The Joy of Dying

Is there Joy in dying? Is there Joy in death?

There certainly is Joy in birth and obviously Joy in being born. Right?

In the past 30 days, I’ve been exposed to nearly one dozen deaths. And these deaths have involved people close to me, or people close to people I’m close to. Ya with me?

Just yesterday, a good friend told me how peaceful the death of her family member was.

It started with tragic news, and there was little time to accept and deal with the impending reality.

And yet in the end, she spoke of it being Peaceful. Joyful.

Perhaps, with a little (or a lot) planning, death will be something we don’t fear, but something we view as simply part of life. Not to be feared, but to be embraced.

Maybe then we can look forward to it. Joyfully.

Holy Spirit

It felt good to be back in the classroom last night. You could sense, and feel, and see God’s Holy Spirit in the classroom.

This is our son’s third year in Catechism. This is my second year having the privilege to be a classroom helper. However, I missed all four September classes due to my business travel schedule.

A colleague commented at the end of the business day, “I don’t know how you do it”.

I asked her, “You know I write five blogs, everyday, then run five miles, and volunteer for things our son is involved in”?

And she already knows how hard I work as a professional speaker – she is, after all, a colleague, and a parent, and Catholic, etc.

What I have learned is that being incredibly busy is part of life. Or not. Figure out what you want to contribute and then go from there. Carpe diem.

And Furthermore

Building on yesterday’s jeff noel blog post…..

Blogging every day, and posting on the Internet for the world to see, adds an element of risk few people can comprehend.

Why?

Because anyone, and I do mean anyone, can “see what you think” – can “see what you value”.

There is also a saying in life, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained”. Risk has it’s own rewards.

Are you determined to find out what they are? Carpe diem.

Want To Know The Benefits?

One of the benefits to blogging every day is going through the process of what to write and how to write it. Only people who “journal” or “write a diary” daily can fully appreciate this phenomenon.

And, if I do say so myself, the process of posting it on a public Internet blog for the world to see, adds an untapped benefit that “private writers” have yet to discover.

The daily act requires more effort than occasional blogging, in my opinion. Over time, your creativity and your topics could dry up. Plus, you really have to think long and hard about what you value. And if you ever expect people to “follow your path”, you have to know and study your audience.

“The unexamined life is not worth living”. — Socrates

Simple Man, Simple Post

Visiting today, here in Portland, Maine. On the phone last night my wife (and son) asked how my day was.

“I left the house at 7:30AM. I got to the Hotel room to finish the day’s activities at 8:30PM”, I said, not complaining, just stating the facts.

We all should feel blessed beyond measure for what we get and what we make of what we get.

Otherwise, life might get the best of us.

It’s a daily choice. Sometimes even an hour to hour or minute to minute choice.