Yearning for serenity, I find myself today wondering how you know it when you have it. And what does it mean "to be serene"? Is it the cessation of all desire? Is it constant inner joy? Is it ecstasy? Is it
fulfillment? Or is it simply a feeling of being on balance and always ready for the next surprising challenge? I could define it in many ways. Right now on this day -- December 2, 2012 -- I will say only this: there are still mountains to climb but I do not feel desperate to climb them. In fact, I can feel myself letting go and looking back more than seeking out new challenges. I have had my share of adventures - in the wilderness, in family life, in organizations - and I expect to have many more. But I am admitting to myself that I do not feel the need to go out searching for them. They will come to me in due time, I am sure of that. And I feel ready. I feel more on balance than I have for a long time.
At age 75, I think to myself: "Well, John, it's about time!"
Welcome. This blog is intended to inspire, rejuvenate and unite all of us who are on a journey with our children during their emotional and intellectual development. I wish you courage and strength while you walk this path.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Monday, September 10, 2012
Building with Habitat for Humanity in Romania
Jaan and I have just returned from nearly three weeks in Europe where we joined eleven other Americans volunteering with Habitat for Humanity to help construct two duplexes which will ultimately provide housing for four deserving families in rural Romania. We worked hard with eleven other American volunteers in Radauti, a small village in the northeast corner of Romania not far from the Ukrainian border.
Under excellent supervision by our English-speaking Romanian Habitat Hosts we scraped and sanded and painted walls for about 8 hours each day - working alongside several of the Romanian family members who will soon have new homes. We walked about a mile and a half from our lodging in Radauti to the worksite each day - passing and waving at friendly Romanians going about their daily lives. Wearing face masks and eye goggles on the job site, we looked like people from mars. It felt very good to be there, to engage in good physical work, and to experience the culture as worker-volunteers -- not merely as tourists passing through. The work was hot and sweaty and demanding.
The spirit and camaraderie among us kept us going. We rested our weary bones at night in comfortable lodging in Radauti where we were well fed and treated with magnificent hospitality by the Romanian Habitat staff.
On our two days off we were taken on buses into the rural countryside to visit historic 'painted monasteries' which dot the region -- and to spend time at an orphanage operated by nuns in the Orthodox Church. On one evening our hosts treated us to a special presentation of Romanian folk dancing in full costume, demonstrating genuine pride in their traditions which have survived over centuries despite waves of invasions from all sides.
All in all Jaan and I found the entire experience in Romania to be very meaningful, very rewarding. One of my best memories will be the playful times with children who lived in homes surrounding our worksite. During breaks I was able to collect a half dozen children around me in the nearby fields. Using sign language and pantomime, I was able to entice them into silly games -- circling up and counting potatoes, follow the leader, and more. Great fun!
After our time in Radauti, Jaan and I took a 6-hour train ride to Bucharest. We moved across the rolling Romanian countryside which reminded us of western North Carolina. (The movie "Cold Mountain" was actually filmed in the Romanian countryside.) We spent one night near the airport to re-group and rest up. The next day we flew to Berlin for two days of touring -- the Berlin Museum, Checkpoint Charlie, remnants of The Wall, the Brandenburg Gate. I thoroughly enjoyed speaking German in my halting way (had two years of German in college) and felt very much at home in Berlin which I first visited as a 22 year old college graduate hitching across Europe in 1960. Jaan loved learning about the history of Berlin and was very impressed with the Berlin Museum itself. And she loved riding through the famous park in the middle of the City -- similar to New York's Central Park but even better preserved.
From Berlin we flew to Prague where we thoroughly enjoyed walking and taking in the atmosphere. We visited the Old City, the Jewish Cemetary, the Castle, and the famous Square where Vaclev Havel (one of my heroes) was once cheered as the authority of the Communists crumbled in the late 1980's.
Jaan flew home from Prague and I continued on to Krakow, Poland, which I thoroughly enjoyed. This city is simply charming, ancient, and beautiful. Jaan and I are likely to return when the time is right. I made the pilgrimage from Krakow to Auschwitz and Birkenau where I saw first hand the place where approximately a million Jews, gypsies, and others perished. I had prepared well for this visit by reading and re-reading Viktor Frankl, Palo Levi, and Elie Weisel - each of whom passed through Auschwitz and survived to tell the world about it. I will write more about Auschwitz on another occasion. Man's inhumanity is for me a topic of never-ending interest. William Butler Yeats wrote: "The best lack all conviction while the worst are full of passionate intensity." Our humanity requires us to confront the polarities - and to embrace the higher possibilities with the moral courage of Vaclev Havel, Frankl, Levi, Weisel, and yes even Schindler whose wiliness in saving Jewish lives was strange and remarkable.
Under excellent supervision by our English-speaking Romanian Habitat Hosts we scraped and sanded and painted walls for about 8 hours each day - working alongside several of the Romanian family members who will soon have new homes. We walked about a mile and a half from our lodging in Radauti to the worksite each day - passing and waving at friendly Romanians going about their daily lives. Wearing face masks and eye goggles on the job site, we looked like people from mars. It felt very good to be there, to engage in good physical work, and to experience the culture as worker-volunteers -- not merely as tourists passing through. The work was hot and sweaty and demanding.
The spirit and camaraderie among us kept us going. We rested our weary bones at night in comfortable lodging in Radauti where we were well fed and treated with magnificent hospitality by the Romanian Habitat staff.
On our two days off we were taken on buses into the rural countryside to visit historic 'painted monasteries' which dot the region -- and to spend time at an orphanage operated by nuns in the Orthodox Church. On one evening our hosts treated us to a special presentation of Romanian folk dancing in full costume, demonstrating genuine pride in their traditions which have survived over centuries despite waves of invasions from all sides.
All in all Jaan and I found the entire experience in Romania to be very meaningful, very rewarding. One of my best memories will be the playful times with children who lived in homes surrounding our worksite. During breaks I was able to collect a half dozen children around me in the nearby fields. Using sign language and pantomime, I was able to entice them into silly games -- circling up and counting potatoes, follow the leader, and more. Great fun!
After our time in Radauti, Jaan and I took a 6-hour train ride to Bucharest. We moved across the rolling Romanian countryside which reminded us of western North Carolina. (The movie "Cold Mountain" was actually filmed in the Romanian countryside.) We spent one night near the airport to re-group and rest up. The next day we flew to Berlin for two days of touring -- the Berlin Museum, Checkpoint Charlie, remnants of The Wall, the Brandenburg Gate. I thoroughly enjoyed speaking German in my halting way (had two years of German in college) and felt very much at home in Berlin which I first visited as a 22 year old college graduate hitching across Europe in 1960. Jaan loved learning about the history of Berlin and was very impressed with the Berlin Museum itself. And she loved riding through the famous park in the middle of the City -- similar to New York's Central Park but even better preserved.
From Berlin we flew to Prague where we thoroughly enjoyed walking and taking in the atmosphere. We visited the Old City, the Jewish Cemetary, the Castle, and the famous Square where Vaclev Havel (one of my heroes) was once cheered as the authority of the Communists crumbled in the late 1980's.
Jaan flew home from Prague and I continued on to Krakow, Poland, which I thoroughly enjoyed. This city is simply charming, ancient, and beautiful. Jaan and I are likely to return when the time is right. I made the pilgrimage from Krakow to Auschwitz and Birkenau where I saw first hand the place where approximately a million Jews, gypsies, and others perished. I had prepared well for this visit by reading and re-reading Viktor Frankl, Palo Levi, and Elie Weisel - each of whom passed through Auschwitz and survived to tell the world about it. I will write more about Auschwitz on another occasion. Man's inhumanity is for me a topic of never-ending interest. William Butler Yeats wrote: "The best lack all conviction while the worst are full of passionate intensity." Our humanity requires us to confront the polarities - and to embrace the higher possibilities with the moral courage of Vaclev Havel, Frankl, Levi, Weisel, and yes even Schindler whose wiliness in saving Jewish lives was strange and remarkable.
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