'Time Does Not Flow'

A diocesan priest writing the lead article in the Kyeongyang Magazine reflects on a book, read many years ago, "Time Does Not Flow,"that argues that the problems we face today have the same origin as the problems faced in the past. Do we spend enough time, he asks, reflecting on the conditions of our society and on the values we treasure most?

He cites a number of issues our society is currently facing: the Four River Project, the North-South standoff, military deployment overseas,  disagreements on welfare, judicial independence and political pressures, balancing environmental concerns with economic development, inequality of educational opportunities, among many other controversial issues. Each segment of society has a different understanding of how these issues should be resolved, each segment, having its own value judgments, often find themselves  in conflict with other groups in society.

Many have heard about "Don't Cry, Tonj," a documentary film honoring one who sacrificed himself for others; this is a value that transcends time and does not change. The film presents the life that Fr. Lee Tae-seok lived fully right to the end; our hearts go out to him, and with tears, says the priest, we agree with the choices he made and the life he lived.  

When we see what is happening in society among some of the privileged we have doubts, whether the leaders have a consistent moral value system. We routinely see the evasion of the law and breeches of ethics that the ordinary citizen has difficulty imagining. Our congressional public hearings evoke anger   rather than pride and trust in our representatives, our children give up their citizenship, rampant investment in real estate by politicians, widespread tax evasion, false resident registration, and falsifying educational records ,testifies to how pragmatic our values have become. And for each infraction there is some excuse.
 
This year we remembered the second year anniversary of the death of Cardinal Kim. A writer in the daily press said of him, "With the passage of time we cherish his memory all the more."  We respect his values and what he stood for.

The writer urges us to  bring to life the kind of society most of us want to see. It will require, he says, a firm commitment on our part, starting with some basic values and courageously working to see them implemented.
                                                                                                                                                                  

Ranking Teachers In Ability to Teach Creativity

Over the years, many educators have talked about including in the Korean school system more educational programs that stress the importance of creativity.  The guest columnist in the Catholic Times, a college professor, thinks the reason for the talk reflects the desire of many to enhance the capabilities of our society to compete on the world stage. The old system, stressing memorization and the ability to express oneself, will become less important as more effort is placed on providing a nurturing atmosphere for creative expression.

He feels that the decision to judge all teachers--in grammar, middle, and high school--on their aptitude to teach creativity will be no easy task. Society is not prepared for this change, and time will be necessary.

All know that the Korean educational system, with its primary focus on memorization and personal expression, has not valued critical thinking or cultivated creativity but aimed at getting students into first-class colleges. And teachers were praised for how well they presented textbook learning to students, knowing the text,and get good grades. The present teachers have  gone through the same system; it's the only one they know. To judge them now on their ability to foster creativity, having been trained for instilling practical and technical knowledge rather than creativity, may be an unreasonable expectation.

When we selected teachers in the past, we were looking for those who had a reservoir of special knowledge and not those who had creative ability. If we are going to switch to this new approach, the professor feels that planning for the change is necessary, allowing for a great deal of time to make the transition. With the time that is required from an overworked staff to implement the changes, no less than a superhuman effort will be necessary

And judging what is required can be done only after a careful study of what creativity training means in a classroom setting. We also need to know what society thinks of this new teaching approach and how teachers can be sure they are following rigorous and practical guidelines for creative treaching.  Otherwise this talk will consist only of empty words.

Speaking plainly, the professor said that there is not a lot of material that even the scholars in the field agree on.Since we don't know much about what is required in this new way of teaching, it's going to be difficult to judge fairly who is doing a good job.There is always the danger of killing the very creativity we are trying to foster when we start ranking teachers, schools, and districts. Judging them on their creativity training is going to be difficult.

Four great teachers: Jesus, Confucius, Socrates and Siddhartha have been mentioned as examplars of creative teaching. How would we go about grading them for their teaching ability? the professor asks. He thinks it may be arrogant on his part to ask, but believes the question is no less difficult to answer when applied to our teachers, our schools and our district. 

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Dialogue And Happiness in Marriage

A priest who develops programs for pastoral work in the diocese of Seoul begins his article in the Kyeongyang Magazine with the well-known story from the Talmud. A king sends two of his servants on a mission, one to find the most beautiful and good thing in the world, the other to find the most evil and deceitful thing in the world. Both returned having found the same thing--the human tongue.

The mind, says the priest, when not questioning the value of words has a tendency to trust in their genuineness. When one says "thank you" or "you damn fool" to a spouse, the unquestioning mind does not judge whether it was a situation that merited the word but accepts it as true  and stores it in memory. A good reason, he believes, why words should not be spoken lightly. A word spoken thoughtlessly in less than 30 seconds can last in mind hurtfully for 30 years.

If one wants to know how much love there is in a marriage find  out how much dialogue. All  unhappy couples know what is necessary for happiness but to do it  is not always easy.

 The dialogue between a couple can be divided into three types: quarreling (using words to turn against the spouse); irrelevant remarks that stray  from the topic (using words to turn away from the spouse); and being in sympathy with feelings and sentiments (using words to turn toward the spouse). The turning against and turning away kind of talk builds up stress and leaves scars. Turning toward dialogue helps to heal the scares and overcomes the stress, and leads to the happiness of the couple.

But the spoken word is incomplete unless heard. Listening is just as important, if not more so, than speaking. Whether what is said is accepted is not as important as the intent to listen to the partner.

The priest mentions that Genghis Khan wasn't able to read, but he listened to others, and  said, " My ears have made me wise."

He gives us the 1:2:3 rule.  Speak for one minute, listen for two minutes, and assent to what is said at least three times.

He ends the article by telling us that within a couple of years we can learn to speak on pretty much any subject, but to listen well, with an open and accepting heart, can take a  life-time of learning.  Listening is the basic requisite for dialogue and not only necessary for dialogue but for a life well-lived; it is an art. Dialogue that is right speech and right listening is the short cut to happiness in marriage. Unfortunately, many are taking  another path  without the same results.

Breaking the Addiction to Mediocrity

Wedesday began the season of  Lent; a  good time for  resolutions that will bring meaningful change into our lives. It's easy to go along with the old ways of doing things, forgetting that a strong  desire can change a life of mediocrity into one of fulfillment. A priest-psychologist, writing for the "Bible & Life" magazine, ponders the difficulty faced by those with an alcoholic problem in bringing change into their lives.

He recalls the muted scream from someone who heard his talk on alcohol addiction: "I read that those who try to overcome their addiction have a success rate of only 3 percent. Do you think," he asked, "that I can beat those odds?"
                                                                                                                      
The question was not serious, but a heartfelt cry from a person who had tried and failed.  Alcoholics have a desire to change, and what is not well understood is the need not to search for a cure for the problem, as is commonly done, but to manage the problem  by providing the care that is necessary. The writer has seen many programs on the problem of alcoholism but rarely on the recovery period, probably because of the  difficulty involved.

We must never forget. he says, that the primary reason we are interested in the problem of addiction is to have the person shed the addiction and lead a better life. Telling them that only a few succeed in doing this is not helping them but taking away what hope they may still have. 

Recovery from alcohol addiction is never easy. One has to have a firm resolve and realize they are fighting a difficult enemy. It will be a long journey and persons who are on that journey will find it scary. But there are  helpful oases and safe havens along the way, if they persevere.

Returning to the person who heard his talk on alcohol addiction, he advises him to tear that page out of the book that says only about 3 percent succeed. Statistics from outside the country have the recovery rate from 50 percent to 60 percent.

Lent is a time to begin a new way of living. To do everything as if it was going to be our last Lent. While the alcoholic is addicted to alcohol, many of us are addicted to a life half-lived. Living in the past made present only by our calendars and watches will not bring change into our lives. To see a change we have to have a strong desire for change. It is a dying to the life of mediocrity, being born again to a fuller life, and living the paschal mystery.  We also will have the help of our community and the graces that will come if we open our hearts and  have a strong desire to see change. Catholics who make  Lent truly a time for meaningful change are no less deserving of praise than those who work to overcome their addictions to alcohol.

'I am Sorry, Thank You, I Love You'

Many years ago a classmate from seminary days and a fellow missioner here in Korea gave jackets to his altar boys for Christmas, and not one of them said thank you. He was surprised and mentioned it to the sister in the parish. He was told the boys were extremely thankful, but  expressed their gratitude in their eyes and  by wearing the jackets daily.Their gratitude was not with words, but with body language, a language not easily perceived by a foreigner. 

This 'silent language' has mostly disappeared and we hear the words 'thank you' often. A columnist in the Catholic Times reflects on the personal impact of three common expressions: I am sorry, thank you, I love you. "When we have been favored and treated kindly by another," he says, "we often do not say thank you. When we make another person uncomfortable and cause pain, we often forget to say sorry. A basic truth of daily life is to be concerned for the other. It is to give the other person what we would like to receive in return. If we live in this way, there is no anger, our feelings are not hurt, and our lives will glow."

He tells us that in the West, 'I am sorry, thank you, and I love you' are the words of the magician. Like a magician, saying  these words something good happens. "All know this," he says, " but we find those words difficult to express. When we feel gratitude let us express it with words, when we feel sorry let us say it. It often feels awkward to say thank you so it is not said, and we make another sad.  We find it difficult to say I am sorry, so we don't apologize and distrust arises."

In the family and in our daily life, if we used these words more often we would have more harmony and peace.  The columnist tells us about a research institute's report that found that the use of these three expressions, by their energizing effects, could prevent cancer and the effects of aging. But if we are not careful our words can be like daggers. The Korea proverb reminds us that we can pay back a debt of money with words.

When we use the right words, we leave another person with a good impression of us. An actor who says his words with his whole body is considered a good actor. We also should speak with our whole body. This is especially true of us who are people of faith, people who should have thanks, forgiveness and love in our hearts.

Abuse and Use of Internet

We often hear stories of crimes committed by those who have become addicted to internet games, stories that are even difficult to put into words.  A priest writing as a guest columnist  in the Catholic Times expresses his opinion concerning the movement to shut down the games in order to deal with the addiction.

He believes the problem is not primarily with the addiction but rather with family circumstances that do not allow for proper care of the children. He mentions a case in which a middle school child killed his mother and then, regretting his action, killed himself. Here was a widowed mother who had to work to maintain the family and wasn't able to look after the child. Effort should be directed, he feels, toward finding ways to support these families and to fund studies to determine the causes of internet  addiction.

Different groups in society are pushing for implementing the goals of 'Game Shut Down',  the words used for the movement. The intention is to block the reception of the games from midnight to 6:00 am for all under 16 years old, a goal many have wanted for some time. It would extend the time children have to sleep and  protect their health. However, the priest says this goal is complicated by families that urge their children to stay up late to study. Students who study at the academies to better their chances of getting into college are looked upon with pride. He sees no movement to 'Shut Down Study' to protect the health of these children and give them a good night's sleep. The 'Shut Down,' he says, is an effort to prevent the children from taking time from  studies and spending the time in playing games, but the projected plan is not in keeping with the times. He feels it is not equitable and will actually have little practical value.

If the addiction, and not the many hours of study and occasional gaming on the internet, is the problem, efforts should be made, the priest says, to zero in on the reason for the addiction. The result of all addictions is  the same-- alcohol, gambling, drugs. As they do in other countries, efforts should be made to have those addicted acknowledge the problem and to set up rehabilitation programs to help them return to a normal life.

For children who are addicted  to the online games, he feels that rather than forcibly blocking  them from going online, it would be more productive to find out why they have this non-healthy  approach, and then to help them recover so they can use the games in the way they are meant to be used. The misuse of something should not automatically take away its use; instead it should provide us with an incentive to study the root causes of the problem, and to set up guidelines so that children most at risk can make better use of the internet.  That the abuses are many is no longer open to debate. What should be done continues to be a persistent question. A question that deserves to be taken seriously by society.

Call to Action

The following  e-mail came from a Maryknoller who thought it would be of interest. Call to action from SPARK, PCI Member Organization  Solidarity with people of Jeju Island, South Korea  A call from SPARK Pax Christi International's member organization in South Korea Seoul moves to destroy JejuIsland - coral habitat to make way for an Aegis destroyer base aimed at China!    JejuIsland, a World Heritage Site, is a jewel of biodiversity whose southern coast  is home to a soft coral habitat. In 2001, the Korean Cultural Heritage Administration  designated it a national monument protection area. Its Gangjeong coast is also a  seasonal habitat for hundreds of dolphins that live there from June until September. They migrate from Alaska through the North Pacific Ocean to JejuIsland, the only  dolphin habitat in South Korea. And now the Seoul Government is about to destroy the dolphin habitat and  the traditional farming and fishing village of Gangjeong to transform an island known for biodiversity, international peace, honeymoons, and school trips into  a focal point of rising militarism and an arms race in East Asia. Seoul's target: China,  ironically the home of many of the tourists who visit Jeju. On Christmas Day, there was a peace mass, called, 'the Christmas mass to save life  and peace of the JejuIsland.' It was led by Bishop Kang Woo-Il, Chairman of the  Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea and the Bishop of the Catholic Jeju diocese,  along with many priests and women religious on JejuIsland. The event was hosted by the Special Committee for the Island of Peace, Catholic Jeju Diocese. About  400~500 followers and Gangjeong villagers gathered and declared their commitment to save Jeju, Island of Peace, from the naval base construction. Bishop Kang Woo-Il,  who led the mass, said,  "Military bases cannot save peace and life" and that he  "would be together with the lonely and oppressed Gangjeong villagers." The latest report says that the navy is making moves against the people who have  been trying to block the construction machinery from beginning work.