This past week has been a pretty busy week! With students’ parents arriving, planning trips, talks, talent shows, and classes on top of all that, it seems like I didn’t get a second to sit back and think!
Earlier this week Matthew Kelley came to Gaming and gave a
talk about our upcoming pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi. During his talk he spoke
a bit about his time here in Gaming and what he said really struck me. During
his time here he didn’t travel every weekend, and he didn’t try and see as many
places as he could throughout the semester; he was content with staying at the
Kartause. After traveling for 10- day and other weekend excursions, I can
understand why. Always being on the move or planning your next trip is exhausting.
It’s hard to settle down at the Kartause, because you know you’re just going to
leave in a few days for another trip. And in doing all that traveling, I barely
get to appreciate the place that I am so blessed to be able to call my home for
the semester.
During one of my first philosophy classes of the semester,
my professor told us that the Kartause is the perfect place for solitude, recollection
and to find who we really are. At the time I didn’t really understand what she
meant, but now I couldn’t agree more. Even with all the students around, and
the Kartause kids laughing and playing outside, the Kartause seems like one of
the most peaceful places. I don’t know if its because after traveling and
staying in hostels, it’s nice to be somewhere familiar, or its because we are
surrounded with God’s beauty everywhere we look, or just because of the spiritual
“vibes” the Kartause emanates. Whatever it is, it’s amazing, but I haven’t
taken full advantage of it. Even after knowing this, I am planning trips and running
off to other parts of Europe, and as Matthew Kelley said, I have a feeling I’m
going to regret it in the future— later the place I’ll miss most will be
Gaming, not another part of Europe.
We do this throughout our whole lives, instead of enjoying
where we are at in our jobs, relationships (with God, friends, and significant others).
We need to know what’s next, what is going to happen, or we move too fast to
see any of it happen. I’m challenging all you readers out there to stop, take a
deep breath and look at the beauty and blessings around you.
I’ll leave you with a quote from Matthew Kelley’s book,
Rhythm of Life: “Slow down. Breathe deeply. Reflect deeply. Pray deeply. Live
deeply. Otherwise you will spend your life feeling like a bulldozer chasing
butterflies or a sparrow in a hurricane.”
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