When I was a young man in the 60’s and I started to feel deeply, I remember going to see a movie with some friends. Everything we say or did that evening seemed so superficial and the awareness of what was happening in the world weighed heavily in my heart. It was a strange feeling, having fund with friends yet feeling removed and remote from the experience.

As time went on and I got exposed to more and more, faster and faster to life the softness of my heart harden and I walked through life not feeling as much. I walked thru life with only moments of feeling deeply. In my 60’s, having moved backed to Milwaukee and with my son’s illness and eventually death, selling my business and moving back to Milwaukee, being friends with people in need and the ill, my sense of feeling deeply slowly came back. Often I block it, like at a prayer vigil for a homicide victim, so I do not feel the death too deeply, but like with my son’s death the shadow of death does not leave me.
In the 60′s, as a young man I felt I could change things, change the world. As I grew older, in my sixty’s I started to understand that I could not change the world by myself but just make a difference, even be it for a few persons.
From the 60’s to my 60’s I grew in age and, I like to believe, in wisdom. I do not vote because, right now, voting to me does not make a difference. Visiting people in their need, being present with them and offering them a voucher for a bed, stove or refrigerator does make a difference. I cannot stop wars or the military/industrial/educational complex but with others I may be able to have Marquette University think about being a school where violence and killing is not taught. I cannot save the world but maybe I can get my Catholic Church to store less money away and give more to those in need in our neighborhood.

My mother taught us that “Charity starts at home” and Gandhi and other persons of wisdom told me before you go out looking for a religion or some treasure start with yourself and where you are at.

So right now I am 70, tired and my mind says stop. What I am now looking for is sleep. What are you looking for? Good night!

Comments

Please send any comments on this post to . Let us know which day’s post your comments pertain to. If the comments are appropriate we will post them here for you.