Mornings in Boston

I miss the early morning rush of men and women in suits, flooding the red line with their New York Times papers and briefcases. Determined. "And how is this different from the North Shore?" you might ask. Well, there's something cosmopolitan about mornings in Boston--something worldly about it...Like we're part of something larger than ourselves. Mornings in Boston make me a feel like a world citizen. Newspapers make me feel like the entire globe is united for those first couple of hours. I imagine that our thoughts are one at 9:00am as all three hundred and fifty of us on the red line think about our lattes, affairs in Iran, laundry, and then find our thoughts interrupted by the beautiful Boston skyline as the train approaches Charles MGH. Focused eyes all turn to the window and glare: The sun highlighting the river on a backdrop of skyscrapers, brownstones and that Citgo sign that has faithfully provided every Bostonian comfort for the past 22 + years. Familiar. The cityscape is dotted with runners from MIT, college students preoccuppied with jobs and exams in the fall. Movement. Workforce solidarity. Whatever feelings the night before elicited in us, subdued by the Harvard bridge at a distance. You feel purposeful at 9am, causing you to want to read, run and work. Causing you to feel connected to that person trying very hard not to smother your personal bubble before riding past Downtown Crossing. And the solidarity with he who gets off at the same stop as you--every day.

Cathedrals and holy places in Zagreb

I don't know if it's just me, but I see cathedrals, churches and holy places everywhere I go in Zagreb--some have been preserved from the stamps of youth culture and others not so much.... Regardless of whether these holy sites are covered in graffiti or not, they remain beautiful and, at the very least, meaningful.
Below, you will see pictures of Gornji Grad, Zagreb's upper town--the old town. The cobblestone road that leads up to the old town and the baroque structures, juxtaposed with cafe's, graffiti and galleries symbolize a meeting place of the new, the old, and everything in between.
The pictures of the ornate cathedral is the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The twin peaks of the Cathedral hover over Zagreb, and you can see them from miles away, behind the huge bright blue billboard in the middle of Trg Bana Jospia Jelacica--the main square. I hear that this Cathedral has been through hell and back: an earlier version of the Cathedral was destroyed in 1242 by an invasion and an earthquake caused some major damage in 1880. You get the feeling that this place has been carefully preserved...
You will also see pictures of Kamenita Vrata and the Chapel of God's Mother, which is revered as a holy ground for many visitors. Why? Rumor has it that the painting of the Virgin Mary that you'll see in the pictures survived a fire.
Needless to say, being from a protestant/evangelical background and playing with anglicanism and eastern orthodoxy, I had many thoughts and, thankfully, lots of time for reflection today... about history, church bureaucracy, spirituality, encounters with the divine, diversity of perspective and where people find their hope.
You will also see pictures of St. Mark's church here. Enjoy!

Oh, and the first picture is on Franko Panska--funny to find a Mexican restaurant--with the most stereotypical name-- in Zagreb.

Sight Seeing Part III

Sight Seeing Part II

Sight Seeing in Zagreb

Here's to my friend, Job, Part II

Suitcases rush past,
And fingers type quickly
job searches are gifted
with business casual uniforms so swiftly

And your slow walk
interrupts the rushed day
And your tears make everyone uncomfortable today
and the fact that we lay
in ashes that we pray
in the middle of the business day--no production
Interrupts

Your pain
interrupts
their day

Your quivering hands and lips
interrupts their
constructs
of how sane
they think they are
so that you become "other"
and they became scared
by their illusion
and surprised by
crisis,
unaware

And you,
calm
when crisis strikes
because crisis is the norm
and you learn to pace your fears through the ever-present storm
while former experts at life panic
you remain calm in the crisis,
--expert
while everyone is manic

Here's to Job

Your needy.
And have lost all of your friends as a result.
You're shaky and no one wants to be around,
you.
Because it's awkward and it makes them look bad
and they just don't know what to do
with someone so sad
or...
weird.
With words reminiscent of middle school exclusion they describe you
weird.
uncool.
And we're adults now...
Supposedly.

Your face is markedly,
depressed.
But your soul is obviously,
underfed.
Or...not so obviously...
to your "friends"?

So I sit with you,
with ashes on my head
and there we lay
with discipline.
Not because I'm saintly
Not because I'm holy,
but precisely
because I identify with how lonely
one gets
when one's soul is underfed

And we connect
at this one spot,
with all else qualifying as "extra"
our brokenness is where friendship begins
And funny, my brokenness, is where relationship
with Jesus lives