Rich Featherly's blog

I haven't posted in quite a while. One reason is that I haven't felt much like an expert lately. Who am I to be suggesting how to think, speak or act when my life is still marked with drama and irritation. Theory is simple, practice is a long process. Fears are not so easy to be free of and who knows how many fears are lurking in hidden labyrinths of my mind that I'm not even aware of.

"The Naked Now: learning to see as the mystics see" by Richard Rohr was an interesting read. It was a little above the fifth grade reading level that I prefer, so I had to read it twice. One reason it was interesting for me is my status as an ex-Catholic, which the author cites is the second biggest denomination (presumably in the US). One of the main themes of the book is explaining the reasons why there are so many ex-Catholics and non-religeous people today. It's a tricky message since another theme of the book is promoting non-dualism, not judging people, ideas or events as good/bad, right/wrong. The author claims to be Catholic, but he doesn't sound like many of the Catholics I grew up with. If he was in charge of how the Catholic church operated, I suspect we'd be living in a different world. Maybe someday soon, we will be.

Happy Holidays

I am recently having the great pleasure of being able to work in a preschool a couple mornings a week. I’m in a situation where while I’m watching over one special needs student, I have the opportunity to watch the interactions of the other students with each other and with the teachers and aides. I have noticed that some of the things that the kids are being taught are things that I am trying to unlearn at least a little bit. The three I have in mind are codependency, duality and not living in the present moment. Not that there’s anything wrong with teaching kids those things. Most of us adults have become experts in them by the time we were grown up. I’ll explain.

The turkey is in the oven, although it’ll be partly consumed and in the soup pot before I finish writing this. Family is watching a parade on TV; some famous person is singing “nothin’ but blue skies from now on”. (Wouldn’t that get old after a while, eh?) Gratitude is a good thing to always keep in our mind, but today I’ll let you all know what I’m grateful for this year.
First of all, I’m thankful for my wife and the dramatic turn for the better my marriage has taken this year. I’ve gotten myself into some interesting situations and wanderings of the mind that have caused her plenty of stress. Yet, we are closer than ever, she gives me all the lovin’ that I can handle.

I generally try to maintain my happiness independent of external conditions. Every once in a while, something comes along to rock the boat. I wonder if it’s possible to avoid the pendulum swing of moods after a high point. The question came to me recently after feeling a little melancholy now that my “serendipitous” trip, which I described in my previous entry, is over. There have been few days in my adult life where I have experienced the ease and connection that I enjoyed during my vacation last week. I was able to feel the joy that comes with being able to try to make life more wonderful for someone else. Whether I had that effect for my new friend in the long run, remains to be seen.