Some New Opportunities

Good Morning everyone,

As I re-ignite my blog I plan to have two parts to it. The first is just about what's happening in my life. I will call this section by a Spanish phrase that is often used as a slang phrase in greeting people who are good friends, "Que tal", which roughly means, "What's up?" or "How's it goin'?" One of my Spanish-speaking friends may read this and refine this explantion for me, but that is what I understand the phrase to mean. At times, and perhaps often, I will add a second section of some thoughts that are on my mind, things I ponder. I will call that section "A FEW RANDOM THOUGHTS" at least for now or until I think of something else to call it.

QUE TAL?
Thanks to my nagging sciatic nerve last night was a very short night. I will see the pain management doc next week and I sure hope she can make some improvement. These nights with only a few hours of sleep make the days a little tough. The one thing about being a priest is that every day I get to see so many people whose problems and difficulties are far greater than anything I experience. When you see what they deal with, and the faith and courage they have, it sure puts any aches and pains I have in the proper perspective.

A few weeks ago I posted a request on my "wall" on Facebook for the names of some people who are in the business of selecting the art work (including photography) that decorates commercial buildings like doctors offices, etc. I have received about a half dozen leads to such people. I am extremely grateful to all those who sent me these leads. This is very exciting and a little scary all at the szme time. It is a little scary because now I have to go through my inventory of images and select a limited number to go into a Presentation Portfolio. Selecting thoses images is scary for a couple of reasons. First we all tend to be overly critical of our own creations and I am afraid Iwill leave out a very marketable image because I get too critical. Second, I tend to select image that I like for some reason, not ones that best fit the clients' needs. And third, trying to undersand the clients' needs is an art form all its own becasue some clients are better than others at explaing what it is they want. You have to "listen" to them very carefully and creatively. This is a new phase for me and I am sure I will learn a lot in this phase. I am fortunate in that I have a very good friend who is willing to help me make the selection of images for presentations.
Also it has been a long time since I have added any new images to my web site and I will be doing that over the weekend also.

A FEW RANDOM THOUGHTS
This weekend we will celebrate Mother's Day. For those of us whose mothers are still with us, it is a time for cards. gifts, flowers and other expressions of love and graitude. For those of us, like myself, whose mothers have passes away, we cannot send cards, etc, but we reflect and remember and recall and give thanks.

Many years ago I heard a person who was both a clinical psychologist and priest explain something that I have shared in many Mother's Day sermons. And that is this: Our experience of our mothers is our first, and perhaps one of our most profound, experiences of God. As infants we are totally dependant for eveything on our parents, but most particlarly on our mothers, especially in those first few months. In those first, most formative few months of our lives, we rest secure in the arms of a loving being who is All Powerful, All Knowing, and who sacrifices everything else willingly to care for us. It is through our mothers that we experience the connection between food and love, that later on takes many forms, including the ultimate meal of love, Holy Communion. In our mothers we experience a love that is unconditional, a Godly love. Later as adults we come to know the One True God who is the perfection of all of those godly qualities we first experienced in our Mothers.
Our Moms are far more than just a loving and caring person who raised us and to whom we owe our gratitude. They are our first sacrament, our first communion, our first, and one of our most enduring experience of God. Alleluia!! Amen!! somthing to ponder when we write that card this year.
Glenn+