One often hears the cries of distress of those who long for what they call ‘the good old times’, but I tell you that the good times are now. The best time is always the present time, because it alone offers the opportunity for action.

Georges Vanier

Sometimes when I receive e-mails from my students, or from my coworkers, they will have a favourite quote of theirs strategically placed at the bottom of the e-mail. Last week I received an e-mail from a student who had several quotes attached at the end of her message. One of them had a humorous touch – “Bad spellers of the world – untie.” I thought that was pretty funny.

In an e-mail from a co-worker today, she included the following quote by Blessed Mother Teresa: “We are all pencils in the hand of God.” Isn’t that a beautiful thought? As I contemplated the significance of those words, I was struck by their simplicity.

If I can extend the metaphor a little; with this writing instrument called a pencil, every day we get the opportunity to write the story of our life as we see fit. In my mind, with this opportunity comes responsibility – responsibility to create the kind of life that, as we look back on it after hopefully many decades of living, we can feel a sense of pride. A feeling of pride in the fact that we were at all times a little more loving, a little more forgiving, and a little more grateful for just being given the gift of this precious life.

In my LA7 class this week, my students have to write a comparison/contrast essay about a favourite relative or friend. In the essay they have to point out three similarities and/or differences between them and their chosen relative or friend. In our e-live class (virtual) this morning, one of my students asked if they could include something religious in their essay. I thought that was an interesting query and I responded by saying, “Sure, why not?”

By way of example, I told my students that if I were to pick a favourite relative or friend to write about, I would immediately consider someone for whom I have great respect – someone who is a role model for me. In that regard, I was thinking about two of the greatest role models in my life - my parents. One of the things that really impresses me about them is their faith life. The spiritual dimension of their life is so well pronounced that if I could only emulate it to a degree, I would feel surely blessed.

That profundity of faith life exhibited by my parents speaks, in my estimation, to a life of humility – a life characterized by a genuine concern for others, coupled with a strong desire to just be a decent human being. That is, a person who understands that the life we fashion on earth is, first and foremost, a witness to the supreme example of good works demonstrated by the carpenter’s son from Nazareth some 2000 years ago.

I certainly subscribe to the philosophy by Teilhard de Chardin that states: “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”

Leonard Quilty is a teacher with the Centre for Learning@Home in Okotoks, Alta. He can be reached by e-mail at lquilty@redeemer.ab.ca