Don't Wait

We have all expressed the sentiment, "When I have enough time I am going to . . ." If I have learned anything in the time that I have been taking care of mom the one thing that is completely clear to me is Don't Wait!

I think that is one of the reasons that I began taking piano lessons a few years ago, and why mrangelmeg and I started taking ballroom dance lessons. Those are two things I have always wanted to be able to do, and kept telling myself that someday I would have the time for them. Then my mom got Alzheimer's disease, and I watched her run out of time.

Don't wait to do that thing you have always wanted to do, make every day of your life an adventure in learning new things and having new experiences.

I complain constantly about Gradual School, but I am so happy that I am doing that too. To think that just five years ago I was terrified to even start the process, and now I am very close to completing my degree.

I took up golf when mrangelmeg and I first got married so that we could spend time together. Over the years I haven't played all that much, but this summer the few times I played were very enjoyable. I am so glad I didn't just wish I had tried it.

So, my advice to all of you this Monday morning is NOW IS THE TIME . . .

to begin dance lessons.

to learn a new language.

to learn to knit or crochet.

to build that boat you have always wanted to build.

to write that novel or screenplay.

to take that trip to Ireland.

to tell everyone you love that you do love them.

to spend quiet time with the one you love.

to be adventurous.

because some day soon, it may be too late to do all those things.

Pax

Aquinas Loves a Sunday Afternoon

So I spent yesterday afternoon at the inaugural Aquinas Lecture at the Newman Center here. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, except that the speaker was an Aquinas scholar from St. Louis University.

The Dominicans who run the Newman Center here were very happy to be hosting a talk on Aquinas, because he is one of their own, even if the speaker did come from a Jesuit University. (A fact that Fr. Bob just had to mention, we'll allow them their little digs, we can take it)

Anyway, the Speaker was Dr. Eleonore Stump, a Professor of Philosophy. She dove right in and gave an amazing lecture on Aquinas' philosophy of love and how that philosophy relates to forgiveness. I took tons of notes, and it cleared up quite a few misconceptions I had about how Aquinas came to understand human emotion and interaction. All in all it was an afternoon well spent.

The last half hour of her time was spent in a Q&A, which amounted to the audience asking her many questions that stretched their understanding of not only Aquinas, but how he relates to how we live today and how decisions are made, or not made in contemporary society.

I really think the lecture exceeded Fr. Bob's expectations for a lecture of this type. The most amazing part was the age range of the audience. I would guess that the youngest person in the audience was probably a 19 year old student (someone I recognized who is currently in the RCIA program on Wednesday nights) and the oldest was well into retirement age. Everyone was engaged in the lecture and discussion.

This is why I love living in a University town. Which is not to say that something like this might not happen at a Catholic church anywhere, but the chances of it happening in a University setting are a bit greater.

God is so good, I can add what I learned yesterday to what I am reading these next few months before I actually have to take the Medieval Philosophy class next summer, and I won't feel so ill prepared. So long as I continue to do the hard work that is.

Pax

Undue Influence, But This Kind I Could Get Used To

So I went to my parish library yesterday after morning mass. Did I tell you all how much I love the new priest (I think I did). I intended to pick up a few books on ancient and medieval philosophy to read between now and when I have to take those dreaded classes next summer. What I found was a veritable gold mine of books on Philosophy and Religion (what did I expect in a parish library after all?)

So, anyway, I pulled a few books off of the shelf and was quite satisfied. I had reading material for the next month or two, and would be well versed in ancient and medieval philosophy. I was about to leave when because of the influence of my Internet pals I could not stifle the urge to check out just one more book.

Now, lets you and I play a little game of "one of these things is not like the others": Which of the books in angelmeg's stack doesn't quite fit into the category of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy studies: Which do you suppose I was coerced to pick up because of my affiliation with that wild group of men?

Introduction to Thomas Aquinas

The Emergence of a Philosophy of Religion

Medieval Thought: Augustine and Aquinas

Kierkegaard an Introduction



And the funniest thing of all, in a day with no time at all to read I have practically devoured the silly thing. I am almost halfway through. Can you imagine if I had had any real free time yesterday.

If we had studied Kierkegaard in my Modern Philosophy Class last summer I might not have gone so starkers. He actually makes sense, and poetic sense at that. I am in awe and indebted once again to the guys across the blogosphere for the shove.

Now I have to back-track a few centuries and begin reading the other stuff.

Sigh.

Work, work, work.

Pax