[1] Thich Nhat Hanh @ Google Headquarters: Mindfulness, Mind & Body, Love & Presence

 Mindfulness as a Foundation for Wellness-Part 1

Click to go to Part 2 (on Mindful Walking and the "Four Pebbles" Meditation)

/ Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3QFc5IX5qo&list=WL&index=12&t=1982s

I think that transcribing important talks and lectures of great teachers is very important for us to be able to return to them as texts and get a better overall grasp of the lecture’s structure as well as the most important points the teacher emphasized. Here, I offer the transcription of Thich Nhat Hanh’s talk at Google Headquarters of September 2011. One can imagine that this is what the great Zen teacher wanted most to convey to folks working at one of the world’s most dynamic and innovative tech companies. We can say, therefore, that it is Thich Nhat Hanh’s heartfelt message to us who live in a busy, hectic, and constantly changing world driven by the ubiquitous advanced technology that plays a crucial role in everything today. Special thanks to my research assistant Christine Atchison for helping me out in this. [jkk – I’ve added some summary points after each section called “Note Well”]

[1] On the power of the bell and the energy of mindfulness [00:00 – 01:59]

     Dear friends, in Plum Village France (Thay’s monastery) where we live and practice, every time we hear the sound of the bell we stop our thinking; we stop our talking, and we go to our in-breath and breathe mindfully. And, at least three times … in … out, and that practice is called listening [to] the bell, the sound, mindfulness. When you hear the bell, you naturally stop your thinking . . . it has become a habit. You naturally stop your thinking and you focus your attention on [your] in-breath and you enjoy breathing in. And when you breath in mindfully like that you bring your mind home to your body and you become fully alive in the here and the now.

     It takes only three seconds in order to bring the mind home to the body and establish ourselves in the here and the now. And when you are well-established in the here and the now you can [get] in touch with life: first of all, with your body, your feelings, your perceptions, your mental formations, your consciousness. And you get in touch with the oneness of life around you. The energy of mindfulness has the power to heal, to transform.

---

[2] On love, meditation, and mindfulness: How to be present in the here and the now for your beloved one  

Mindfulness and Love [02:00 – 04:10]

     When you love someone, you have the tendency to offer him or her something; you want to make him or her happy. And, you are inhabited by the energy of love and that is why you have the desire to make him or her happy. As I have said, love has the power to heal, to nourish, to bring happiness, and to transform suffering. And the practice of mindfulness can produce love. The elements of true love can be produced by the practice of mindfulness and when you have that love in you, you are alive; you are peaceful; you are happy; and you can make the other person happy.

The True Gift of Love is One’s Presence [04:11~07:25]

     Usually, when we want to make the other [another] person happy we want to give him or her something. We might write a poem for him or her, or we might cook something good and give it to him or to her or you might go to the market and buy something. But the most precious thing you can give him or her is not something you can buy from the market. It’s not something that you can buy with money: it’s your true presence.

     You have to be there, for him and for her, if you truly love him or her. And in order to be there you need the practice of mindfulness. And what you want [to] offer your beloved one is your true presence. How can you love if you are not there? To love means to be there for him or for her and to be there is a practice.

     In the Buddhist tradition, when you begin to breathe in mindfully you bring your mind home to your body and when mind and body are together you are truly there. In our daily life, very often our body is there but our mind is not there. We are not truly there. It’s impossible to love if you are not there. So, practice mindful breathing, bring your mind home to your body—it can help you to be there. Our in-breath, our out-breath is something like a bridge linking mind and body and the moment we pay attention to our in-breath and breath in mindfully we bring our mind home to our body and we are there in just two or three seconds. And, you can look, you can go to your beloved one looking in his eyes, her eyes, and you can say ‘darling, I’m here for you’. Your presence is the most precious give that you can make to your beloved one. (7:25).

     There is an eleven-year-old boy who is unhappy because his father is not there for him. His father is a very rich businessman; successful business man too. But he does not have time for himself, for his wife and his son. One day he said ‘my son, tomorrow will be your birthday right? Do you want anything? I will buy it for you’. The young man did not know how to answer; he did not need anything. His father can afford to buy anything he wants, but he did not need anything. He needed one thing—the presence of his father. From time to time, his father is there at home but his mind is not with his body. So, the young man has the impression that he does not really have a father. So, after some reflection he said ‘Daddy, it’s you that I want’.

     And if the father knows the practice of mindful breathing he will begin to breath in mindfully and it takes only three seconds for him to be there, body and mind together, and look into the eyes of his son and say, ‘Darling, I’m here for you’. It’s very easy, everyone can do that. To me, to love means to be there for your beloved one. And to be there, for me, is not an intention, a desire—that is a practice. In order to be there, you need to breathe in mindfully and bring your mind home to your body. Or you might like walking meditation—mindful walk. While breathing in you make one step, out two steps, and you become aware of the step you make: You are touching life in the present moment with your foot. One step alone can bring you home to the here and the now and be fully present in the here and the now. There are many ways of practice that can help bring our mind home to our body so that we can be established in the here and the now. (10:34).

NOTE WELL

• “Being there” is not an intention or a desire. It is a practice!
• Concretely, in order to “be there” (to be present in the here and now), do mindful breathing; bring your mind home to your body.

·   [3] On Practicing Mindfulness and Touching the Kingdom of God [10:34-15:23]

     When you breathe in mindfully and look at the flower, like this one, you have an opportunity to get in touch with this flower deeply. You are mindful that the flower is there. Mindfulness is the kind of energy that allows us to know what is there—what is happening in the here and the now. When you practice mindful breathing the object of your mindfulness is your in-breath. Your in-breath is something that is happening in the here and the now and you might enjoy your in-breath. Also, when you breath-in and—using the image of mindfulness generated from your in-breath—you can recognize that flower as existing and you get in touch with that flower. And if your mindfulness is strong enough, powerful enough, you get concentrated on the flower and you get insight that that flower is a wonder—a wonder. And, you may see that the flower belongs to the Kingdom of God [or] of the Pure Land of the Buddha. And when you get in touch with the flower you get in touch with the Kingdom of God and you get in touch with God because God is always with his Kingdom. And you may get insight that the Kingdom of God is available in the here and the now—you don’t have to go and look for it in the future or somewhere else. You don’t need to die in order to go to the Kingdom. In fact, you have to be very alive in order to do so and to be alive, to be fully present in the here and the now, you need only to breathe in mindfully. It takes only two-to-three seconds.

     So now the Kingdom of God is available to you because you have the power, the capacity of being mindful. And the insight you get is the Kingdom is available in the here and the now and you would like to make yourself available to the Kingdom. And to make yourself available to the Kingdom, that can be done very quickly, just breath in mindfully or make a step mindfully. And then when you practice breathing in, “I am aware of my body”. This is the third exercise recommended by the Buddha in the sutra on mindful breathing—breathing in ‘I’m aware of my body’. Mindfulness of the body, you know that your body is there and while breathing in like that you bring your mind home to your body and there you are, alive, present, and you might discover that your body also belongs to the Kingdom of God. Your body, like that flower, is a wonder and you can touch the Kingdom of God also in your body. You don’t have to go far and in the future in order to get in touch with the Kingdom of God.

NOTE WELL

• You can direct your mindfulness (through the practice of mindful breathing) to particular objects, like a flower or your body
• When you do so, you realize more deeply that these objects are wonders
• Moreover, you realize that each and every thing belongs in the realm of the Sacred. Thus, by the simple practice of mindfulness through breathing, you can touch the realm of the Sacred (“the Kingdom of God”, or “the Pure Land”)

---

A Powerful Experience from When I was Ordained a Deacon in Rome

 

My Pre-Diaconate Exam

I was ordained a deacon in Rome in June of 1994. I was then a member of a religious order, the Salesians of Don Bosco, and I became a deacon as part of my ministry as a Salesian. Rome is a special place to be ordained a deacon obviously because it’s the pope's very own diocese. We candidates had to take a special oral interview-exam for the diaconate conducted by professors coming from different Roman pontifical universities. This was the last hoop to be cleared before one was ordained in the pope's diocese. The exam was to take place at the Lateran University because that is the university of the local church of Rome. So we prepared for the exam and went to the Lateran University bright and early on the specified date.

When my turn to be examined came, I was directed to the exam room. There was a priest-professor waiting for me. I found out later that he was the rector of the North American College in Rome. I don't remember his name but, looking at the list of rectors online, he must have been then-Fr. Edwin O'Brien (later archbishop of Baltimore). His first question to me was a totally unexpected one: What is ontology?

I was blindsided by the question because, to my mind, it apparently had nothing to do with being ordained a deacon. But I duly answered him and explained what I thought ontology was: that it was examining the nature of reality and the totality of things in existence. I think I also went on about ontology as the study of 'being' and what constitutes a being as the word "ontology" comes from the Latin "ens" which means precisely "being."

Having listened patiently to my explanation, he proceeded to his second question which was even more baffling to me. He asked , "What’s the connection between ontology and being a deacon?"

The So-Called "Ontological Change"

As soon as I heard that, I immediately grasped what he was getting at. So, I calmed down and started to explain that being ordained a deacon means having, as it were, a spiritual "seal" seared into your very being, because standard Roman Catholic sacramental theology  teaches that the sacrament of ordination effects a character upon the people who receive them. To use a fancy yet traditional expression, the sacrament of holy orders effects--what Roman Catholic theology calls--an "ontological change" (a transformation in the person's very being) whereby the person is given an ontological character which changes them into the very thing that the sacrament signifies.

Baptism is another of these "character-giving" sacraments because it bestows an irrevocable seal, a mark on your soul that transforms you into a child of God. After all, baptism is the sacrament of initiation which transforms people--it is believed--into children of God. When you receive the sacrament of ordination (and there are three kinds: diaconal, presbyteral [priestly], and episcopal), Roman Catholic theology teaches that you are given the "ontological character" (a character that constitutes your very being) of what the particular sacrament signifies.

The Heart of Becoming a Deacon - Becoming a Servant Forever

In the case of the ordination to the diaconate, the ordinand is, therefore, marked with the "ontological character" of a deacon. And what is that character, one may ask? It is to be a servant, one who devotes oneself to the service of the Christian community, particularly in the service of proclaiming the word and offering a few sacraments and ministries that would serve the community.

As I went on explaining the connection between "ontology" and "ordination" along those lines, it seemed that the good father realized that I knew my theology and so he stopped me and said in a solemn yet calm voice,  "Do you know why I asked you those questions?"

Without waiting for my answer, he proceeded to answer his own rhetorical question. What he said struck me powerfully and I have never forgotten it to this day. He said that many candidates for ordination think that being ordained a deacon is just the penultimate stage on their path to being ordained a priest because the diaconate in the Catholic Church is still generally a "transitional" stage. That means: it is mostly conferred on men who are eventually going to be ordained as priests. My priest-examiner said that this lack of mindfulness about the diaconate is a lamentable fact because very few priests remember that, when they were ordained deacons, they were in fact given a character which remains irrevocably embedded in their souls for life. And that character is, as I said, to be a diakonos, a servant. In short, when one is ordained a deacon, one is transformed irrevocably into a servant forever because the sacrament effected this so-called "ontological" change! Hence, even if one does become a priest one day, one should never forget that one is and should always and in all cirumstances be, first and foremost, a servant.

Reflections in Retrospect

I remember quite clearly those memorable words of the priest-examiner before my ordination to the diaconate as if they were yesterday. I did get ordained to the diaconate shortly after that at the Sacred Heart Basilica just beside Rome's central train station Termini. It was a joyous and memorable occasion particularly because my father flew all the way from Asia to attend it. I was surrounded by dear friends who wished me well. I served as a deacon for a whole year, most of the time at the very basilica where I was ordained a deacon. A year later in 1995, I was ordained a presbyter (priest)  this time in--what was then my home base--Tokyo, Japan.

Fast forward now some 25 years later to myself in 2021. I no longer have the official "faculties" (a kind of a "license") to practice formally as a deacon or a priest at present due to circumstances that I will not bore you with now.  I still do remember though with a grateful heart what the priest examiner told me before I was to be ordained a deacon. I don't think that the "ontological change" language is helpful anymore though. It kind of sounds arrogant and narcissistic to me. However, if you describe the diaconate as being "sealed with a character of service," I still find that symbolic language quite powerful. I have always striven to be true to that mission and that character which I gratefully received then and continue to cherish even now.

In the final analysis, what is ordination anyway? It is a sacrament conferred on a select few in order to symbolize more intensely the true nature of the Christian community and of every member thereof: a servant, a minister, a mediator like Jesus between God and one's fellow humans, a shepherd like Jesus who takes care of those under one's charge to the point of being willing to offer one's life for them. 

The nature and mission of the so-called "ordained" state therefore are not the exclusive property of ordinands, some of whom like to strut around like peacocks because of their different so-called "ontological" state. I find that attitude quite silly. They belong rather to the whole body of Christ and they ought to be conferred--I firmly think--on any Christian, irregardless of sex or marital status, who is willing and qualified. That's what I honestly think today and, in large part, that is in line with the practice of the early Church. 

The ultimate argument though for me is this: If someone can bear the image of God and of Christ (and that again is not dependent on sex or marital status), they can be rightfully empowered to represent God-Christ in a more intense way through ordination to the munus triplex (the threefold role) of "prophet, priest, and servant-king." Any quibbling about that is--I think--nothing but attachment to a patriarchal past rather than genuine openness both to tradition and to the "spirit at work in the world" today.

---

On Powerful Forces like Fire … or Sex

To a dear young'un #01 – Powerful Forces. 

(When a blog post is tagged in this way, it is a message for a young person very dear to my heart – a piece of wisdom for life I’d like to suggest)

There are things in life that we can consider as wonderful and very powerful forces. I'm thinking for example of things such as water, fire, air. These things are so important that we can't exist without them. Each of them is a wonderful and powerful "force" to celebrate but also something to treat with reverential care and caution.

When something has this great power, however, it has to be, in a deep sense, "controlled.” This tremendous force has to be “directed” or "channelled" responsibly in order for it to accomplish the many marvelous things it has the capability of accomplishing. This is why we have dams for water; or why we have controlled use of fire for cooking; or even why humans built windmills to harness "wind power"! If a "force" is used without these “controls” and just allowed to "explode" with all its raw power, the result is DISASTROUS: floods, catastrophic burning, the terrible force of a hurricane are just a few examples.

Now we come to the point that is relevant for growing kids: Sex is one such power. It is a wonderful and powerful aspect of humanity that begins to awaken and to show its tremendous "force" in one's pre-teens and just grows stronger in one's teen years. Sex is one of the most marvelous aspects of humanity! But let's also remember that, like water, fire or air, on the one hand, it's a force to be accepted with gratitude but, on the other, also a force to be reckoned with. It’s a force that has to be channeled properly in order for it to accomplish the many wonderful things it can accomplish to bring us pleasure, happiness, love, and fulfillment as humans. Just like the many other powerful forces in life, sex is to be celebrated and utilized ... in a controlled way. 

Such self-control can only be exercised by a person with discipline. Knowing what something is for; knowing that powerful forces need "chanelling"; and actually DOING that chanelling and PRACTICING that control are the keys to a successful and happy life as a teenager and as a young adult. 

That's my wish for all of you, young'uns, dear to my heart!

/jkk

A Father's Day Memory: The Moment I Became a Daddy

holding the new born KH hours after her birth

Just past midnight: London, Ontario, Canada, June 8, 2008. Our daughter, KH was born around 12:45 am. I was assisting D (my wife) in the birthing room. Although D wanted a natural birth, circumstances beyond anyone's control forced her to consent to a C-section. We found ourselves then in the birthing room. I was holding my wife's hand while the C-section was being performed. There was like a (cloth?) barrier between D's upper body and abdomen area so that we would not see the bloody procedure being done inches away. However, I wanted to witness with my very eyes the birth of our child so I asked the doctor if I could stand up and see the procedure being conducted beyond the barrier. She asked me in turn if I was sure that I was OK with that. They didn't want to have to assist me if I should faint or anything. Now, I can become queasy with blood on certain occasions but when it involves my dear ones, I'm solid as rock. So I replied confidently that I was definitely OK.

I stood up then and when I looked at the procedure beyond the barrier, it was the very moment when--I could only describe it as--our child was "yanked" from her mother's womb. I saw the bloody bundle that was our child and she let out her first mighty cry to the world. It was an amazing scene to behold!

When I heard that first cry, something deep within me stirred: it was a kind of profound, existential and visceral sense that shouted "I am now a daddy!" Since I had previously consented to be the one to cut the umbilical cord joining baby with mommy (it was just a ceremonial action because they had actually done an initial cut already), they beckoned me to do so. Unfortunately, I let go of my wife's hand without so much as a word to her -- Sorry D! I think I was just excited and stressed and moved, all at the same time. So it was that I left her to go and perform the "cut."

After that, they had to wash and clean the newborn and dress her in her first "clothes." I had the presence of mind to ask them if I could record the whole procedure with a video cam (yes, I had that with me too!). I still keep all that precious footage up to today!

After little KH was all clean and dressed up, the nurse summoned me, gave her to me and told me to bring her back to our room from the birthing centre. I was so nervous. I had never had any previous experience of carrying a new-born but there I was, the new father. I had to say yes. I only knew that I had to support her head which I dutifully did.

KH was crying furiously. That was the sign of a healthy new-born. As I was carrying the precious, crying little bundle back to the room, I stopped and decided to speak to her with these very words spoken as tenderly as possible, "H, welcome to our world!" At that, she immediately stopped crying. The cute little one made as if to open her eyes (no, newborns can't see things clearly yet, I knew, so I was really moved). But our darling daughter tried to look at where the voice came from, a voice she probably recognized because I had read to her often when she was still in D's womb. It moved me immensely and brought tears of joy to my eyes ... even now it does!

There and then, I was able to grasp a little of what an "absolute kind" of love is all about. There and then, I knew that I was REALLY a dad now because when I looked at that little face that in turn was trying to recognize the face of her dad, I knew that I would love this daughter of mine with my whole heart, soul, and mind ... with everything I've got; even if that would mean giving my very life for her.

They say that the only absolute bond is between parent and child. I knew it then; I know it now. This experience of fatherhood, of parenthood ... is one of the closest things one will ever get to the experience of pure love and joy ... this side of the grave.

I savour and cherish it deeply!

Acknowledging Privilege and Solidarity with Others

I'm a person of color - Filipino-Japanese, living in Ontario, Canada at present. I've had my own minor experiences of being disadvantaged but despite that, I acknowledge how much privilege I've had in life. Now more than ever, I'm trying my best to be aware of this privilege - where I was born and grew up (Manila, Philippines), where I've lived or stayed for a period of time (Tokyo-Japan; Rome-Italy; Berkeley-California; London-Ontario-Canada, etc.). An important part of this effort is to acknowledge clearly that there are many things that I CAN DO, without so much as a thought for my safety while so many people, especially my black brothers and sisters, CANNOT DO SO. I will continue to try my best to struggle so that everyone could experience more fully the respect and safety that they deserve as human persons, without depending on the color of their skin, their background, their gender, their social status, their sexual orientation, etc.

Here's a thought-provoking piece I just received in an email list. It is a good comprehensive list of things that many of us with privilege take for granted, but which were activities that resulted in other people being hurt and even killed just because of the color of their skin. Standing in solidarity with discriminated brothers and sisters, I reproduce the list below:

I can go birding (#ChristianCooper)
I can go jogging (#AmaudArbery)
I can relax in the comfort of my own home (#BothemJean and #AtatianaJefferson)
I can ask for help after being in a car crash (#JonathanFerrell and #RenishaMcBride)
I can have a cellphone (#StephonClark)
I can leave a party to get to safety (#JordanEdwards)
I can play loud music (#JordanDavis)
I can sell CDs (#AltonSterling)
I can sleep (#AiyanaJones)
I can walk from the corner store (#MikeBrown)
I can play cops and robbers (#TamirRice)
I can go to church (#Charleston9)
I can walk home with Skittles (#TrayvonMartin)
I can hold a hair brush while leaving my own bachelor party (#SeanBell)
I can party on New Years (#OscarGrant)
I can get a normal traffic ticket (#SandraBland)
I can lawfully carry a weapon (#PhilandoCastile)
I can break down on a public road with car problems (#CoreyJones)
I can shop at Walmart (#JohnCrawford)
I can have a disabled vehicle (#TerrenceCrutcher)
I can read a book in my own car (#KeithScott)
I can be a 10yr old walking with our grandfather (#CliffordGlover)
I can decorate for a party (#ClaudeReese)
I can ask a cop a question (#RandyEvans)
I can cash a check in peace (#YvonneSmallwood)
I can take out my wallet (#AmadouDiallo)
I can run (#WalterScott)
I can breathe (#EricGarner)
I can live (#FreddieGray)
I CAN BE ARRESTED WITHOUT THE FEAR OF BEING MURDERED (#GeorgeFloyd)

/jkk

Merlin (BBC series) and "Magic"

Magic is a metaphor for anything that has a tremendous power which can be used either for good or evil. It is how we use these powerful energies that define who we are as humans.

For some time now, KH and I have been going through the 5 seasons of the BBC's Merlin. (We're in a pandemic lockdown remember!) Both of us have become hooked on it. The good thing about watching the series is that we are put in touch with many things that form part of the Arthurian legends and lore, although reinterpreted with artistic license in the series.

Some Noteworthy Points for me

Magic.  'Magic and the good or evil it brings' is a major theme of the series. The anti-magic attitude is personified in King Uther, Camelot's king and father of Prince Arthur. He is ruthless in his persecution of magic because he is convinced that magic is evil, that it can only be a negative factor that brings so much evil into the world. The flip side of this attitude is his all-out support for science and medicine, shown concretely in the affection for and trust he has in his court physician Gaius. Little does he know that it was Gaius himself who took the young Arthur under his wings, even if he knows that Arthur is a powerful warlock.

Different Attitudes to Magic.   But not everyone is like Uther in his utter hate for magic. There are those who use magic but mainly for evil like the sorceress Morgause and eventually (her half-sister) Morgana, Uther's ward (actually his daughter) who becomes the main villain in the series from the end of season 3 onwards. There are those who seemingly support Uther's rejection of magic but are actually neutral toward it, knowing that magic is ambivalent: it can be used for evil but at the same time also put to good use. This is personified in Gaius. There are those who, like Merlin (the protagonist of the film), know that magic has this tremendous potential for good but have to live meanwhile under a regime that loathes the use thereof. There are those like Arthur who are just born into a social order where magic is perceived as evil and who do not know any other alternative. The series, one can say, is a continual battle for who will sway the young prince (he becomes king from Season 4 onwards) and either let him maintain his distrust of magic or turn him into one with a more balanced view thereof, a view which admits the tremendous potential of magic either for good or evil.

One major reflection of mine is ...

Magic, a metaphor for powerful forces.  Magic can be a symbol for anything that has tremendous power--authority, sex, intelligence, material wealth, even Religion ... and so forth. Almost everything like that in life is ambivalent - having a potential either for great good or great evil. It is how we choose to utilize, better, channel this power that defines who we are as persons. That defines whether we are persons with character or not.


We finally finished watching the whole series today, May 17, 2020.

The Once and Future King.   In the last episode, Arthur unfortunately passes away because of the wound sustained from Mordred's sword. However, the dragon Kilgharrah, tells Merlin that, although Arthur is dead, in a future time when the kingdom will have its greatest need for a hero-king, Arthur will rise again because he is the "once and future king." Arthur thus becomes a Christ-figure. One manifestation of the ideal king is gone but when things are at their direst, someone else who conforms to the image of Arthur will "rise again." Arthur is also like the biblical King David, also a once and future king, so much so that messianic figures in Jewish history were associated with him such as Jesus who was also called "Son of David."

Some of the Joys of Teaching - Knowing that You Made a Difference!

I've been teaching at the university level for 18 years or so now. Before that, I even taught high school and elementary school kids for a while. Yes, it's not easy to be a teacher-professor. There are lots of challenges that you face. But looking back at this stage, I can say that I've always loved teaching. There are times when something really touching happens and you remember why you became a teacher. Sometime ago, a dear student of mine sent me a message which did that for me. It is particularly significant because I am not teaching this school year as I'm on my sabbatical. Despite that, being remembered and thanked for by a student really moved me. I keep and treasure these gratitude notes (I have a stash of them) because they are things to hold on to and be grateful for, especially in tough times. It's really a deep joy to know that you made a difference in the lives of your students. I CHERISH AND TREASURE THAT. I really hold dearly all my former students and wish them all the best.

***

THE MESSAGE

Hello Professor Kato!

I hope you and your family are staying safe and healthy during this crazy and unexpected time. I know this message may come to you by surprise; however, I just wanted to say hello and thank you for everything you have taught me the past years at kings.

No words can describe how much I missed not being in one of your classes in my final year but I want you to know that everything you have taught me has stuck to me and I can't believe how much I have been using all the knowledge you have passed on. From the structures you have provided on how to write good essays to methods of analysis (the three world analysis is absolutely genius and I do not know how I went without it years prior!). Although I am finishing this year in an odd manner and have found it extremely hard, its professors like you that absolutely inspire me to keep pushing forward and battle every hard battle to get to my dreams. Thank you for being you and all the work you put into your students and I wish for all your future students to maintain everything you have taught them and use it because I can say I am truly blessed and honoured to say I was in your classes at Kings. To this day I look back at them and just smile. To this day I remember you singing "What if God was one of us?" and to this day I think of fiddler on the roof when talking about tradition and the Gospel of Matthew. So thank you, thank you for the knowledge you passed down to me and thank you for being you. For caring about your students and wanting them to do well. From the bottom of my heart thank you!

I hope we will be able to see each other once my convocation is established due to it being postponed for now. I hope you are keeping safe and healthy and that you and your family are finding joy in the little things during this crazy time! 

Thank you for everything, all the best, and God bless!

A grateful student

***

My Response

Dear GS,

Thank you so very much for your kind words! You and other students who take the time to thank me in this explicit way remind me very touchingly why I chose to become a teacher many years ago and why I continue to love being so (except marking…!). But again, thanks so much. I just cherish and treasure your words and the sentiments behind them. Please do carry whatever you have learned from me and from your other wonderful professors and teachers (of all kinds!) with you as you continue your life journey. Believe me, you’ll need to draw from these powerful lessons, especially at crucial moments because your life is still practically in front of you.

I’ve been enjoying my sabbatical and been quite fruitful (despite the lockdown since last month). I’ve secured a book contract for what, I hope, would be my 3^rd monograph-book. I’m trying to distill all the things I’ve taught my students in the past 15+ years of teaching New Testament into this projected book. So yes, 3 worlds … and so on and so forth… Wish me well. I hope I make the proposed submission by the end of this year. The work, I would say, is like 70% written in various forms…

I wish you well. Please give my regards and love to your wonderful family. Stay safe and healthy. My wife is a PSW at a nearby nursing home. Long-term healthcare homes NOW are the hotspots of the pandemic. So we are constantly keeping our fingers crossed that we stay healthy as we have until now. But even if she (and maybe we) get sick, there are still so many things that are hopeful in our society such as a not-yet-overwhelmed healthcare system and family and friends to support us. There’s always hope to hold on to. There I am again, the hopelessly hopeful optimist. I hope you got that one too from being in my classes …

Have a blessed and healthy Easter season and I hope to see you and your friends sooner than later. If I can help you in any way now or in the future, I will gladly do that for you. It’s an immense joy to do that, especially for my best students!

Good luck and God bless,

jkk