Put the boat to shore, it’s that woman’s time.
Couldn’t be a worse place for this arrival.
The black flies here are the size of dogs
and they show no remorse for their feeding.
Give her a hand and take her to shore.
We don’t need any attention.
These people mean nothing,
nothing at all, nothing but a dollar.
I ferry them across this river at night
where the border’s unprotected.
I don’t know where they come from
don’t care where they go.
I’m paid to deliver, that’s my orders.
I’ll break the law for the right reward
but that’s the end of my interests.
You go to jail for cargo like this,
worse than drugs, worse than weapons.
I’m sure not going there tonight
because that woman decided to labor.
Her name is Maria or something like that,
she’s as big as the moon, maybe bigger.
Shoulda known better than take her aboard.
Shouldn’ta taken her with us at all.
Help her to the short grass and let her alone
before that baby is born we’ll be leaving them.
Feel kinda bad but that’s life I guess
won’t leave a note at the border.

© Patrick O’Neill 2010. All rights reserved

The Catholic Church continues to struggle with it’s sex abuse nightmare, seemingly digging itself deeper into the turmoil with every public statement. In recent days, we have heard musings that link the sexual abuse of children to homosexuality and that the Church is under attack from its critics in the same way that the Jews were from the Nazis.

As far as Organizational Defensive Routines (ODR) go, this is one for the textbooks.

ODR are strategies that organizations adopt for self-preservation. They are designed to shut down inquiry that would lead to embarrassment or the potential loss of reputation. It appears that the Catholic Church has been mastering ODR for years.

Chris Argyris and Donald Schon, pioneers of organizational learning, suggest that ODR is driven by some governing variables, including:

• always maintain unilateral control;

They also state that the implications of these governing variables are:

• the design and management of situations unilaterally to ensure maximum control;

There it is. The Church’s strategy in response to these long-standing charges in a nutshell.

The John Jay Report (2004), commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops found that over 10,000 people had alleged sex abuse by the clergy between 1950 and 2002. A total of 4,392 priests and deacons against whom allegations were made had these claims “substantiated.” This does not include cases in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Poland, Ireland, Norway or the Philipines.

Not only did some Catholic priests rape children but the hierarchy covered it up, moved suspects to other countries to avoid prosecution, and allowed sex offenders to reoffend once moved. They also sought to silence their victims, according to the BBC, through the imposition of oaths of secrecy on child victims, the priest dealing with the allegations and any witnessess, on pain of excommunication.

Pope Benedict claims to be deeply ashamed but sought diplomatic immunity from a law suit where he was accused of conspiring to cover up the molestation of three young boys in Texas. The conspiracy charges may grow as more of the details of his involvement in the global cover-up are revealed.

Benedict’s tears in recent meetings with victims are not enough. Real change must come to the Catholic Church for it to survive the 21st Century. Organizational defensiveness may be a major contributing factor to this long agony, this cancer, within the Catholic Church.

© Patrick O’Neill 2010. All rights reserved

This land has been ours
since anyone can remember.
We are born here
and here we die.
Our families
are joined
by kinship and clan.
We live, work and worship
together.

No one can take
our language away,
our culture, our community
our heart.
The songs that we sing,
our stories, our ways
were given
to us by the
land.

Every word
of our tongue
a bridge;
every word
a sacred trust
we will not break.
Let every generation remember:
this is our
code.

© Patrick O’Neill 2010. All rights reserved

One of the most frequently cited barriers to change is exhaustion. For some of us, it is all we can do to get through the day. The demands of work, the family, and other responsibilities take so much out of us that we feel we are held hostage to our daily lives.

We complain that we can’t get to the things we really love, that the demands placed upon us are so strenuous that we must sacrifice those things that we most enjoy.

I concede that many of us are over-extended. Often, though, we are our own worst enemy and refuse to set limits and boundaries. We fail to say what we need, ask for help or say “No.” We also collude to our exhaustion by choosing to remain stuck in circumstances and relationships that we have outgrown.

Then there are those insidious victim patterns to consider. These are the stories from the past that we uphold through our self-talk that undermine our sense of adequacy, competency and self-esteem. It is as though these old wounds have defined our identity, rather than being incidents that have occurred within a much larger narrative of our lives.

Too much of our energy is wrapped up in these stories of our defeat, betrayal and humiliation. Too much of our energy goes towards upholding our weaknesses. It is little wonder that we don’t have the wherewithal to change. We have made too big an investment in our wounds to give them up or place them in proper perspective.

Instead, we stick a finger in the scab and reopen the wound thinking that the old emotional response is who we are, who we must always be.

As Carlos Castaneda reminds us: “Why would you choose to remain the same at the expense of your own wellbeing?”

Visionmakers seek to recover the energy that they have misplaced in the stories of the past. They recognize that these stories are always the same, and never change because they have been repeated word for word for so long.

Rather than indulge in the past, Visionmakers seek to bring these stories to completion through honorable closure. What must be realized, said, or rectified in order for me to move on with my life? How can I recover my energy and apply it to what is really meaningful in the present and future?

Visionmakers refuse to indulge in the past. They have a rendez-vous with Destiny that they are committed to keep.

© Patrick O’Neill 2010. All rights reserved

Visionmaking is pragmatic and practical. It is a system that demands that we apply spiritual principles to everyday living. That’s tough work given the current state of the world. But Visionmakers love rigor.

Beware of those who ponitificate and theorize but who do not practice what they preach. They have their heads in the clouds but their feet never quite touch the ground. I call these types “Bliss Ninnies.”

Bliss Ninnies are sure that they have achieved pure transcendence when in fact they have accomplished nothing more than a cleverly avoiding real issues and concerns in their own lives. They have theories and concepts that they can expound upon for hours. Often, they are spell-binding orators.

But when you really listen to what a Bliss Ninnie is saying, it often makes no sense or is filled with such sweeping generalizations and examples of magical thinking that you are astonished by the audacity of the claims being made.

Furthermore, you can meditate eighteen hours a day but if it does not result in real change and continuous improvement in the conditions of your life something is wrong!

Let me be clear. There is absolutely nothing wrong with reflection and contemplation. I advocate it. Reflection is the beginning point of Visionmaking. Spending quiet time to turn the eyes toward the heart and examine what is most meaningful for self, relationships and community is fundamental.

What I object to is the failure to take action on the guidance received through meditation. Reflection without action is impotent. It brings nothing new into our world. No dream can manifest without action. When words and actions are in alignment the status quo must give way to a generative force for postive change. And positive change is what our world needs. Urgently.

Of course action without reflection is equally flawed. It gives rise to the old adage “We don’t know where we are going but we’re making great time.”

You will find Bliss Ninnies everywhere but be especially alert when you are in spiritual communities, self-improvement programs, “New Age” events, or in therapy groups. Most Bliss Ninnies are disguised narcissists. They will suck your energy dry.

Remember the Gospel of Thomas:

“If you bring forth what is within you,
What you bring forth will save you.
If you do not bring forth what is within you,
What you do not bring forth will destroy you.”

And on that happy note, rant over. Have a nice day.

© Patrick O’Neill 2010. All rights reserved

What was it I came here
to remember?
I have been standing on this spot
for three days and three nights,
waiting.
The sun pounded me to my knees,
the heat enough to steam me open.
At night the moon shakes me
and my teeth rattle.
I won’t quit though
won’t leave here without
seeing.
What was it that I came here
to remember?
I have seen with my own eyes
visions
I know they are true.
Last night my grandfather came.
He didn’t say anything
just took my measure and was gone.
He never ever quit on anything.
Tough.
Me too.
Maybe you can only see
once everything shimmers and fades?
Maybe that’s when you can see
what hasn’t happened yet?

© Patrick O’Neill 2010. All rights reserved

Last week was a first for me. I sent a letter of appreciation to a conservative.

I never thought I’d see the day…but having said that, I did vote for Conservative Joe Clark once. I thought he was the only honest leadership candidate in the race that year, a bad year for politics at best. Joe didn’t win, though. Jean Chretien was returned with a majority and we all remember what happened after that to the country. Anyway, I digress.

I’ve never been a big fan of David Frum’s ideas. The former Bush speechwriter coined the term “Axis of Evil, ” an alibi for heightened tensions with Iran, Iraq and North Korea after 911.

Grudgingly, I have to admit that Frum is probably one of the saner voices on the right judging by his newspaper columns and television appearances. I hardly ever agree with his perspective but he is not a conservative in the Sarah Palin, Ann Coulter, Glenn Beck mold. He actually thinks about what he thinks!

When he was dismissed from his job at AEI, a conservative think tank, for espousing his views on the right road for a conservative recovery (no pun intended), I felt I had to write to him. I have included my letter to Mr. Frum:

Dear Mr. Frum:

I got a nice, if short, reply thanking me for my “tribute.”

We don’t have to agree with each other, but we would all benefit from meaningful dialogue across the aisle.

Visionmakers come in all shapes, sizes and political stripes. Diversity is good. So is honest debate. Dismissing David Frum because he advocates rational thought from the right and not the shrill, provocative and racist rhetoric that we see growing in leaps and bounds, does everyone a disservice.

Anyway, I thought you should know that I fraternize.

I have been on this river
as long as
I can remember
attending to my business
and following the seasons.
Was it only
yesterday
that I was young?
I barely recognize
the face
looking back at me
from the still pools
where the trout hide.
In the remaining time
I will pass on
what I know
to the younger ones
who want to learn
what it means
to grow old.

© Patrick O’Neill 2010. All rights reserved