Wear the World Lightly

There is a story I heard once about two relatives who were attending the funeral services of a wealthy family member. One of them, with a greedy glint in his eyes, leans over and whispers; “how much did he leave?“. The other looks back and responds…”All of it“. The point of the story was that when our time comes, we don’t take any of our possessions with us.

St. Francis of Assisi, who was born into a wealthy noble family, left his life of possessions and privileges to start a monastery and live a life of simplicity. His advice to those who wanted to join him was to “Wear the world like a loose garment, which touches us in a few places and there but lightly”. 

St Francis Statue

The Alcoholic Anonymous organization adopted this teaching of St Francis and shortened it to the simple phrase: Wear the World Lightly. Their 12-step program for overcoming addiction uses lots of sayings to help people detach and overcome their addictions, phrases like: live and let live, let go and let God, turn it over, easy does it, and one day at a time.

All of these statements of detachment are not intended to send a message that we should be indifferent or dead to the world, or have no feelings at all. Rather their purpose is to teach people to face the world with a kind of mindful disengagement.

It is this “detachment with love” philosophy that can help motivate people to create a peaceful space within themselves, separated from the never-ending incoming arrows of uncertainty, fear, anger, and other painful events that plague our life. Practicing detachment helps people look past the daily shocks that occur, producing a change of attitude in the mind and a physical release in the body.

To wear the world as a loose garment is to acknowledge that the world and our life will always press at us and around us, but that it does not have to touch us but “lightly”. Most things are either outside our control or ultimately unimportant. 

We do not need to grasp, manage, dwell on or react to everything that happens to us. We can choose instead to keep the world at an emotional distance so we can stay focused on doing the next right thing. It is an attitude that can relax the body and relieve the mind of the poisonous emotions that overcome us when we are confronted by the people, places or things that beset us.

To be in the world but not of it, is to live and move through life without being emotionally attached to everything that happens. Life can get hard, but those who wear the world lightly learn how to live in the world with their hardships, neither fighting them nor being crushed by them.

St Francis was essentially encouraging us to not sweat the small stuff. To not get annoyed or depressed when life does not go your way or when you do not get what you want. When you have lived long enough you come to understand that most of the things that bother us are small potatoes. Even death apparently, which the Dalai Lama described as a simple change of clothes.

I’ve heard it said that the secret to happiness as we age “is to care less and less about more and more“. The wise elders I have been fortunate to know in my life carried that attitude with them; they tended to let fewer and fewer things bother them as they got older. It’s not because they didn’t care, most likely it was just that they discovered through their life experience that it is possible to walk away, without anger or agitation, from some things they felt passionate about – and still live.

I happened across an on-line sermon about this same topic of wearing the world lightly by Bishop Robert Barron. From a spiritual point of view, Bishop Barron also believes that St Francis’ famous statement was an attempt to teach his followers about the importance of detachment – especially from the goods and achievements of the world.

Not because the world itself is bad – there are all kinds of good, true and beautiful things in the world – but because the things of the world are not the ultimate good and we are not meant to cling to them as though they were.

There are stories throughout the Bible about the futility of clinging on to earthly power, riches and glory. King Solomon is one of the greatest figures in the history of Israel from a standpoint of wealth and power. He was somebody who had it all; nobody was richer, nobody was more famous, nobody had richer palaces or clothes. But, as an old man, looking at all the possessions he has acquired over his lifetime, he says: “Vanity of vanities, all things are vanity!“.

The word vanity in Hebrew signifies something that is insubstantial and momentary, like wind or vapor or bubbles; something that is here for a brief time and then it is gone. Solomon has experienced everything: power, sensual pleasure, wisdom, honor and wealth. He has built up a reserve of wealth through his knowledge and skills and yet when he is gone, he must leave all his property to others who have not labored over it and do not deserve it.

It is not uncommon to hear complaints like this from men as they become old and infirm; “I gave my whole life to my business, I worked hard and I made a fortune. Now I’m an old man and I’m surrounded by ungrateful children and grand-children; and I’ve done all this work and yet these people are going to inherit all my wealth. What’s it all been about“?

If you live to be old enough, at some point, you finally come to realize that everything in this world has a quality of evanescence – it disappears and does not last. It is a good thing if you have been successful and built up a fortune – but it’s not going to last. Because you are going to fade away and it’s all going to go to somebody else.

Should we just be depressed then? Father Barron says no, not depressed, instead we should be detached. Our wealth, power, pleasure and the esteem of other people. It’s good. We should take it in and then let it go. We should enjoy it the way you enjoy a firework going off. Learn to live in the present moment, savoring what we can, but then letting it go.

Why? Because we come to realize that the truly good and beautiful things belong to a higher world. We can sense them in the good things of this world but none of our earthly things last and so if we cling to them, what happens is they disappear, they crumble as we try to grasp at them. Rather see them, appreciate them and then let them go.

We can get caught in an addictive pattern when we cling to the goods of the world. You worry about them so you say to yourself, oh no I better get more. Instead, we would be wise to remember the cautionary parable of the rich fool told by Jesus:

“The ground of a certain rich man brought forth abundantly. He reasoned within himself, saying, ‘What will I do, because I don’t have room to store my crops?’ He said, ‘This is what I will do. I will pull down my barns, and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. I will tell my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.”‘ “But God said to him, ‘You fool, this very night your soul is required of you. The things which you have prepared— whose will they be?’

Luke 12:16-21

St Francis asks us to cultivate an attitude of detachment in our life. To stop clinging and hanging on to the things of the world. The more we cling to them, the more we become imprisoned by them. We’ll become bitter, angry , empty if our only focus is on the acquisition of ephemeral things. But if we practice the proper spiritual attitude of detachment and keep our eyes on the true and beautiful things that do not fade away then we will know how to handle the goods of the world as they come to us.

Fr Barron closes his sermon by emphasizing again that wealth in itself is not the problem. He points out that wealthy people can be saintly when they know how to use their wealth, how to wear it lightly and how to become generous with it. The only thing we take with us into the life to come is the quality of our love and what we’ve given away on earth. So, we should forget about trying to fill up our lives with bigger barns; true joy in life comes through building up our treasure in heaven.

The publication of this particular blog represents a milestone for me and the achievement of a goal I set for myself way back in 2013 when I posted my very first Words to Live By blog entry. I have been publishing this monthly blog for almost 10 years now and and have managed to author 100 different blog entries in that time.

I have attempted in this collection of postings to communicate ideas and philosophies that have helped me along the way and given my life direction and meaning. It has been a wonderful mental exercise for me and a labor of love that has helped me recognize things that make life interesting and wonderful. I hope my readers have discovered some of their own words to live by that will be of specific value to them in their own life.

In the spirit of “wearing the world lightly”, I plan to cut back on my blogging activities moving forward so that I am can devote more time focusing on doing the next right things in my life that will increase the quality of my love. I don’t plan to walk away from blogging completely though, as there are always more words to live by to be discovered and examined.

So, keep an eye out for the occasional future posting from me; and until then, may the blessings abound in your life.

Doughnut Economics

I recently read an article in TIME magazine about an interesting new economic theory called Dougnut Economics. The concept was first introduced by the British economist Kate Raworth in a 2012 Oxfam report and then developed more fully in her 2017 book ‘Doughnut Economics: Seven ways to think like a 21st century economist‘.

Raworth proposed the new economic model as a way to address one of humanity’s most challenging problems: how to reduce global poverty without depleting or damaging the planet’s limited natural resources.

The economic theory comes by its name because it is visually represented by two doughnut-shaped discs as shown below. The disc in the center represents a social foundation consisting of the basic fundamental rights all humans ought to have, like access to food & water, housing, education, work, etc. The outer disc represents earth’s ecological ceiling consisting of the environmental thresholds which cannot be exceeded if we want to guarantee the future prosperity of the human species.

The middle green area represents the doughnut, the space where humanity can thrive and progress if the planet’s boundaries are respected. Society’s goal should be to bring all of human life into the “goldilocks zone”; that sweet spot area where everyone has what they need to live a good life, but without overshooting the ecological ceiling limits which would cause further degradation of the environment and jeopardize the health of the Planet.

Capitalism has been the world’s dominant economic system since the 16th century and its adoption by the world’s fastest growing countries has transformed life on earth by helping to lift billions of people from poverty. It is an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market.

Proponents of the Doughnut economic theory argue that capitalism is an imperfect system because it emerged during a time when humanity saw itself as separated from the web of life, one where ecological issues were ignored or labeled externalities.

The broad measure used as an economic scorecard in capitalist economic systems is the Gross Domestic Product or GDP. It is a measure of the total monetary or market value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country’s borders during a specific time period.

The Doughnut economic theory recognizes that economic prosperity depends not only on growth as measured by GDP but on human and natural well-being as well; and it encourages societies to shift to an economic model that is more regenerative and distributive than today’s capitalistic system.

They argue that continued application of 20th century economic thinking is not sustainable or responsible now that the world is aware that the planet is teetering on the edge of a climate breakdown and we know we will witness the death of the living world unless we transform the way we live.

In a doughnut world, local economies would sometimes be growing and sometimes shrinking. It recognizes that growth is a healthy phase of life but endless uncontrolled growth, like cancer, can be harmful to our overall health. Significant GDP growth may be very much needed in low and middle income countries to ensure that their communities can overcome the shortfalls that create deprivations for their citizens, while richer countries would focus not so much on growth but on maintaining their thriving social foundations but at a reduced ecological cost.

Adopting such an economic theory would help balance the inequities that are present in the world today – one where the high living standards of the people in rich countries have them overshooting the planet’s ecological ceiling, while people in poorer countries fall short of the fundamental human rights that comprise the doughnut’s social foundation.

Many economists are skeptical of the doughnut economic theory because in order for it to work it asks humans to magically become indifferent to wealth and income or how well they are doing compared to others. That is a difficult ask when the world includes 7.3 billion people.

Different class and national interests are always fighting one another and it is naïve to believe that globalized capitalism will suddenly transform itself to become more cooperative and gentle; especially when all indicators point towards citizens today becoming more commercially motivated, self-centered and focused on money and success.

I too am skeptical that something as revolutionary as a Doughnut economics system could be universally adopted given today’s political divisiveness, uncompromising culture wars, and money-fueled corporate lobbying interests. Too many rich and powerful people benefit from the economic status quo – and would use their influence within the halls of power to protect their self-interests.

However, the encouraging thing about doughnut economic programs is that they can be run at a grassroots level. Since its introduction many homes, towns, cities, and states have bypassed their national governments and done what they could to apply the concepts behind doughnut economics from the bottom up – to try and help their local societies become more resilient.

Cities have become the laboratories of doughnut economic programs. The simple way that the doughnut economic model captures both the needs of the people and the needs of the planet makes it a convenient tool for leaders to have big conversations about reimagining and remaking the future. Ideas based on doughnut economics are now being discussed, debated and put into practice in academia, business, and in town, city and national governments worldwide.

Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dunedin, Melbourne, Berlin, Portland and even Austin TX are examples of cities applying the new economic concepts as a way to help their cities attain social and environmental sustainability. Since the theory doesn’t lay out specific policies or goals, stakeholders are free to have constructive conversations to decide what benchmarks would help bring their communities inside the doughnut.

Amsterdam’s lofty ambition is to bring all 872,000 of their residents inside the doughnut, ensuring that everyone has access to a good quality of life, without putting more pressure on the planet than is sustainable. They have implemented a true price initiative which takes into account the carbon footprint of the goods and services they produce as well as the living wage requirements of the workers. To satisfy the dual need for more affordable housing and reduced CO2 emissions, Amsterdam has implemented laws making the use of recycled and natural materials mandatory in the construction sector and they have started transforming neighborhood parking lots into community gardens.

Without a series of universal solutions, which do not exist and will probably never exist, it will be up to the politicians and economists to determine which elements of the donut system can be implemented successfully and to what extent. Amsterdam has made a start by applying this litmus test question to all their municipal project decisions: “Will doing this project actually make our community healthy and happy?”

To all my readers, wherever you may be: I hope you are healthy and happy and living comfortably in the sweet spot of the donut – and I hope that you are thinking about what life decisions you can make today to ensure that future generations will have that same chance to have a bite out of the donut as you.

The Prayers of All Good People are Good

As the days lengthen and Spring approaches here in the Northeast, my thoughts customarily turn to matters of the spirit. It is my Catholic upbringing and roots that have instilled in me the impulse to observe the yearly ritual of Lent – a period of 40 days that begins with Ash Wednesday and ends with the celebration of Easter Sunday. It is done in remembrance of the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert prior to beginning his public life, as well as to give thanks and praise for the great sacrifice that followers believe Jesus made to reconcile us with God.

Lent is meant to be a time of repentance and self-examination which is marked by prayer, almsgiving, and fasting (from foods and festivities). It asks Christians to contemplate eternity, examine all areas of their life and to focus on activities that will repair injustices in our personal relationships with God, with ourselves, and with our neighbors.

Historically, Lent has been an important time in the religious calendar for Catholic and other Christian denominations, but the number of souls observing the practices of Lent has gradually been diminishing for years. It is difficult to convince people of the virtues of self-denial or making amends for past mistakes in today’s modern culture of instant gratification – one in which acknowledging faults is seen as weakness. Most Christian denominations prefer to focus on the glory of the Resurrection while downplaying the message of sorrow and grief that is represented by the Cross.

For many, observing Lent is uncomfortable because it smacks of religious duty and shame. They point out that Jesus himself never established the tradition of Lent as a commandment for his followers to observe and that he actually chastised the religious leaders of his day because “They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden”.

How individuals decide to worship is a matter between them and God, but for me I choose to observe the practices of Lent because they force me to take a hard look at my life and reflect on those things that are stopping me from achieving a greater awareness and intimacy with the Creator. Lent also helps me gain the spiritual discipline I need to overcome bad habits that are preventing me from being at greater peace with myself and my neighbors.

Besides the spiritual benefits, Lent also helps to nurture the important life skills of patience and self-sacrifice. Learning how to delay our impulses for immediate pleasure in favor of long-term goal achievement is a useful skill required for healthy human growth. Being able to control our impulses gives way to the formation of new brain pathways and new habit formation.

Psychological studies show that people who are able to delay their desires for possessions and outcomes are much better adjusted and happier in life. The ability to override the impulse to seek instant pleasure needs to be nurtured in children so that they learn at an early age that impulses will pass, but long term goals are unlikely to be achieved without the ability to sacrifice short-term desires.

The famous “Marshmallow experiment” conducted by psychologist Walter Mischel in 1972 at Stanford University found that young children who were able to wait longer for their preferred rewards (an extra marshmallow) tended to have better life outcomes, as measured by school test scores, educational attainment, body mass index and other life measures.

I can’t help but think that the Lenten habits of sacrifice and self-denial that I have practiced over the years has had a hand in the successful achievement of “non-spiritual” goals throughout my life. The decisions I made to focus on studies rather than parties in College, to live a modest lifestyle, to exercise and watch what I eat, reaped benefits in my later life; when they enabled me to secure a good job, provide for my family, retire early and remain healthy enough in my old age to play with my active grandchildren.

While I advocate the virtues of the Catholic tradition of Lent, I want to make it clear that I believe no single religion can lay claim to the mystery of God. There are many paths to the Divine and we run the risk of becoming self-righteous and arrogant when we start to believe that our practices are the only way to God.

This is beautifully illustrated in a passage from the classic novel My Antonia by Willa Cather. The novel tells the story of an orphaned boy living in 19th century Nebraska, Jim Burden, and a newly arrived family of Bohemian immigrants, the Shimerda’s, who are struggling to make a living farming the harsh but fertile prairie.

The scene is Christmas, and Mr. Shimerda, the Bohemian neighbor, who is having a hard time keeping his family warm and fed (and understands little English) comes to visit Jim Burden and his grandparents at their home. Here’s what the narrator Jim tells the readers:

“As it grew dark, I asked whether I might light the Christmas tree […]. When the candle-ends sent up their conical yellow flames, all the colored figures from Austria stood out clear and full of meaning against the green boughs. Mr. Shimerda rose, crossed himself, and quietly knelt down before the tree, his head sunk forward. His long body formed a letter ‘S.’ I saw grandmother look apprehensively at grandfather. He was rather narrow in religious matters, and sometimes spoke out and hurt people’s feelings. There had been nothing strange about the tree before, but now, with someone kneeling before it—images, candles… Grandfather merely put his finger-tips to his brow and bowed his venerable head, thus Protestantizing the atmosphere[. . . .]

At nine o’clock Mr. Shimerda lighted one of our lanterns and put on his overcoat and fur collar. He stood in the little entry hall, the lantern and his fur cap under his arm, shaking hands with us. When he took grandmother’s hand, he bent over it as he always did, and said slowly, ‘Good wo-man!’ He made the sign of the cross over me, put on his cap and went off in the dark. As we turned back to the sitting-room, grandfather looked at me searchingly. ‘The prayers of all good people are good,’ he said quietly.”

Mr. Shimerda’s visit on Christmas Day disrupts the religious harmony the Burden family typically feels in their home. They feel an uncomfortable undercurrent of blasphemy occurring due to the gap in beliefs between the different religions. The Shimerdas came from a western region of the Czech Republic with a large Catholic population while the Burdens were observant Protestants. By his action of kneeling in front of the Burdens purely symbolic Christmas decoration, Mr. Shimerda transforms the tree into an explicitly religious icon.

While the Burdens may not identify, or even agree, with this act of religious display in their house, Mr. Burden decides to tolerate it quietly. “The prayers of all good people are good,” he remarks as Mr. Shimerda vanishes into the Christmas night. It is a noble sentiment and a triumph of religious tolerance on the frontier prairie.

It becomes a moment of divine insight in an era when Protestants and Catholics would not even enter each other’s churches or let their children intermarry. Even Catholics of different ethnicities often didn’t mix, as can be seen in towns even today that feature multiple large churches, only blocks from one another, that cater to different ethnicities (French, Polish, German, Lithuanian, etc.).

It is a good lesson for us to remember, even in this day and age, when so many people have left organized religions to pursue their own personal ideals of spirituality. It is important for us to move beyond our religious silos and be open to all the good people we encounter who may not share our religious heritage but still want to pray for us, hold us in the light, or send us good thoughts or healing energy. All these things can be comforting and helpful when they come from well-intentioned, sincere people with good hearts.

In this season of new life and growth may you bask in the prayers of all good people and no matter what your religious persuasion or beliefs are, may it always be said of you that your prayers are good!

“I’m a Christian – but fun loving…”

So began the headline of a Personals Ad that I happened to read in the back of a newspaper many years ago; before the age of Internet dating and scientific matchmaking came to replace that quaint method of searching for love. Something about the phrase stayed with me through the years because it made me think about the way Christians are perceived by the general population. The woman searching for love obviously felt it necessary to proclaim in her Personals ad that unlike most Christians, she was fun-loving.

I think it’s easy to understand why most people do not typically view Christians as a fun loving group. People who do not practice Christianity or who do not typically interact with Christians in their social circles form their opinions about Christians by the way they are portrayed in the media; examples of which include holier-than-thou Fundamental Televangelists preaching on Sunday mornings and the Church Lady berating her guests on Saturday night about doing the work of Satan:

Dana Carvey as Church Lady (Saturday Night Live)

I’m not saying there isn’t some truth to the stereotypes because too many Christians are guilty of being judgmental, angry, dour and prideful. They see things as black and white resulting in an attitude of arrogance and superiority and the tendency to look down on all those who they perceive to be lost souls. It’s no wonder that my daughter once pointed out to me – “You know Dad, some Christians give Christ a bad name“.

The truth is that the negative qualities listed above are in direct contrast with the positive messages of mercy, grace, and charity that were taught by Jesus – and the Christians I most admire live abundant  lives that are filled with joy. Their faith gives them a strong  foundation and an inner peace that allows them to live with joy even during their times of sorrow. They believe that Jesus has won for them a great prize and in gratitude for that gift they try to live lives that are worthy of the promises of Christ.

Jesus taught that we must each humbly work out our own salvation and we should not be judging others by noticing the “spec in our brother’s eye”  knowing that there is a “log” in our own eye that needs to be rooted out (Matthew 7:3).  So lighten up all you Christians, practice kindness, tolerance and charity towards others, spread the good news with a smile and do your part to change the old stereotypes – so that maybe in the future when people think of Christians one of the first things that come to their mind is fun-loving.

“The crow of anxiety always finds some branch to land on”

This is a quote I read by South African artist William Kentridge who was asked during an interview why his desk was so messy. He explained that the scraps of paper littering his desk represented the remains of different fragments of ideas that were moving across his mind – awakening him at 4 in the morning as his brain was jumping between 50 different anxieties.

The image of crows landing on the tree branches of my mind is a wonderfully descriptive way to capture the anxieties that I sometimes obsess over in my own life – the thoughts that stay in the back of my mind, preventing me from living in the moment and enjoying life to the fullest.

We can become our own worst enemies when we let the worries of tomorrow prevent us from enjoying the blessings of today. There is a lyric verse from a Tom Petty song “Crawling Back to You” that speaks about how worry just leads to exhaustion and futility:

“I’m so tired of being tired
Sure as night will follow day
Most things I worry about
Never happen anyway”

People can make themselves sick and tired worrying all day about things that will never happen. How much better and more productive we all would be if we could just let go of our anxieties and devote our energies to making the most of each day.

It is easier said than done though – and it is difficult to stop anxieties from lodging on the tree branches of our minds without employing one or more stress relief coping mechanisms. I find the following activities help me to keep my anxieties at bay:

• Prayer – daily prayer has a power to comfort me because it reminds me that there is a higher power who sees all ends and that I can take those concerns and worries I have that are beyond my control and place them in the hands of divine providence.
• Exercise – regular exercise seems to have a strong effect on reducing my anxiety and I don’t know why. It may be related to brain chemistry, improved blood flow, or just being too fatigued after a workout to worry. During prolonged exercise I often find myself working through my anxieties subconsciously which usually helps me to put them aside at the end of the workout.
• Meditation – I am a relative newcomer to the practice of meditation, but I have been surprised given my limited experience how effective this ancient technique can be. Meditation teaches you to empty your mind, to put aside concerns that enter your thoughts and just concentrate on your breathing. A mantra can be used to help concentration – I have used simple phrases like “Grass Withers”, “All is Vanity”, “Must Pass” because they help remind me of the transience of life and the insignificance of things that I mistakenly believe are so important.
• Music – this is my go to activity for clearing my mind of thoughts that are bouncing around my head and keeping me awake at night. I keep an iPod by my bed loaded with a special collection of peaceful and contemplative songs. Listening to these songs seems to break the cycle of thoughts in my mind, pushes my anxieties into the background and allows me to relax  enough to fall back asleep.
• Journaling – this is something that I do infrequently, but I find it especially helpful at times of greatest stress. When my wife of 22 years was struggling with illness and losing her battle with breast cancer I began a gratitude journal. Every few days I would write in the journal three things I was thankful for on that day. They were usually simple things like a shared family meal or the warming sun on my face on a cold winter day – but for a brief moment that journal activity forced me to focus on the blessings in my life and not just my struggles.

So, I hope any readers of this blog have discovered their own effective techniques for pruning the branches of anxieties in their life and in the words of that renowned radio Psychologist  Frasier Crane, “I wish you good mental health”.