We tout collaboration as the necessary skill for young people. And yes, it is the reason humanity was able to dominate the planet—especially our ability to do so in such large groups. Yet, we have a serious disconnect with what we’re told and the example being set.

I see collaboration among friends and small communities of people, especially those working towards a cause. But everywhere else?

Not a chance.

What I do see are politicians opting to attack each other, fighting for power, rather than collaborate and serve the people that elected them.

I see workplaces turn toxic as it divides into camps and gossip circles.

Academics in the ivory tower go on the offensive to protect their ego rather than work with colleagues who might offer some necessary insight to lead our collective knowledge forward.

Businesses who would have some amazing synergy if they worked together (especially tech ones), but opt to hide behind corporate plays for power and stifle innovation we could all benefit from.

Religious leaders who bury their feet (and sometimes their heads) in the sand rather than reach out and work together for the common good.

While we do have some great examples on a small scale, but it’s nowhere near where it needs to be.

If anything, the hope I have for our young people is to completely enshrine themselves within their natural rebellious ways in order to ignore the example being set.

When a job is complete, no one asks what brand of hammer was used to do the work, much like no diner asks what knife the chef used in the kitchen. The tools themselves are in service to the final product.

Too often we can get caught up in paying attention to the tool that we forget they are not the end goal.

Use whatever is going to get the job done and adjust accordingly.

Although I still consider myself relatively young in my education career (edging on thirteen years in various roles), it’s still astounding the fads that have come and gone. This isn’t anything new in this particular field, but it does teach you an important skill:

Assessing the effectiveness of new tools and ideas.

That’s actually a polite way of saying that it teaches you to have a BS meter that is set on extremely low.

My criteria for anything new always revolves around the question of whether this new idea or tool best serves my students. Some do, some don’t and a few only serve a handful.

However, with the proliferation of the tech industry nabbing our brightest minds, our world right now is flooded with crap we didn’t ask for and mostly don’t need. I mean, does the world really need another mindfulness app?

It’s hard not to get caught up in the marketing hype of some products, only to realize their usefulness is nothing more than novelty that will quickly be abandoned in favour of another shiny product. Or better yet, back to what was working in the first place.

Then, of course, you have the clever ways people bring back extremely old ideas and present them as something ‘new’ as they dress it up slightly different. Education is horrendous for this particular practice and now we’re seeing it everywhere.

Having been caught up in some of these whirlwinds, I’ve taken a step back and armed myself with two tools that are waning in popularity today—patience and careful reflection.

If it’s trying to solve an issue I don’t have, then maybe it’s a novelty I don’t need.

It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.

St. Francis of Assisi

Although the attributed quote to St. Francis is, “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary, use words,” the above quote is more verbatim. Whatever the nuance or meaning, we have a message here.

There is a growing irritation of people posturing themselves, going out of their way even, to speak about their “Christian” stance. It’s a flag they fly as high and loud as possible to make sure others know.

This causes me to shake my head because the harder you try to convince people of who you are, the less likely you are that thing. Given that most of our communication is non-verbal, our actions speak so loud that it’s sometimes hard to hear the words coming out of our mouths.

In other words, all they’re trying to do is convince themselves of something they’re not.

I’m almost certain if Jesus did come back today, these same people would be the first to attack and ostracize him, not recognizing they hijacked an ideology he spoke out against.

Or maybe the answer is simple:

They don’t want to admit to the type of people they really are.

Because admitting that is incredibly difficult.

There’s a big push to find ways, or discover methods, of being a creative individual. It is presented as something innate that must be unlocked and there are certain avenues that will help get you there.

Forget the fact that creativity is so loosely defined that it’s difficult to measure in the first place.

How is it defined?

Ask a hundred people and I’m sure you’ll get a hundred answers.

Yet, when you go back and look at the most creative people we’ve had throughout history (across all disciplines), it was pretty simple:

Think about a problem, then look all around you for a solution… plus go for a daily walk. Think. Rest. Walk.

Then, the most important part, do the work.

Don’t think it needs to be any more complicated than that.

Although I am the perpetual optimist, or so I think, I’ve given up hope that humanity will somehow unite on common ground. We are just too fragmented as a planetary species with our embedded cultural biases.

However, nothing brings unity like a common enemy. Unfortunately, I don’t know who or what that is right now.

Perhaps if we can find that, we might have a chance for a better future.

In a 2011 study, it was discovered we consume over 174 newspapers worth of information daily. I can only assume that number has gone up significantly since then.

The concerning part about this study is this deluge of information has not made us happier and more informed, but rather the opposite. We’re more miserable and handling this information has become a complete nuissance.

While I applaud people’s efforts at a new frontier dubbed “Peronsal Knowledge Management” (simply put—systems to handle the inflow), it’s the equivalent of buying more bins for your house to handle the endless stuff that keeps entering.

The solution isn’t more organization, it’s less stuff.

Keep it from coming in the first place.

If we can apply that philosophy to out daily information intake, we might be better served by the information we do take in.

Turn off the phone.
Ignore the news.
Disengage from any conversation related to what’s happening.
Step away from the TV.
Walk away from the computer.

Head somewhere different.
Somewhere you can lie down in peace.

Lie down, look up.
Spread your arms.

Let everything about the world disappear, except this moment.

Take it all in.

Let peace come into your heart.

I grew up a cradle Catholic and have always been part of the life of the Church in some way. This has been both enriching and incredibly difficult.

There was a fascination with the deeper mysteries of tradition, especially towards the mystic side of things, that drew me in. Called me further. Had me diving deeply into not only the faith tradition, but other faiths as well.

As a young person, I couldn’t see the issues.
Or rather, I glossed over them with pre-fabricated answers I heard.

Then came the study of Theology and having everything I know challenged, which also put me in a crisis on many fronts. When your entire world starts falling down, you need guidance on how to rebuild it properly or it can leave you wandering in the dark. Thankfully, I met some incredibly good people to help me through it.

I realized the goal of any good school of Theology, or deep study of faith tradition, is to tear down your worldview so you can build it on a much stronger foundation. It’s never going to be perfect, but it’s going to be your own—and people will know your beliefs because you live them, not preach them.

However, the most important part of that journey, is infusing your heart into it.

I was always incredibly guilty of being all mind and no heart. In fact, I didn’t even know what that meant until my late twenties, but it changed everything. Unfortunately, it opened my eyes to a Church that I loved, plagued with issues that it may never get over.

For me, this was originally a challenge. How can we work within this broken system to repair the issues at hand?
But as time went on, my hope turned to skepticism.

Over the past several years, I’m more skeptical than ever.

Instead of conversation, there’s division.
Instead of on-going revelation, there’s pre-fabricated responses.
Instead of openness and heart, there’s closed off intellectual stupor.

I’m watching as people who are dissatisifed with the political situation entrench themselves into particular Church communities who support their politics under the mask of spirituality. What they’re participating in is not Catholicism, but the use of Catholicism as an excuse.

I grew up in this Church.
I loved it.
Loved its traditions, rituals and Theology.
Loved its community, broken and all.

And now I can’t help but step away. The last time I took my family to Church, the Priest preached politics while one of the parishioners (tried) admonishing me because my young daughter was walking around in the back. I didn’t treat that kindly. At all.

Where have their hearts gone?

It’s a clear entrenchment of a power structure that demands submissiveness and unquestioning loyalty.

Shut up.
Pray your rosary.
The answer is in the Cathecism.

Is it any wonder there’s been a mass exodus of believers?

Yet, I still teach Religion in a Catholic education system and my experiences have shaped my approach. I find Religion to be a valuable class because it gets students to open their minds and hearts. I think about the student who left me this comment:

As someone who isn’t religious and doesn’t believe in God, I thought that there wouldn’t be much I can take from religion class. However the class I was least interested in, turned out to be the class I took the most out of. Mr. Michienzi was able to change my outlook on religion, faith and God.

A good teacher gets their class involved and interested in the lessons. Which is what Mr. Michienzi did throughout the semester. Throughout the course I didn’t find the course to be specifically about Christianity, but rather what we can take out of it. He presented the concept of religion as something we can use to improve and grow as humans. That you don’t have to be religious to be able to take something out of it, and use for personal growth. 

Mr. Michienzi is a great example of a religious person because he brings people closer to God rather than pushing them away. That’s the impact he had on me. Throughout my life I consistently have been pushed away from christianity as I saw it being preached in hate. Mr.Michienzis class is the first time I saw it being presented positively and despite not being religious, I have developed a great interest in religion. How it affected history, what it means to each person and how it brings people together. Mr. Michienzi is a great example of faith because if one person can convert me to christianity it would be him.

or this one:

This is the way courses should be. It was set up in such a way that while I was getting set lessons and lectures, every conclusion I drew was my own. In all of my projects, it felt as though I was actually sharing something instead of being asked for something specific. You never gave us a list and said, “How do these make us human?”, but instead you gave us a lesson and some material to use, and then asked, “What makes us human?”. I feel so lucky to have taken this course because I feel that I have learned things that will stick with me and that I’ll use in my life. By far the best course I’ve taken, even with the quarantine alterations. This is the first time since elementary school where I felt I was able to write something true to myself and my beliefs, and have my teacher actually read through it and actually comment on and think about the ideas rather than just the writing. It felt less like I was just filling a quota on the rubric and more like the ideas I was writing about actually mattered. Thank you so much for this experience, it was fantastic and it’s something I’ll carry with me throughout.

While I’m truly touched and humbled by those remarks, I still have a long way to go. My goal is not to convert, but to get people thinking deeply while opening their hearts. It’s not going to save Catholicism, but it may get others to live what Catholicism was meant to be about.

Because, right now, it’s not happening inside its walls.

You rest most of the day.
Hunt food as needed.
No bills to pay.
You have little care for anything or anybody else.

No wonder why we worshipped them.

They represent our nomadic lifestyle that we traded for agriculture, cities and taxes. Unfortunately, we can’t turn back.

But maybe, just maybe, we can trade this lifestyle for something better.