“The times are difficult. They require courage and faith.” – Thomas Merton
Last Saturday evening, my wife Katie and I attended a gathering to hear about a new artistic collaboration between our friend Rob Mathes and Irish poet Michael O’Siadhail. The evening of conversation, poetry and music brought a dose of truth, beauty and goodness to my day. It lifted my spirit.
Performing one of the songs with Rob was vocalist James “D-Train” Williams. Prior to the performance, my friend Ian Cron, catalyst to the Mathes-O’Saidhail collaboration, said a few words about courage and faith during difficult times. As usual, Ian was profound. He quoted Thomas Merton, whose words are so applicable today. We need courage and faith to persevere when the future looks threatening, as it does for so many.
During difficult times, we also need truth, beauty and goodness. When I’ve been working so hard that I go numb, I find that truth, beauty and goodness have a mysterious power to revive me: truth in the form of learning something new and refreshing from a book, an article or a movie; beauty in music, the theater or nature; and goodness in a kind, encouraging or helpful outreach to others.
If you are facing difficulties and need to be refreshed, watch Rob Mathes performing for Kathy Lee Gifford on The Today Show, read Ian Cron’s wonderful book Chasing Francis, or reach out to encourage or help a family member or friend in need. During a difficult time in my life when my beloved Katie was undergoing treatment for advanced ovarian cancer, my family was on the receiving end of a continuous flow of truth, beauty and goodness that I wrote about in an essay entitled Alone No Longer. The essay was published as an Amazon Short. I hope reading it will encourage you, too.
