In every age, we all face at least one common problem that affects us all. For us it is hard to choose since we have so many choices. However, one thing always jumps out when I peruse this question.
Life is always uncertain, but in our time, it is an art form cultivated by the bombardment of news and information.
Good things become unbelievably good, bad things become unbelievably bad, and neutral things are spinned to be either good or bad. And, you will hear or read about it, not once, but continuously until it wears itself out.
Every opinion, every belief system, all that you hold dear is challenged by the cacophony of rambling sound bites and extraneous news bits delivered by pundits all claiming to represent the truth.
We know most of it is nonsense, and yet it always plays in the background as static. And, no matter how we choose to ignore it, it is always there.
I doubt if there has ever been a time when who and what you think you are is challenged so relentlessly. How do you stand on quicksand and retain your balance? That is the question of our time, and we all need an answer.
Brother Giovanni, excerpted from the seminar series for novitiate monks
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