“Talking lessened my anxiety and I felt peaceful again. No one can ever heal this wound, but when I can talk about it with a good friend I feel better.

“What to do with this inner wound that is so easily touched and starts bleeding again? It is such a familiar wound. It has been with me for many years. I don’t think this wound – – this immense need for affection, and this immense fear of rejection – – will ever go away. It is there to stay, but maybe for a good reason.”

These were private words written in his journal by Henri Nouwen on Wednesday September 27, 1995 in Watertown, Massachusetts. They were recently published in Sabbatical Journey, subtitled The Diary of His Final Year.

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This past fall I reviewed The Best Spiritual Writing 1998, a book that provided me with inspiration as well as pleasure. Notable among the contributions from various writers, one entitled “Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy” struck me as particularly insightful.

In only one page and a half author Cynthia Ozick reveals the meaning of the Jewish Sabbath with deep appreciation. Her brief chapter both reinforces my understanding of that special day and carries it much further.

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This past fall I reviewed The Best Spiritual Writing 1998, a book that provided me with inspiration as well as pleasure. Notable among the contributions from various writers, one entitled “Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy” struck me as particularly insightful.

In only one page and a half author Cynthia Ozick reveals the meaning of the Jewish Sabbath with deep appreciation. Her brief chapter both reinforces my understanding of that special day and carries it much further.

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When I served as director of the Cambridge Council on Aging, I dealt often, sometimes daily, with an elderly woman who was famous for complaining about other people. She would telephone city hall with a long list of grievances and, no matter how officials would respond, she was never satisfied.

Colleagues in the City Manager’s office, feeling frustrated, would commonly pass her telephone calls on to me. Like every other public official who ever had to deal with her, I regarded her as impossible to please.

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