January 10, 2012       Computer cud

People chew gum.
Cows chew cud.
Computers chew .....?

For people who have access to the internet during the day
there's a type of cud that is available for chewing

I can leave one window of my internet
open for this cud-chewing

As I do my work,
as I travel around,
I can have a quick look at this window
every now and then

If I'm upset
or facing a problem
or needing a quick mental rest,
a quick look at this window
is like taking a peace tablet for my heart/brain

As I keep chewing on this cud during the day
my brain has all sorts of new insights about the cud

Here's the cud I chewed over yesterday

It entered my mind and heart
as spiritual breakfast.
A four-course breakfast

As I thought about it from time to time during the day
it had quite a peaceful effect on my mental blood pressure

And new insights kept coming:
e.g. God said to Abraham:
"Leave your own country and go to a new land I will give you.
I will make you into a great nation."

God the Son left Heaven and went to a new land, earth....
and began a great nation (of believers)

St Paul had a dream/vision in which someone said
"come across and help us"
so he left the place where he was
and went to another place

Sometimes there can be a "call within a call"
- as was the case for Mother Teresa of Calcutta,
called to leave the land of a wealthy school
and go to a new land among the poor

- as was the case for Archbishop Oscar Romero,
called to leave the land of don't-rock-the-boat bureaucracy
and go to join the poor in a new land where injustice had to be faced

We are continually called to leave our own little world
our side of the street,
to help someone who's in need
on the other side of the road

etc

and that was just for the first course
of the four course breakfast

Cud chewing.
Computer cud chewing.
A beautiful way
to let the Bible Message percolate
into our hearts and minds during the day

p.s. A further thought: the main place to "leave a window open" is in my heart

pp.s. Have you seen this cow?!

Cud is produced during the physical digestive process of rumination. The idiomatic expression chewing one's cud means meditating or pondering; similar expressions such as "he chewed that over for a bit", or "chew on that!" likely have the same derivation.  (Wikipedia)

John W