outWORD by Matte Downey

The bookstore at Concordia University There is a question I get asked quite often that I don't really like answering.  The question is:  What will you do after you graduate?  I usually smile, say that I'll find out when the time comes, remind the person (and myself) that a lot of things can change between now and then, and mention that doors tend to open up as one goes along.  All of that is true, of course, but it is only the partial truth.  I don't usually mention that getting an academic job is quite difficult, especially in a field like theology which is being relegated more and more to seminaries and bible colleges.  The other thing I don't usually talk about is the rather arcane, laborious, and lengthy process required to get a tenured (stable) job as a professor in a university.  There is a continuous pressure for graduate students like me to be involved in cutting edge research, to be publishing in renow...

It's a new year.  It's a new day.  It's a new life.  It's a Michael Bublé song.   The dawn of a new year is often a time when people attempt a fresh start.  I don't like to save up my fresh starts for January; I like to sprinkle them liberally throughout the year.  In fact, each new day when I wake up is a fresh start.  Though some of the tasks ahead of me may be similar to those I did the day before, and my location or situation in life may not have changed much, each never-lived-before moment is rife with possibilities for creativity, insight, kindness, learning, joy, and embracing new disciplines.  In fact, most days it seems to be a choice:  do I surrender to sameness or revel in the birth of each moment with its accompanying challenges?  I hope I chose birth. In doing some research for a course, I came across two videos that have got me thinking.  In fact, I believe they have done more than...