Last week I used a quote that somewhat sums up our time in so many ways.
Here it is again: I think we risk becoming the best-informed society that has ever
died of ignorance.

I think we were one of the last people on earth to get Caller ID or phones that
could tell us who was calling. It is a great thing to keep from answering
telemarketing calls.

Yes, we get them even though we are on all sorts of "do NOT call" lists. What I
can't seem to stop are the unsolicited faxes I get at my office. Most of them have
numbers at the bottom of the fax saying that if you want your number removed all
you have to do is call this toll free number and you will be removed. So I call and
get this recording asking me to input my fax number followed by the pound key. I
do so and am promised that my number will be removed. The next day I get
another unsolicited fax. Again, there is a number at the bottom for me to call if I
want to be removed. It is a different number. I call. I hear the same recorded
woman's voice. I can't tell you how many times I have done this.

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For years I have wanted a dog but, frankly, we have not had - and don't have
now - a lifestyle for a dog. We are gone from our home so much. But I have been
thinking more and more seriously about getting a dog. If everything holds to plan
- and nothing ever really does - we've going to get a dog when we come back
from our trip to Portugal, Spain and France this Fall.

I've been talking to several people who have dogs about things it would be
helpful to know. The one topic that has consistently come up has been the matter
of training. Some have advised getting an older dog who is already trained and
others have stressed the importance of training a younger dog from the very
beginning. People have given me the names of dog trainers and they speak
reverentially of them - one even referred to his trainer as a "dog whisperer." I
have now found out that there is a television program by this name. One man
said to me, "You have to relate to the dog as if you yourself were a dog and from
the very beginning you have to let him know that you are the Alpha Dog." I think
I've gotten some good advice about dogs. We'll see how it all plays out.

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Do you have a definition of what a "successful life" for you would look like?

Actually we all have some definition of a successful life. It may be unconscious
to us. But we have one.

For most people the three words that define the meaning of life are control,
compete and compare. Our culture gives us these things and they are the
dominant themes of not only the first part of life but also of the first two levels of
the cosmic egg we have been talking about.

Here is a definition of successful living by a man who wasthe 19th century and who lived almost 80 years. Listen:

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Years ago I ran across a prayer by Merton. I added it to my daily meditation
practice. I want to read it to you.

My Lord God
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following
your will does not mean
that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that my desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope that I have that desire
in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything
apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this
you will lead me by the right road
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always
though I may seem to be lost
and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear,
for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me
to face my perils alone.

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