Fresh starts
Some people say that moving around from one place to another is not a very good thing to do. Since entering religious life, I have lived in nine different communities all over the eastern part of the United States, in the south and now in Hawaii. Each time I embark on a journey I am given a fresh outlook on life. There is a new beginning, a fresh start.
Every person I have met along the path has influenced me in some way. What keeps me going here are the young people at Damien Memorial. These kids are just terrific. They have a wonderful spirit and every day is a new adventure. We also have an amazing energizing faculty.
If anyone were to ask me about my experience of being a religious brother, I would tell them that I would do it all over again. Here, I live with three other terrific Christian brothers in community. They are my friends as well as my co-workers. I wish more young people would at least start to investigate the religious life. I think a lot of them think that if they come to the door, they will automatically be made into a brother, sister or priest. What they don’t realize is that part of the discernment process consists of taking that first step to experience it. It is a fulfilling path.
Regarding prayer, you have to make time. There is a little vacation house in the country where I am in charge of cutting the grass. Thus, there is the reason for me to take time and go out there. I find manual labor refreshing to do as there is a beginning and an end, unlike being in administration where there is a lot of beginnings and continuings. After an hour or so of mowing, I simply sit on the porch and enjoy a cup of coffee. Taking time to gaze at the beautiful mountains and the spectacular sea, the beauty of Hawaii, just jolts in me God’s presence and power.
We have community prayer in the evenings. In the mornings when I get up and before I go down for breakfast, I take some personal time to sit in my chair and be quiet. I read some psalms, Scripture and other reflections, and it makes a difference in the day.
I will miss Hawaii very much. I have mixed feelings about entering into another phase of leadership. There is the challenge that intrigues, excites and mesmerizes, as well as that which I know will stretch me. Nonetheless, I have found a home here in four short years. The island concept of ohana and the welcome has been very real to me, and I feel badly about leaving. But, it’s another adventure, another fresh start, and I hope to be back some day.
Christian Brother Peter Zawot has been professed 38 years. He is the principal at Damien Memorial School. He moves to the Mainland at the end of the school year to assume responsibilities on the provincial leadership team of the Christian Brothers.
