(Oatka Creek Reflection)
JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Fine.
CALLIOPE: What are you up to?
JOE: Savoring a find from the other day.
CALLIOPE: Tell me about it.
JOE: I was looking for some way to capture what I tried to convey with my book, Navigating Life.
CALLIOPE: And?
JOE: I ran across a wonderful passage by Abdullah Muhammad on an Internet site to which I belong, Iseecolor. I think it captured the essence of my book, almost as if it were written especially for me.
CALLIOPE: Are you going to share it?
JOE: Of course. Here it is:
Reflection provides an opportunity to make the right decisions, correct the wrong decisions or just make a decision in general. Reflecting offers a view of things to come to the possibility of the way things can be. Life can at times become fast paced and before you know it, we are left to deal with issues that have been given no thought, and leave us with situations we dread being in. Reflection offers a gateway into oneself that is needed in order to maintain a balance in our lives, while continuing to move forward regardless of the circumstances. Reflection is rewarding and we must acknowledge its importance. Not only when things are going well should we exercise this gift, but when things aren't so great also. Reflecting gives us an image, and that image through our reflection be it good or bad has the potential for change. Whether this change be for positive things already existing in or surrounding our lives, or some tragic incident for which there seems to be no immediate solution; our reflection provides a moment to consider all possibilities, chances are we will give ourselves the opportunity and the information to succeed.
(by Abdullah Muhammad)
What more can I say. Talk with you on Monday.
Conversations with Calliope- Staying Afloat
(Nantucket Lighthouse)
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. I missed you yesterday.
JOE: Sorry about that. I had some web difficulty I was unable to resolved before I left for the day's activities.
CALLIOPE: I see. Glad to have you back. What's new.
JOE: Beth Cahaney's review of my book Navigating Life just arrived.
CALLIOPE: I would like to see it.
JOE: I thought you might. Here goes:
A review of Navigating Life: Commonsense Reflections For the Voyage by Joseph G. Langen
Psychologist and author Joseph Langen discusses life and relationships in his latest book, Navigating Life: Commonsense Reflections For the Voyage. People and places in western New York figure prominently in the book, and as a native of the area, I am amazed at his insight as he examines lives well lived, including his own. Langen reflects on his years of practice, his life in a monastery, and his own spiritual journey in his attempt to help us navigate our lives.
The book is a deceptively easy read, many of the essays having appeared in his weekly newspaper column. They are arranged in chapters with titles such as “Appreciating Life around Us” and “Making Sense of Society.” Within the chapters are essays, each followed by Langen’s Life Lab Lessons. While Langen captivates us with each well written essay, his Life Lab Lessons force us to confront our own lives in reaction to the essay. It’s no easy task as Langen directs us, for example, at the end of “The Power of Will” to list our most important values and then to list the most important values of a person with whom we are in conflict. Listing my most important values—what a good idea, yet one I hadn’t attempted since my sophomore year in high school when my all-time favorite teacher encouraged me to do that very thing as I tried to understand a difficult novel. Perhaps I should have listed my values more than once every fifty years, but I thank Langen for exhorting me to do so.
Langen uses an excellent format for each of his essays. He begins with a quote from an intellectual or spiritual leader or perhaps an anonymous source or even a sports or media personality, then his own well chosen words, often with reference to noted scholars, then wrap up with the Life Lab Lessons. Imagine my joy to find some of my favorite writers imbedded in Langen’s essays: John Eudes Bamberger, Karen Armstrong, Teilhard de Chardin. But perhaps my greatest joy is to read about everyday folks in Langen’s work, folks such as Carol Gomborone and her aunt, Lucille Rider, and to see Joe Langen’s love come shining through. That is the true measure of a life well lived and one from which we can learn to appreciate our own lives.
Elizabeth Cahaney, Professor of Humanities
Elizabethtown Community and Technical College
CALLIOPE: Great review. Thanks for sharing it.
JOE: Glad you liked it. Talk with you tomorrow.
