This week, Johnny Cash's estate released his last album, "American VI: Ain't No Grave" which he completed a couple of weeks before his death in 2006. Having lost the love of his life, June Carter, and fighting failing health, he seems ready to leave this plain. In 2006, he released "American IV, The Man comes to Town". One of the cuts on this album which became widely heard after his death was Cash's cover of "HURT" a song by The 9-inch-nails. In it he captured so much how he felt that the first time I heard it on the radio I had to pull over my car. Cash does it again on the new album with a cut called 1 Corinthians 15:55. In it Cash sings "Oh Death,Where is They Sting". It took my breath away. Totally different than "Hurt" it shows a man ready to go home. To be with his wife and free from a life which he had apparently tired of. A few weeks after laying down this track, Johnny Cash got his wish, dying peacefully in his sleep. What a swan song! I'm still awed.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
True Intimacy - Nouwen on relationships!
Interesting perspective on why relationships fail. I saw some of myself here. BEN
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Human relationships easily become possessive. Our hearts so much desire to be loved that we are inclined to cling to the person who offers us love, affection, friendship, care, or support. Once we have seen or felt a hint of love, we want more of it. That explains why lovers so often bicker with each other. Lovers' quarrels are quarrels between people who want more of each other than they are able or willing to give.
It is very hard for love not to become possessive because our hearts look for perfect love and no human being is capable of that. Only God can offer perfect love. Therefore, the art of loving includes the art of giving one another space. When we invade one another's space and do not allow the other to be his or her own free person, we cause great suffering in our relationships. But when we give another space to move and share our gifts, true intimacy becomes possible.
Share your thoughts on this reflection. These reflections are taken from Henri J.M. Nouwen's Bread for the Journey. Join our Lenten book discussion, starting February 17th.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
The Basis of Our Security - From Henri Nouwen
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What is the basis of our security? When we start thinking about that question, we may give many answers: success, money, friends, property, popularity, family, connections, insurance, and so on. We may not always think that any of these forms the basis of our security, but our actions or feelings may tell us otherwise. When we start losing our money, our friends, or our popularity, our anxiety often reveals how deeply our sense of security is rooted in these things.
A spiritual life is a life in which our security is based not in any created things, good as they may be, but in God, who is everlasting love. We probably will never be completely free from our attachment to the temporal world, but if we want to live in that world in a truly free way, we'd better not belong to it. "You cannot be the slave both of God and of money" (Luke 16:13).
Share your thoughts on this reflection. These reflections are taken from Henri J.M. Nouwen's Bread for the Journey. Join our Lenten book discussion, starting February 17th.
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Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Bayard Rustin - Who was this man?
Who was Bayard Rustin? People in New York City knew him in later life as an advocate for economic reform. However his story begins in 1912. Rustin would go on to organize the 1963 March on Washington, counsel Dr. Martin Luther King on Non-Violence, and sit at the feet of Mohandas Ghandi. Listen here (45 min or you can listen in segments): http://stateofthereunion.com/home/season-2/bayard-rustin
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Balance in Life - From Bryan Dyson
| Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling five balls in the air. You name them - work, family, health, friends, and spirit - and you're keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls - family, health, friends, and spirit are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged, or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life. Bryan Dyson |
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Ben 's back!
My day surgery went well. I lost some "wisdom" (tooth) and a small piece of jawbone but I'm on track to be back at work later thiss week. It will take some time to dig through FB and email though.
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