Title: Simplemonk

Gender: Male

Age: 43

Sun Sign: Taurus

Chinese Sign: Fire Horse

Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Born the elder of two children to parents from third generation immigrant families, of working class and religious people in the American Mid-West outside of Chicago, on Lake Michigan, set the stage for the environment that heavily influenced my personal style and life choices.  The person I am today is deeply indebted to early childhood experiences of a positive nature from multiple caregivers that instilled within me values of religious devotion and compassionate service to the community. 

My mother and my great aunt were both nurses and many of my teachers were nuns.  Two former Sisters of the Holy Cross are my dearest friends and greatest teachers.  The local Catholic parishes of Northwestern Indiana and the University of Notre Dame and Saint Mary's University overshadowed many of our social and family activities.  From my earliest memories the importance of work and education were discussed and held the promise for a fulfilled and productive life.

           
From the above, it likely would not surprise anyone that the monastery and later the seminary held a strong appeal to the idealism of my youth.  I went to the monastery at sixteen and spent the next twenty-three years in academic and religious communal living situations.  During the course of my personal development, many of my idealized values began to seem parochial and less suited to the changing climate of the larger culture and the deepening consciousness that at times overwhelmed me. 

This process of value clarification helped in shifting my focus from ordained ministry and seminary education to public service and social work education.  With my education level at that time and my temperament, social work seemed the most rewarding choice open to me.  As a result, I spent eleven years working with impoverished children and their families in some of the most desperate circumstances in the New York metropolitan area.

           
My career high occurred during this time, while employed at the New York Foundling Hospital operated by the Sisters of Charity.  I was invited to participate as a stakeholder in a strategic planning initiative entitled Future Search.  It was extremely rewarding to me personally and raised the bar of my personal expectations including the level of personal commitment I had to leaving the world a better place than when I found it.

In my early thirties, changes in my immediate family precipitated a discussion of the possibility of relocating to Florida to assist my sister and mother in raising my nephew.  With minimal reservations, I decided to accept this responsibility which brought about my first real career search as a professional adult.  Interestingly, no opportunities presented themselves within social work and I found employment with a corporation in Human Resources as an Executive Assistant to the Senior Vice President, Director of Human Resources.  It was a challenging experience and a change in worldview and orientation.  I was able to embrace a new culture and align myself with business sentiments, something totally foreign to me until then.  My success in building relationships, however, enabled me to develop a position that is highly rewarding professionally and personally. The culture of the organization and its size have enabled me to contribute based on my strengths.  The organization finds ways for me to contribute through its philanthropic activities and volunteerism.

I once bought an old convent and attempted to start a monastery for folks like me that might not be accepted or feel at home in traditional monasteries.  The convent was in Maine and while I was there I was a manager for a local homeless shelter.  The experiment was brief, the suffering acute and the result a surprise.  After so many years of trying to reconcile myself to a religious vocation, it dawned that all the watching, listening and waiting were themselves the monastic practice and simply let go of all the external forms and the roles that go with religious forms.

Well, that is some of my life story…I'm so glad that the story is not who I really am!

Pax et bonum,

Stephen

Member Since: Wednesday, November 01 2006

Last Visit: 12 days ago.

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