abbreviations cited above, but just in case:

• LOL = Laugh Out Loud
• ROFL = Rolling On The Floor Laughing
• AFAIK = As Far As I Know
• LMK = Let Me Know
• JK = Just Kidding
• JW = Just Wondering
  

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

 

Hidden Among Us

I was an altar server for several years during my elementary and high school years.  Our original church had a small room ("sacristy") at the front of the church off the sanctuary.  For such a small space, it had 3 doors:  one that went outside; one that went into the church proper; and one that went into the sanctuary.

This is the place where the priest and servers put on their vestments and where the chalices, altar wine, hosts, etc. were stored.  At that time, it was a place reserved mostly for the priests and altar servers.

What is hidden in your life?
(Photo credit:  Fun with Puzzles)

One Sunday a woman knocked on the outside door of the sacristy before Mass.  She wanted to talk with the priest.  This was unusual at the time!  I wondered what she wanted.

The priest talked to her for a short time, then closed the outside door.  When it was time to begin Mass, the priest asked me to open the outside door, let the woman into the sacristy, and place a folding chair at the open door that led into the sanctuary.

Do you always find what is hidden?
(Photo credit:  Where's Waldo?, Paperflite.com)

Throughout Mass, the woman sat or stood at the sacristy-sanctuary door, praying along with everyone in the church.  When Mass ended and we returned to the sacristy, the woman was gone.  The priest could see that we were puzzled.  He explained that the woman had agoraphobia - it was difficult for her to be in large crowds.

This was one of many instances in my life where I have witnessed understanding and compassion: being able to listen to another person's story; hearing the fear, pain or loss; and working to alleviate the suffering -- even when going against the norm.

These moments allow the hidden to be revealed.

Can you see beyond the walls we create?
(Photo credit:  Woman Hiding Behind Cubicle,
iStock Getty Images)

What is interesting about this memory:  as a youngster, I recognized this person.  She was very involved in our parish life.  Her revelation to the priest opened in me a new understanding about her - and how scary it must be for her to help others while fighting against her fears.

Isn't that the way it is with each of us?  There are aspects of our lives that are shared with others... and there are hidden areas.  We can be generous and understanding when we are in the realm of what is normal... and we are sometimes asked to go beyond what is accepted.  We are human... and we need one another!

The lesson I learned that Sunday morning?  Sharing our fears and phobias with others can invite us into grace-filled moments of understanding and compassion.  In that way we can live, learn, pray, and remain a community.

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

(click on link for website)

Our Next Chapter

As my brothers, sisters and I were growing up, Mom would take us to the local branch library.  It became a Safe and Familiar place to discover different authors, writing styles, and storytelling.  Even when going on weeks-long road trips to visit our grandparents in Iowa, one of the pre-trip planning stops was the library to get a box of books to accompany us.  Maybe it was to keep us busy, but the lesson I learned was the joy of reading and the power of imagination.  (Years later I would work at that branch library as my first real job!)

These memories come to mind as I consider what is happening in our society today:  "the best of times" and the worst of times."

How would you describe "your time" right now?
(Photo credit:  Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens)

The Information Age has inundated us with countless sources and varieties of information.  We are now "entertained" with subtle and not-so-subtle messages in the programs and news sources we watch, the bombardment of advertisements, and the role social media plays in our daily lives.

It is unnerving when I pay attention to the attempts to manipulate my thoughts and feelings, swaying me one direction or another.  The information when presented one way stacks up against another... in simple soundbites that are meant to convince me of their truth.

Where are you getting your information?
(Photo credit:  Library Book Stacks Fabric, Spoonflower)

As unfiltered and unreflected ideas stack up in my subconscious, I notice an uneasiness at the separation I feel:  I no longer feel the safety and familiarity of my home library; I no longer feel Common Unity (community) with those around me.

The story telling and imagination have faded away as others influence what I should think or feel.

Is it the same with you?

Are you willing to rearrange your thought process?
(Photo credit:  Google download, Michigan Library)

George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans), a female English novelist, poet, journalist, and translator, once wrote:  "The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice."

What choices do you (we) need to make as we write the next chapters of our Life Story?  How can we reconnect with our sense of safety and familiarity in the communities we live?  Are we willing to share our stories and imagination with one another in a way that respects all of our Unfinished Stories?

The choice is ours -- in how we gather information, the way we check out our assumptions, and the decisions we make.

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

(click on link for website)