CowPi Journal

Teach me to listen, O God,
to those nearest me,
my family, my friends, my coworkers.
Help me to be aware that
no matter what words I hear,
the message is,
“Accept the person I am. Listen to me.”

Teach me to listen, my caring God,
to those far from me—
the whisper of the hopeless,
the plea of the forgotten,
the cry of the anguished.

Teach me to listen, O God my Mother,
to myself.
Help me to be less afraid
to trust the voice inside—
in the deepest part of me.

Teach me to listen, Holy Spirit,
for your voice—
in the busyness and in boredom,
in certainy and in doubt,
in noise and in silence.

Teach me, Lord, to listen. Amen.

— Adapted by John Veltri, S.J.

The other morning, this thought entered my stream of consciousness quite abruptly. It was not like most thoughts that seem to float down my river of consciousness, where I can gingerly shift focus of attention from one thought to the next, as if hopping from one boat to another. No, this thought appeared suddenly, as if a giant boulder had been ever-so-gently placed in the middle of the river. No splash. No waves. I did not see it coming. It was just suddenly there, sitting in the middle of the river of my thoughts, waiting for me to engage it. Although this particular thought did not demand attention, it did make its presence known. It waited. It waited patiently until all the other thoughts had drifted off down the river and allowed me to step onto it.
The thought was simple. It was also startling. I may have even thought about it previously, but it must have been washed down stream with so many other thoughts. This one particular thought could not be classified as profound or earthshaking, but it has managed to change the direction of my prayer life by a few degrees.
I have developed the habit of ending some of my prayers by giving thanks to God for finding me, for opening my heart to Him and to others. The other morning, I remember pausing at the thought of God finding me. It was not that God had lost tract of me. He knew exactly where I was and what I was doing. I was the one who was lost, and even though I did not know it at the time, I was looking for Him. I had needed His help to step outside of myself in order to be found, to let God open the door to my heart. God found me. He helped me (and still does). God gave me the gift of faith.
Now that I have been found, why me? Why then? How was it that I was lucky enough to learn or recognize the fact that God has loved me my whole life? That He wants a relationship with each of us? I am tempted to ask what drew God

There is humilty in trying to follow the rules of the road. There are also lessons in humility from driving that are transferable to other areas of our lives:

Are you humble enough…
• to allow someone to merge in front of you when two lanes merge into one?
• to allow a semi-truck or school bus to merge in front of you?

Are you humble enough…
• to follow behind a slow moving vehicle to your upcoming exit or turn?
• not to drive in the left or high speed lane on the highway while not passing other vehicles?

Are you humble enough…
• to change lanes into the slower moving lane when a fast moving vehicle approaches from behind?
• not to tailgate (or draft for NASCAR fans) in attempt to force the driver in front of you to speed up?

Are you humble enough…
• not to flip off or cuss out the driver that just cut you off?
• or at least not to call that driver a name?

Are you humble enough…
• to come to a complete stop at a stop sign?
• to motion another driver to go at a four-way stop?

Are you humble enough…
• to use your turn signals?
• to use your turn signals at least a moment or two BEFORE you turn or change lanes instead while in the middle of the maneuver?

Are you humble enough…
• to stop on a yellow light instead of speeding up?
• to stop at a red light before making a right turn on red?

Are you humble enough…
• to park without taking up two or more spots?
• not to park in a handicap spot (unless of course, you have a permit)?
• not to park in the handicap spot if you are not handicapped but have a permit for a family member?

Are you humble enough…
• to turn on your headlights (not parking lights) while it is raining?
• when it’s dusk or early morning?

Are you humble enough…
• to turn off you high beams or brights when another car approaches?
• to turn off you high beams or brights when following behind another car?
• not to flash your high beams or brights at an approaching car which appears to have theirs on?

Are you humble enough to drive the speed limit?

Are you humble enough to pray for the other driver?

What is the probablity that everyone will have their eyes closed at the same time in a picture? 🙂

This is my calculus class. We’ve been together for three years (through Honors Algebra 2, Math Analysis, and Calculus). I will miss them.