My Facebook friend Cindy asked me a question in a Facebook comment on my previous post:
    Patti, Meister Eckhart, a 14th Century Dominican, theologian, philosopher and mystic says that, "If the only prayer you were to ever say in your life was 'Thank you,' it would be enough." Why, do you suppose, did he say this?
    Well, Cindy,  I guess, upon thinking about it,  I'd say I suppose he said it because, along with being a Dominican, theologian, philosopher, and mystic, Meister Eckhart was probably also a student of human behavior and as such had likely observed that people generally feel gratitude only at times when they are the recipients of good things or feel happiness in their life.  However Meister Eckhart  might also have subscribed to the psychodynamic principal  that behavior precedes feeling; and so he could have believed that practicing gratitude - by praying 'thank you"  even when one wasn't feeling particularly happy or thankful about anything -  would cause one to feel gratitude,  which, when genuine, begets other virtues as well, such as  humility and an awareness and appreciation of the good things in life, be they ever so simple, common and immaterial. 
     Also, an unadorned "thank you" as a "blanket prayer" works as an acknowledgement that every aspect of one's existence is a gift from God, which is by extension worship, or the acknowledgment of God's  omnipotence.  I expect that Meister Eckhart, being a believer, would  have considered this acknowledgement to be a human obligation of great importance.
     On the other hand, there seems to be a pervasive attitude among many us that the good things - be they material or immaterial - we are fortunate enough to possess are a sign of God's favor upon us personally.   It's fashionable for people not to pray their "thank you" prayers only in private silence but to let others know that they are grateful for being among the chosen recipients of God's blessing.  Thus one often hears people with a cushy existence making declarations about being "blessed".  
     The problem is, then, that going around telling others that we've been blessed by God because of our good fortune and in fact believing it to be true, the purpose of our "thank you" prayer becomes not our acknowledgement of God but God's acknowledgement of us.  After all, if God favors me with good fortune then God obviously approves of me, and if God approves of me then whatever I'm doing and thinking is obviously right and therefore cannot be argued against because if God is for me then who can be against me, and if you're against me it means you're against God.  Right?
     That line of thinking, which you might recognized from the campaign speeches of some of our political candidates, is rooted in the belief -  subconscious in some, conscious in others -  that one is in fact superior and more deserving than others who are less "blessed" than oneself. 
     Which brings me back to my original quandry:  how does one reconcile giving thanks for being a "have" in a world full of "have-nots"?
      What would Meister Eckhart say?

Continued from yesterday:
    On Friday morning while waiting for Claire and Miguel to swing by we hung out in the cheerful day room of our hostel, the IHSP Chicago.

     The day room was crowded and busy with hostelers, most of them friendly young  foreigners, enjoying the hostel's free make-your-own pancake breakfast and planning their day in Chicago.

    As for Tom, Tommy and I, we already had some great plans laid out for our last day in Chicago.  
    We were planning on starting off the day with brunch with Miguel and Claire at a hip little Bucktown breakfast /brunch/lunch place called Toast that would be out-the-door crowded at brunch time on the weekend, but wouldn't be too bad on a Friday late-morning.  After brunch we figured we'd then walk back to Miguel and Claire's house in Logan Square and  spend the rest of the day helping them with several around-the-house projects, fixing a closet door, hanging some pictures, etc.
      Then when all the chores were done we planned to take the Metro downtown to look at the Christmas lights along Michigan Avenue,  walk around the Christkindls Market and have dinner at Pizano's, everybody's - not just ours, but everybody's  - ​favorite pizzaria in Chicago.  Maybe in the whole world. 
     When Claire and Miguel arrived to pick us up we stopped by the hostel reception desk to say good-bye and wish a nice day to the busy, helpful hostel hosts on duty.

     Then we walked about a mile across Wicker Park to Bucktown,

...and to our destination, which Claire suggested might have been named Toast because the dining room was sort of shaped like a toaster, or so she thought.

    Though there was some discussion amongst us on that point,

...we were all in agreement on the yumminess of the food:

     After brunch we moved on to the next phase of our day-plan, working on Claire and Miguel's house.  But first we had to walk the couple of miles from Bucktown back to Logan Square via the 606, the old elevated train line recently rehabbed into an elevated walking/bike path.

​     Ascending and walking the the 606.

    By the time we arrived at Claire and Miguel's we were all freezing cold and a little tired from the long walk, so Claire made a fire and put on some tea and we  decided to take a few minutes to warm up and rest up and maybe just take a quick look at our emails.

    Two hours later we were almost ready to get to work,

...and decided we would after a little snack of Miguel's home-made salsa and chips,

...which turned out to be a too-deliciously addictive - and strangely relaxing - combo.

    We decided to take just one more little break before jumping into the work projects.

    And several hours later just when we were ready to get started we realized that it was time to  go downtown to see the Christmas lights and sights and have Pizano's pizza.
   
     Another hour later,

....Claire threw out the suggestion that mayhaps we should consider skipping downtown and grabbing some pizza at the closer Pizano's in Wicker Park.
    We all agreed enthusiastically.

    We eventually managed to haul ourselves up from our warm, cozy digs and head out on foot towards Wicker Park via the 606,

...from where Tommy was able to capture with his phone camera the shot that I with my little old-school camera couldn't, the Chicago buildings that were lit up with blue, white and red lights as a stand of solidarity with France,

...which got me to thinking that maybe I need to start looking into a camera with more pixel-power.      After walking a few blocks on the 606 we descended to the sidewalk and hopped on a bus packed with the usual Friday night crowd.  A younger gentleman stood up and gave me his seat, which warmed my heart that courtesy and kindness to the elderly is still alive among the younger generation, even though it bummed me to be reminded that I was now the elderly.
    Oh well, old happens, right?
    Anyway, we arrived at Pizano's, which was beautifully lit up  and gave the place a warm, happy holiday feel,

...especially when we caught sight of the snow falling outside the window.

   And then there was the pizza: a Chicago deep-dish pie with a unique crust that is closer to a thick pie crust than a doughy pizza crust,

...and toppings that make your taste buds jump and stand to attention.

    My slice of cheese and tomato sauce pizza.

                    Truly Pizano's has to be the best pizza on the planet,

      After our sublime and transcendently satisfying pizza Claire and Miguel walked us back through the gently falling snow several blocks to our hostel.  We said our good-byes then they headed home, as we would the next day.
     And Tommy snapped one last great shot.

    Yesterday our daughter Claire, a medical intensive care unit nurse at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, was honored by her hospital for being the national award winner of the Nurse.com GEM award for volunteerism and service.  Nurse.com is a nursing news and resource magazine,

 ...that gives the GEM - Giving  Excellence Meaning - award to one nurse chosen from nominees nationwide in each of five categories:  Advancing and Learning the Profession; Clinical Nursing; Education and Mentorship;  Home, Community and Ambulatory Care; Patient and Staff Management; and Volunteerism and Service. 
    Claire, nominated by her manager, was chosen for the Volunteerism and Service award for her work in Nicaragua,  Haiti, and Sierra Leone. 
     The reception, for Claire and several other Northwestern nurses who were regional GEM finalists in other categories, was scheduled for at 1 pm at the hospital, which gave us plenty of time to go out for brunch beforehand.
      Claire and Miguel walked 15 minutes from their house in Logan Square to meet us at our hostel and from there we walked through Wicker Park,

...to a cute little nearby breakfast eatery called Kanela.

     The food was really good.
   
​     Tommy had the goat-cheese omlet,

...Miguel had pork belly eggs benedict,

...I'm not sure what pork belly is but Miguel says it's really good,
     Claire had a vegetarian bagel,

...and Tom and I had our old stand-by.
,

 
​   After brunch we headed downtown to the hospital via subway,

...then bus,

...then we walked the last block to the Northwestern Memorial campus.

     Northwestern is a massive, beautiful hospital

.....with art everywhere, 

...and an enchanting salt-water aquarium.

 
​   The reception  was held in an atrium overlooking Lake Michigan.

   
​   There was a table full of yummy hors d'oeuvres,

...and a beautiful cake,

...enjoyed by all.

   
​     Claire was honored by hospital management and representatives of Nurse.com,

...and her co-workers.

      Claire also spoke,

.....telling of her love of her work as an intensive care nurse, especially those times of helping and caring for people during the hardest times of their lives.  
     Claire also emphasized that the countries most vulnerable to outbreaks of deadly diseases are those in which large segments of the population lack access to health care.  She encouraged us to be mindful of the importance of the state of our health care system when we vote.

     It was a nice speech.

....and a nice afternoon.

     Afterwards we taxied back to Miguel and Claire's house in Logan Square  where we hung  for a while, 

...until it occurred to us all that it was about time to eat again.
     I suggested that we walk back to Wicker Park and have dinner at a Thai restaurant called Penny's, which plan sounded fine to everyone else.
    So we returned to Wicker Park via the 606, which is the name of a recently completed elevated walking trail along an old elevated train line.

     Off in the distance we could see the tops of the downtown buildings that were displaying blue, white and red lights in honor of France.  It was too dark for my camera to capture the image, but it was a nice sight.
    We descended the 606 at Wicker Park,

...and walked on 'til we arrived at Penny's,

    ... where we ordered ourselves some delicious  dishes.

     As we were next door to Stan's, one of the finest doughnut joints on the planet,

...we couldn't very well pass by without stopping in and sampling the wares.

     'Twas a fine end to a fine day.

     As I write this I'm sitting on the Megabus to Chicago.
     I point this out only to show how good the WIFI  is on the Megabus.  Sometimes.

​        I wrote the above yesterday as Tom, Tommy and I were on our way to Chicago to visit our daughter Claire and son-in-law Miguel.

​   The Megabus, our super-comfy preferred mode of transportation for travelling from Columbus to Chicago, was actually our second, nay third bus of the day, the first being the Columbus city COTA bus which we hopped at the stop down the torn-up block from our street.

​     Our second bus we caught at the corner of Hamilton and East Broad Street in Whitehall,

  ​...in front of the best Thrift Store in Columbus, reminding me that I must return here one of these days for some thrifting.   

​   This bus dropped us off at Broad and High in downtown Columbus, from whence we walked down High Street past the Ohio Statehouse.

 ...which the Plaça Catalunya in Barcelona reminded me of when Tom and I were there a couple of weeks ago,

​Plaça Catalunya

...to the Megabus stop at the corner of Third and Rich Streets.

...where we waited with our fellow travellers until the Megabus arrived to pick us up,

....and drop us off in front of Union Station in Chicago, from where we took the subway,

....to the Damen stop in Wicker Park,

...then walked a block to our favorite Chicago hostel, the IHSP,

....where we were greeted by our friendly, helpful, hard-working, happy hostel hosts, Sam Strader, right,  and Josh, left.

   The IHSP Chicago:

     Night-time view from the roof terrace:

     Our room:

     We're aiming for some good Hostel Karma.

    This past Sunday on "Fox and Friends" presidential candidate Texas Senator Ted Cruz said that the U.S. should offer a haven only to Christian Middle Eastern refugees fleeing ISIS, but not Muslim refugees.
       Also on Sunday former Florida Governor and presidential candidate Jeb Bush told CNN that we should focus our assistance to Middle Eastern refugees on Christians, and that we should screen refugees for their religion.
       I'm not making this up.
       Is there anybody out there who thinks this is right?
       Is there anybody out there who thinks this is anything other than grossly ignorant?
       Is there anybody out there who thinks that, even if those two think that way, it was smart to broadcast such thinking on national news?
       I mean, these men are running for President of the United States, for crying out loud!  Do they really think it would be acceptable for the President of the United States to say  that sort of thing?
       Listen, even if I didn't happen to have a friend, a member of my Panera Posse, in fact,  who's Muslim I'd still find those statements unbelievably ill-bred and offensive.  But even worse, those statements reveal two would-be leaders of our country who obviously not only favor Christians over non-Christians but equate Muslims with terrorists.
       Message to Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush:  ISIS is not Islam.  Got it? 
        Both of these men who would shape our foreign policy seem likewise ignorant of the fact that in Iraq and Syria  the victims of war and the horror of ISIS  are primarily Muslim.  In any case Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush want to help only Christian refugees.  How callous.  How mean.  How dumb.
       Do you think it's occurred to either of them how many voting American Muslims there are?
       And then there's Donald Trump who yesterday announced that if elected president he would  consider closing some mosques.
        I swear, do these guys seriously  want to be elected  president?  Or do you think that in truth they're running  just for the sake of having a golden opportunity to run their mouths?

    I first heard the news on the radio while driving home from work late last Friday afternoon.
    "Oh no,"   I pleaded with no one,  "please don't let it be!"
     A few minutes later a friend texted:  "TURN ON THE TV:  There is ongoing terrorism spread out all over Paris.  100 hostages at a Paris rock concert too."
     I didn't turn on the TV.  Not right away.  I didn't want to see it.  I didn't want it to believe it was true until there was no denying that it was. 
      Now once again people all over the world are united in our horror, our grief, our anger, our fear, and our hearts go out once again, too soon, to our French brothers and sisters.
       And yet my oldest daughter offered what I fear may be a prescient observation.  She said, "Sad as I am over the what happened in Paris, I'm more sad over what will follow."
     Yesterday France launched massive U.S. - coordinated airstrikes against ISIS targets in Syria, an escalation of all the bombs we've already dumped there and in Iraq in hopes of wiping out a force that moves in that region like an infestation of cockroaches and  travels the globe as invisibly and infectiously as a deadly virus.
      Think:  The media-loving murderer "Jihadi John" was a British citizen.
      The Charlie Hebdo killers were French.
      The car-bombers in Beirut last week were Syrian and Lebanese.
      The problem is that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria isn't the country of  Iraq or the country of Syria or, at this point, any country.  The Islamic State is no more a geographical state than it is Islam.
         In truth  the Islamic State is a state of mind, a destructive ideology driving a movement that continues to recruit across the globe by means of social media among the lost, marginalized, poor, disaffected and emotionally alienated, creating in them not only a mentality that celebrates brutality and the murder of others but their own death as well.
        So how do you bomb an ideology?
        How do you make war on a global network?
        How do you change a state of mind?