Dad's Foreward

These are reflections, thoughts that are sometimes random and may be contradictory. They are what came to mind in different settings or with certain people. They refer to my work as a priest and then as a psychologist. There are references to family and friends and strangers, those who, whether intending to or not, left an imprint on my life. They are what I have over time written on the backs of envelopes and in the margins of appointment books, thoughts that seemed if not important then true. Or else it seemed a question worth asking even if the answer was not so definitive, and even if it only expanded the uncertainty into new directions.

What is the common element in all of this, the thread unifying these thoughts and remembrances? Given the contradiction and diversity what is the aspect belonging to it all? The unifying aspect here, as in any such collection, is the individual who has thought and written them, the person who selected which of so many should be collected into this book. The common element is me, as it will be when you begin collecting your own doubts, thoughts, concerns and reflections. For all that changes in us and around us, the constant is ourselves. Though changing we are the same, only moreso.

We are not what we do, how we act, or even what we write. We are not just our belief, our uncertainty, our thoughts or what they lead us to. We are instead all of those things, and that is but the start. Being is the constant and being who we are makes it constantly new, ever unique and always just the same. The sharing of that being offers each of us new choices. I hope that is what you find here, choices: opportunities to reflect upon something new, or to ratify what you had always known.