Rev. Bob Janis

It’s 6:00 am, and I’ve already had a cup of coffee this morning. I had it just the way I like it – black and in a cup. There was some coffee left in the pot yesterday, which means there’s coffee ready to drink today. Often I drink it cold – but this morning, on a whim, I heated it up in the microwave.

I’m living medium, baby!

If you’ll permit me to brag, I have a great life. I love my coffee, so I make sure I have a cup – Every. Single. Day. Sometimes I have a second cup, too. Even a third. Not a fourth, though, because why? There’s no reason for that. It’d give me the jitters, and it’s not like the days are that long. Better to sleep on it and make that fourth cup the first cup of a brand new day.

At my age ripe old age of thirty-seven, it pays to embrace moderation. Unless you’re a top-notch rapper or a nineteenth-century Romantic poet, no-one is impressed by your excessive lifestyle after you hit thirty. 

When a celebrity… https://medium.com/@bobjanisdillon/moderation-is-so-sexy-right-now-3377f07ad279

My friend, I wish you:

warm clothes on your back,
clean water in your well,
a spark in your eyes,
money in your pocket,
something lovely in your hands, or at least useful,
not too much wax in your ears,
sharp and sturdy tools in your shed,
hope in your calendar,
a well-tended fire in your belly,
and the love of the world in your heart.

May pleasures fill your life as the rain of a storm fills hungry soil,
And your sorrows be a slight drizzle between rainbows.

Dedicated to you, beloved reader, and in honor of our 31^st Musikfest music festival here in Bethlehem, PA.

May you know peace.
May the air above your town know music, not sirens.
May the streets of your city know dancing, not bombs.
May the work of your heart be the rhythms of peace.

And next year in Bethlehem – and in every town
made sacred by children’s prayers for peace –
may the call of peace ring out again:

“Smile on your brother,
everybody get together,
try to love one another
right now.”

May the wind reach your spirit,
today’s food reach your always joy,
the people in your life be the presence of the holy,
and the day be a welcome home.

Beloved readers,

This is an adventurous time for me – after eight wonderful years serving at my former congregation, I’m taking a break from congregational ministry to engage in spiritual direction courses, to hone my preaching in various congregations, and to write. Much of what I write will be longer-form stuff. I’m working on a play about the history of race in America, a book about living a good life from a Unitarian Universalist perspective, and a fiction book with a delicious premise (to me, anyway) that I’m not ready to share yet. But there’ll be plenty of shorter stuff too, some of which I hope to post here. So please check back regularly. There’ll be a “Monday blessing” each Monday (excepting Mondays I plum forget) – a few poignant/funny/graceful/powerful/well-meaning-at-least words with which to start your week. It’s the best thing about Monday since the Big Bang! It’s Friday today but I don’t want to keep you waiting, so I put a belated one there right now!

And I’m also posting random items on medium.com – to whit –

“How to be Spiritual” where I reveal three excellent ways to be a human being: https://medium.com/@bobjanisdillon/how-to-be-spiritual-ebd8686ecffb

“An End to Immigration” an extremely controversial view of our current immigration situation (are there really any non-controversial views about this though?): https://medium.com/@bobjanisdillon/an-end-to-immigration-d8f39a4ac689

I also wrote a spirituality-based “Choose Your Own Spiritual Adventure” that you play online. It’ll take about 2 minutes and is extremely goofy and fun: http://textadventures.co.uk/games/view/prug4p4fskwp12evpvaelg/choose-your-own-spiritual-adventure

Having grown up on “Choose Your Own Adventure” and similar games, being able to write one, post it online as an actual game, and people getting to play it is a great thrill for me. This whole world wide web is something else, isn’t it?

Anyway, hope you’re having a good summer, beloved reader.

blessings,

Bob