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Well it is July and it is a fairly cool July for the Dallas area.  It is a good time to have a vacation and let the world slow down.  Suzanne and I took a week to get away for a while and went to South Padre Island.  Each morning we would drive onto the beach and set up our chairs and sit and watch the waves roll in, take a little stroll and cool off in the water.  And each morning I would hear the words from the old Simon and Garfunkle song "slow down you're moving to fast."

Yes, I am and yes things are moving too fast.  We have moved into an age of information and technology where things just move too quickly.  I have an Iphone and so I am never away from instant communication.  I can receive calls, texts, emails and current stock reports (not that I need them), weather and the latest and most up-to-date new flashes.

There are some days when I just long for the time when we survived without answering machines, caller ID or call waiting.  I think of hand writing a letter to my parents and waiting with anticipation for their reply.  The closest thing to texting was writing a note to someone in class and trying to sneak it past the teacher.  And of course, the weather was what you got when you walked outside unless you had a trusted weatherman like Harold Taft to turn to.

In the past month both through personal experience and the experience of watching what is happening in the news I have come to believe even stronger the wisdom of my mentor, Fr. Rohr, that "opinions are under-developed thinking"; everyone has one and many, many believe they have the right to share theirs whether it is the truth or not.

All of that leads me to another reflection from my mentor, "Information is not Knowledge and Knowledge is not Wisdom."  Recently I have added to that saying because not everything that passes for information is even the truth.  And because of our current technological ability it is possible to distribute erroneous information or misinformed opinions very quickly and very broadly to the detriment of others.

What moral responsibility do we have to think before we speak, write or act?  What moral responsibility do we have to share truth in word and deed?  And is it even my place to share my thoughts or opinions?  Good questions whether we are communicating or receiving communication from others.  If we would know the answers to these questions we will first have to "slow down we're moving too fast."

The last morning of our time away as Suzanne and I sat on the balcony of our Condo overlooking the Bay a beautiful rainbow appeared in the sky; a rainbow, from Genesis a sign of God's presence and promise.  I think I got the lesson there!