Thursday, November 15 \u00a0 \u2014 \u00a0 a work day as days get shorter<\/p>\n
\u201c . \u00a0. \u00a0. \u00a0To break our logic in too long a flight,
\nAnd ask us if our premises are right.\u201d<\/p>\n
In\u00a0The Spiritual Exercises<\/u>\u00a0\u00a0St. Ignatius teaches various methods of prayer. \u00a0One of the most important he calls \u201cRepetition.\u201d (\u201cAttention should be paid to some more important places in which I have found understanding, consolation, or desolation.\u201d\u00a0Sp Ex<\/u><\/em>\u00a0# 118). \u00a0 The principle: \u201cI know more from my experiences than I think; \u00a0go back and savor and be surprised.\u201d \u00a0 For some reason this morning I went back to the workday posts from the beginning of October in the 2nd month of the 1st year of the Work Day post and found this one about longer nights and shorter days.<\/p>\n Here it is again, posted with no changes from its Oct 2 original form. \u00a0Good for the deep darkness of January.<\/p>\n Have a blest day.<\/p>\n john sj<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From: john staudenmaier sj <staudejm@udmercy.edu<\/a>> Hard times \u2014 \u00a0a Congress locked in venom and contempt for those with whom one must negotiate, \u00a0\u201cpartisan\u201d is a common adjective for elected officials at the national level; \u00a0 Detroit city caught in uncertainties about bankruptcy that stir mistrust and fear for the future; \u00a0 UDM negotiating a McNichols faculty contract turned acrimonious and hurtful.<\/p>\n This morning reminded me that I like getting up while it is dark outside. \u00a0It helps me recognize a balance of light and dark. \u00a0The descent of the sun toward December solstice doesn\u2019t just cheer me up because autumn colors start to replace the dreadful pollens of ragweed season (asthma). \u00a0Early dark opens awarenesses that hustling along in the light I sometimes miss. \u00a0 I once got in a fight at MIT when I gave a talk about the West\u2019s coupling the emergence of Western scientific methods with a devaluing of Europe\u2019s mystical disciplines. \u00a0A friend, Leo Marx got upset with that talk and some other MIT-Harvard types got angry and insulting that I would \u00a0call the dark \u201choly\u201d and celebrate mystery and mysticism at MIT. \u00a0 But it was Leo who introduced me to this piece with which the published paper now ends.<\/p>\n Have a good day.<\/p>\n john st sj<\/p>\n Today\u2019s Post<\/strong><\/p>\n A poem for days of diminishing light<\/p>\n Here come the stars to character the skies, Robert Frost \u201cThe Literate Farmers and the Planet Venus\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Thursday, November 15 \u00a0 \u2014 \u00a0 a work day as days get shorter \u201c . \u00a0. \u00a0. \u00a0To break our logic in too long a flight, And ask us if our premises are right.\u201d In\u00a0The Spiritual Exercises\u00a0\u00a0St. Ignatius teaches various … Continue reading
\nSubject: a work day as days get shorter
\nDate: October 2, 2013 7:07:56 AM EDT
\nTo: \u201cemployees@listserver.udmercy.edu<\/a>\u201d <employees@listserver.udmercy.edu<\/a>><\/p>\n
\nAnd they in the estimation of the wise
\nAre more divine than any bulb or arc,
\nBecause their purpose is to flash and spark,
\nBut not to take away the precious dark.
\nWe need the interruption of the night
\nTo ease attention off when overtight,
\nTo break our logic in too long a flight,
\nAnd ask us if our premises are right.<\/p>\n