Everyman wonders what life is all about. Anyman, in this look, logically prepares his son for the answer which is revealed! But, is it the answer you would give?

WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT?

AuthorHouse

Contents

The Alpha, Alfie............................................3What Time Is It, Alfie?.....................................5Loving People, Alfie........................................8You Win Again, Alfie........................................9Why Not Marriage, Alfie?....................................11I Wonder Where Ray Is, Alfie?...............................13Thinking....................................................15Speaks For Itself, Alfie....................................16And You Too, Alfie..........................................19Not Anymore Today...........................................22Why Do Good People Suffer, Alfie?...........................24Why Be Sad, Alfie?..........................................26Just Thinking...............................................28The Winner Is Mommie, Michael...............................32It's Aunt Rodie, Alfie......................................35Peace Of Mind, Alfie........................................37You Will Be Heard, Alfie....................................42What's It All About?........................................44Music!......................................................49Author's Note — 12/12/89..............................50That's My Son...............................................51Her Way.....................................................52Raising A Family............................................55No Problem..................................................57"Shoes".....................................................58Denise......................................................59Until It's Time For You To Go...............................61A Ring Of Truth.............................................63Once, In Time, Alfie........................................65We Are All One..............................................67Divine Rock, Alfie..........................................69What Changes, Alfie?........................................71Receiving The Host, Alfie...................................72Back To The Rectory, Alfie..................................74Brand M, Alfie?.............................................77The Perfect Time To Begin, Alfie............................78Why Not Try, Alfie?.........................................81Hodge Podge, Alfie..........................................82The Day Off, Alfie..........................................85Casey Ann, 12/6/89..........................................87Change The Subject Or The Object, Alfie.....................88Thinking And Choosing, Alfie................................91The Best Plan Is In Effect, Alfie...........................93This Time, This Hour, Alfie.................................96Sumday Is Now, Alfie!.......................................98One Liner Away, Alfie.......................................99The Omega, Alfie............................................101Our Father, Alfie...........................................102Me Cry, Alfie?..............................................104

Chapter One

One early Sunday morning while sitting at Mass, with the wind whistling outside and a baby beginning to cry, the priest posed a question to think about during the week—WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? He gave us the answer—happiness. Then why should we have to think all week? But in the dull days of winter, after football and before baseball, it couldn't hurt—could it? But how do you think? To give us such a chore could ruin our stream of consciousness or our stream of actions which are giving us happiness anyway, aren't they? But why not try, Alfie.

Father is right, we are looking for happiness, but why can't we find it with our own intellect and will? Could it be because of what we choose? Maybe we need to ask the Supreme Intellect and Will, the person we call God, how to find happiness. What does He say? Of course, keep My Commandments, love one another! Maybe we have been looking for `instant happiness' and happiness really begins with peace of mind from keeping the Commandments and then loving others and even loving God instead of fear! If we look about us, we see people who are happy and have been happy for years. WHY ARE THEY HAPPY? Because they do the above and have a different attitude toward God, namely, complete Trust in Him! Let His Intellect and Will control things. Let prayer control my thinking and will—(is what they do).

But how do we change our attitude toward God, Alfie? Maybe if we recognize that He is a person who loves us, we can recognize His attitude toward us. Could it be that:

1. He is not waiting to point out our past mistakes?

2. He is not out to get us?

3. He wants us to smile?

4. He is pleased when we laugh? Does this mean he actually wants us to enjoy life? Didn't He create us to be sad? Well, Alfie, maybe it is time to look at things differently. THE ONLY THING THAT BECOMES REALLY IMPORTANT IS THE IMMEDIATE EVENT BEFORE US. As long as the next thing we do is not a choice of wrong or a thought of anxiety or some other useless pondering, we might really begin to enjoy things—the pool game, the Mass, the song, the laughter, the prayer (even the Rosary), the Bingo game, changing the diaper, the sunset, the Broadway show, the homerun, the conversation and even accepting the pain! And if we persist in meeting only the event before us, till death, we need not fear that moment, we need not panic, lest we miss finishing the pool game. And finally, (WAKE UP, ALFIE)—

We must realize that we are not competing with anybody, we must do the best we can and be content if others appear to be doing better. When we arrive at the correct `State of Mind', we can even use the word happy rather than content with what others are accomplishing. We are all on the same team.

We must proceed with confidence and as it takes years to be come a mature adult, maybe, someday, if we persist, we will be come a child! So Alfie, if we are looking for happiness, we look to the person who wants us to have it more than we do! And how do we begin—Alpha?

We begin by—OUR FATHER..........THY WILL BE DONE..........

WHAT TIME IS IT, ALFIE?

We forgot to change the clock. Do we set it an hour ahead or an hour behind? Alfie and I were both thinking, looking at the clock. The ticking seemed to cut the silence and the second hand kept moving, counting the minutes as it had done for so many years.

I wonder whatever happened to Brother Paulus, I thought? I'll never forget what he told us about the clock.

Imagine an empty room. An experiment. The clock is taken apart, piece by piece and scattered in every corner. The room is sealed. Several months go by and we return. The clock is sitting in the middle of the room ticking the correct time! How could this be? Let's consider all the possibilities we can think of. Chance, some kind of luck or unknown cause of this event. How about mice, or even ants who gathered all the pieces together and presto—or how about that storm we had—the pieces were blown together and combined with the heat in the room and the position of the moon—presto. We may never know the answer, because everybody has an idea. I got it, I think I heard somebody say, spontaneous combustion—that sounds good—make up anything and give it the old scientific jazz—any intellectual scientist can come up with...