It has been an eventful week and I’m feeling accomplished and with everything under control for the first time in a while. It is ‘Good’ Friday but was not very ‘good’ for Jesus approximately 1,995 years ago and it is not very good for the state of the world due to Trump. I’m not going to mention anything further about Trump in this post as I’ve just updated and already written plenty in this continually updated post.
It is difficult to think about other things with all the insanity going on but I must, and wish to write about my other thoughts.
Turning 50
Soon I will turn 49, not 50 but it is close enough and the realization I’ll be turning 50 remains a complete shock to me. The past 10 years have been an absolute blur and without this blog I would have forgotten most of it completely.
Seriously, my memory is getting worse and I’m not as mentally sharp as I used to be. I imagine this is a combination of age, possibly COVID infections, the incredible deluge of news and information I consume daily, and perhaps a routine that doesn’t differ much from one day to the next.
The first 30 years of my life could be compartmentalized. There were entirely different chapters to it that looked very different from one another. We all experience school changes and then some of us college. After graduation I then went to Japan, Vietnam and then San Francisco. I got married, bought a house and had kids. Then the blur starts and 20 years go by in a flash. What. The. Hell. Happened?
I tell myself “wake up stupid!” Be in the moment, absorb the sublime but easily missed moments each day. And I do! I watch the sunset quite often. But still, I continually fall into the trance, as though I’m on autopilot, and months pass by as quickly as a few hours would have seemed when I was younger.
Life no longer holds the excitement it once did although sometimes something will give me a little flash of those old feelings. Compared to my 20s, my mindset now feels as though I’m on anestesia. Compared to my teenage years my mindset is now practically comatose. Nothing excites me anymore. (except maybe traveling overseas)
Visit to Misión Santa Clara de Asís
With my love for Spain, I’ve always enjoyed visiting the remnants of Spanish presence in California. The most prominent of course being the missions that were built to convert the natives. Unfortunately these have a dark history that fortunately, is finally coming to light and action being taken.
Junipero Serra statue’s fall is long overdue — and Catholics should say amen
Regardless, I enjoy visiting these places and do so when I have the chance. Some are in the middle of nowhere while others are right in town. One I had not yet visited but should have is Misión Santa Clara de Asís. I finally had the opportunity this week when I realized it was just two blocks away from a customer visit I had scheduled and so I took the opportunity.
Unfortunately, many places of worship are locked these days due to vandalism. The doors were closed but I was delighted to find they were open. One of the reasons is because this church is located right on the Santa Clara University campus.
Now, I’ve lived here in the Bay Area for 20 years. I’ve learned that you can never see it all. When you think there is nothing left to see or learn, there is always one more thing. This is the case with Santa Clara University. I only knew of it thanks to my Vietnamese buddy. He has two children, twins, a boy and a girl. They are both very smart but he feels the boy isn’t doing enough to get into a good school. Last time we met he said the girl would go to UCLA, because she was doing all the right things to get in. The boy however, wasn’t trying hard enough and probably wouldn’t get in so a bunch of money would need to be spend and he’d go to Santa Clara University.
I had never heard of the university and looked it up. The average tuition there is $63,000 PER YEAR, making it one of the most expensive colleges in the nation! How could a college I’ve never even heard of cost so much? Well, it is located in the heart of Silicon Valley giving it great business and computer science connections to the top technology companies in the world. It certainly is a beautiful place!
Anyway, I went into the church and although I’m no longer a ‘practicing’ Catholic, nor subscribe to all its beliefs, it is still in my DNA. I was raised Catholic and I enjoy the quiet solitude and especially the historical atmosphere of these old churches. So I’ll pop in to churches on the rare occasion to reflect, meditate, and for what it is worth – pray. I sat in silence listening to the birds, a quiet cough from an older gentleman in the last rows and the constant hum of the lawnmower outside. I listen for the divine but have never heard any clear signal or voice except my own, somewhat loud thoughts. On this occasion, if the divine did say something, it may have been drowned out by the sound of the lawnmower. I’m sure the divine appreciates a well kept lawn just as much as ritual sacrifice don’t you think?
I said hello to my dearly departed friends and family members. Just like with the divine, no signal or sign was noticed but I’m sure they appreciated my greetings and that I still think of them.
After leaving I looked up the history of the mission and learned it was founded by the Franciscans and named after St. Claire of Assisi who founded the order of the Poor Clares. Now the Franciscans are an order who emphasize poverty, and a simple life. Therefore, I was curious that a mission founded by this order was now surrounded by one of the most expensive universities in the world! Investigating further, the university was founded by the Jesuits.
Ah! Now it makes sense. The Society of Jesus are the intellectuals, and I don’t believe they have any qualms at all on getting rich or consolidating power. Since we’re on the subject of Spanish history, they were kicked out of Spain in 1767 by King Charles III as well as out of other countries with one of the reasons becoming a threat to royal authority.
So what do we have? We have some of the richest kids in the country studying for careers in the most technical, powerful and world changing companies in the world around a church whose founders promoted poverty and a simple life as noble virtues. What a contrast indeed!
Oh, and just for the record, let’s just remind everyone again that the California Missions were hell on earth for the native Americans ensnared in them. That makes me think of the phrase that history may not repeat but it surely rhymes! The church used to separate the Native Americans from their children to ensure they wouldn’t run away. Recently, America under Trump separated immigrant children from their parents as a deterrent to stop others from coming to the USA. Cruelty all around, in different ages and for different reasons. It sure makes me think that humanity on the overall really sucks. Perhaps history can repeat itself again with a large meteor strike to wipe us all out as it did the dinosaurs.
Speaking of which, I saw a great cartoon from Non-Sequitur today. The cartoon has always been one of my favorites and I absolutely love how he is attacking the current administration not pulling any punches with America – especially with all that is going on currently.
