After hearing another neighbor’s confession of lifelong loneliness and depression, I finally decided to step forward with something that has been suggested to me for years (even by some of you). Those of you in Denver are welcome to contact me about these opportunities too. After all, we are all neighbors–some just live further away than others.
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Merry Christmas, happy Hanukah, and happy holidays to all.
Several neighbors have told me they feel lonely, depressed, isolated, and fearful.
More than ever, they find themselves without close family or close friends They feel betrayed by organizations–government, churches, and schools.
The American economic, political, and world situation have made everything worse.
One of our neighbors, in fact, died alone
in her room.
My friend Nancy and I had to go in and find her sitting in her chair, room dark, with her oxygen tank attached to her breathing tubes. She could never admit to herself, or to those of us who tried to befriend and support her, that she had terminal cancer. We only guessed, but never knew for sure.
In fact, she never admitted to herself that she was dying.
As some of you know, I was the Episcopal chaplain for the Auraria campus in the 1980s. What I loved about it was that I was not required to be dogmatic in any way, perhaps because the denomination could never come up with college chaplain funding, so I basically remained an unpaid volunteer. I also taught English at CU-Denver.
I now write, counsel/coach, and do some teaching (which I would like to do a lot more of).
It keeps coming to me that a number of people here might like to join some sort of spiritual group where we would meet in various homes, or mine alone. I am putting this out to see how many would be interested. I do not envision the group as dogmatic or doctrinaire in any way, but a group of supportive people who practice our own faith in our own way. Most of all, I see people united by a search for something more–something greater and deeper than ourselves.
We could provide real support for each other, whether by prayer, listening to others, various kinds of good works for the many who are suffering, lonely, and with various needs. I believe we must
welcome anyone who is seeking. You don’t have to be Christian, or of any religion, just seeking. Like the Quakers, I like
the notion of seeking the inner light.
My family and I typically get together near the holidays but, for various reasons, rarely on the actual day. How many of you would like to have some sort of potluck on Christmas or New Years? I am not terribly domestic, otherwise I’d say I’ll cook, clean and host. You’re welcome to come to my home if you don’t mind a place that is not overly neat, or overly clean.
It’s usually not a pit, though sometimes it seems to come close.
I have three friendly animals, all rescues (one is a cat who sees himself as part of the pack; the two dogs and I see him that way too).
Feel free to email , or call, if these any of these ideas appeal to you. Instead of being crippled by our life situations we need all the more to reach out to others. That’s how we can be part of the solution.
Tom
303-650-0610
Thomas Ramey Watson, Ph.D.
Without justice, not just for one but for all–not only the powerful, but the disenfranchised, those without voices, the poor in spirit and material goods–there can be no real or lasting peace.