Richard Rohr’s book, Falling Upward, is part of my core list of influential books at this time in my life and certainly my top three as I consider what I’ve called “last third living.”

His terms are “first half” and “second half” living (and it’s not necessarily marked by specific chronological age). When it comes to a life of maturity, there is a marked difference between what we needed in the first part of our lives and what is needed in the more mature stages of living.

“The Eight Beatitudes speak to you much more than the Ten Commandments now. I have always wondered why people never want to put a stone monument of the Eight Beatitudes on the courthouse lawn. Then I realized that the Eight Beatitudes of Jesus would probably not be very good for any war, any macho worldview, the wealthy, or our consumer economy. Courthouses are good and necessary for first-half-of-life institutions. In the second half, you try instead to influence events, work for change, quietly persuade, change your own attitude, pray, or forgive instead of taking things to court.”

To live in second half living (Rohr) or “last third living” (me), it is about presence. It is to BE with people. It is hear. It is most definitely to speak when necessary, but a word spoken in season rather than in simple opposition.

May my presence be more helpful, my words more sparing, and my love more apparent.