A quote from Mother Teresa, from the book Come Be My Light:
"Now I really rejoice when something does not go as I wish - because I see that He wants our trust - that is why in the loss let us praise God as if we have got everything."
Wow, how different our lives would be if we had that attitude towards loss and disappoint, that is is just another way for us to learn to trust in God and in His divine providence.
How often does something not go as we want it to, only for something better to come along later? If something does not go as we wish, it might open up another, better opportunity for something. Like the saying goes, "Thank God for unanswered prayers."
He knows what is best for our life, even if we sometimes feel like He does not.
Ultimately, the things that we want might not be the best things for us, and in these cases all we can do is trust God, as Mother Teresa said, "as if we have got everything."
Jesus, I Trust in You
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Scripture Sunday: James 3:13
Every Sunday on this site I will take some time to look at a passage from the Bible that I like and think is great... though they could obviously be presented by themselves without further mention, I will throw my two cents in on what the verse(s) mean to me.
In our world, a lot of emphasis is placed on wisdom and knowledge. They say that knowledge is power. But sometimes you don't have to open your mouth to show that you are truly wise.
To me, that lays clearly that actions speak louder than words, and that true wisdom does not come with knowing more things than another person, but recognizing what it truly important in life, and showing that through your actions.
St. Francis of Assisi famously said, "Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words." And I believe this same concept is shown in this Bible passage. True wisdom and knowledge is shown through a life of service and humility. We do not truly grow in wisdom and knowledge by learning the multiplication tables (though I highly recommend learning them), but by loving God, and thereby loving and serving our neighbor.
In our world, a lot of emphasis is placed on wisdom and knowledge. They say that knowledge is power. But sometimes you don't have to open your mouth to show that you are truly wise.
"Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show his works by a good life in the humility that comes from wisdom."
To me, that lays clearly that actions speak louder than words, and that true wisdom does not come with knowing more things than another person, but recognizing what it truly important in life, and showing that through your actions.
St. Francis of Assisi famously said, "Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words." And I believe this same concept is shown in this Bible passage. True wisdom and knowledge is shown through a life of service and humility. We do not truly grow in wisdom and knowledge by learning the multiplication tables (though I highly recommend learning them), but by loving God, and thereby loving and serving our neighbor.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Lessons From Mere Christianity: Love
This is a post from my topic called Lessons From Mere Christianity.
Today I would like to look at something we all strive for... something we all hope to have and show for others, something we hope to be shown from others. Something that causes us to strive to be the best person that we can be, indeed to be better even than we thought we could, I am talking, of course, about love. CS Lewis addresses a couple different kinds of love (and goes much deeper into it in a separate book - The Four Loves
- but that is another story for another time).In the first sense, he talks about it with regards to having love for your fellow man, especially those with whom we do not agree with or see as our best friends. He begins with an analogy of Christianity as a house, and those in the hallways are still sorting out what they believe, and what is really true. Those in the rooms are those that belong to a certain branch of Christianity... some more right than others, but all containing some truth. Lewis says those in a room:
"When you have reached your own room, be kind to those who have chosen different doors and to those who are still in the hall. If they are wrong they need your prayers all the more and if they are your enemies, then you are under orders to pray for them. That is one of the rules common to the whole house."
We have a tendency to look down on those of different beliefs and values as ourselves, and this does not do anyone any good. Whether you think they are wrong or right, you are called to love them.
This does not mean that you must stray into relativism, and many inevitably would take this line of thinking. By all means, if someone has a varying opinion from you, especially in regards to God, then you should think that they are wrong and you are right. Otherwise, what would be the point in believing what you do? But you are still called to love them, and to share your life with them, and to pray for them.
Lewis then talks about the love that most people think of when they hear the word... a relationship-type love between two people. Specifically, he talks about the difference between being in love and loving. He says:
"Love in this second sense - love as distinct from being 'in love' - is not merely a feeling. It is a deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habit' reinforced by (in Christian marriages) the grace which both partners ask, and receive, from God. They can have this love for each other even at those moments when they do not like each other, as you love yourself even when you do not like yourself. They can retain this love even when each would easily, if they allowed themselves, be 'in love' with someone else. 'Being in love' first moved them to promise fidelity; this quieter love enables them to keep this promise. It is on this love that the engine of marriage is run: being in love was the explosion that started it."
I think if you would ask any happily married couple, anyone that has ever loved anyone else... they would verify the truth of this statement. Love does not mean that at every moment you are falling over yourself for the other person (even though that is what most romantic comedies would want me to believe)... it means that even when you are not, you are still willing to sacrifice for that person, to will the good of that person, even above your own happiness and desires. This is love.
Love and marriage (I am merely speculating on the latter, I am not married) is based on sacrifice, and being willing to die for the other person... not only literally, but in the small things of everyday life.
What a beautiful thing to experience.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Mother Teresa's Path to Peace
In the book "Come Be My Light," there is this quote from the writings and wisdom of Mother Teresa:
Many people have found their lives in unrest, constantly in search of an ever-elusive peace. So many methods to find peace are out there, but I think you would be hard-pressed to find advice and simple, timeless, and effective as this.
Since Mother Teresa is so great, another quote from her to end this post:
The fruit of silence is prayer,
The fruit of prayer is faith,
The fruit off faith is love,
The fruit of love is service,
The fruit of service is peace.
Many people have found their lives in unrest, constantly in search of an ever-elusive peace. So many methods to find peace are out there, but I think you would be hard-pressed to find advice and simple, timeless, and effective as this.
Since Mother Teresa is so great, another quote from her to end this post:
"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
People are just people
Regina Spektor sings a line that appears to be almost laughably simplistic, but I find to actually be quite interesting and attitude-changing, if we just take it to heart. In her songs “Ghost of Corporate Future
”, she sings:
Upon first blush, there doesn’t really appear to be a lyric with much depth to it. Yes, thanks Jon, you are saying, we know that people are people!
But, when someone gets on our nerves, when someone rubs us the wrong way, or cuts us off in traffic (how dare they!!), or insults us, how easy it is to lose sight of the fact that they are a person with feelings and emotions just like you!
When someone annoys you, how often do you think of them as a unique person, with their own talents that were given to them by God? If someone just boils something inside you and makes you angry, how often do we think that they are a person with things that make them angry and sad, with shortcomings (perhaps the very shortcomings that make you angry) that they are trying to get past? If someone is inconsiderate and makes you sad, how often do we think that they are a person that is doing their best to juggle the many things that life has given them, and they have things they are struggle with and that make them insecure?
Ultimately, nobody is perfect. Everyone has their fault sand weaknesses, and everyone can get on someone else’s nerves at times. The important thing to remember is that for every person that makes you mad, you probably make that same number of people mad (even if you don’t know it).
Remember that people are just people like you, prone to mistakes and bad behavior. The proper response is forgiveness, love, and charity, not annoyance, anger, and mistreatment. After all, you would hope for the same treatment when you messed up. After all, it is not something nameless, faceless, evil thing that is making you annoyed, it is a human person, worthy of your love.
”, she sings:"people are just people like you"
Upon first blush, there doesn’t really appear to be a lyric with much depth to it. Yes, thanks Jon, you are saying, we know that people are people!
But, when someone gets on our nerves, when someone rubs us the wrong way, or cuts us off in traffic (how dare they!!), or insults us, how easy it is to lose sight of the fact that they are a person with feelings and emotions just like you!
When someone annoys you, how often do you think of them as a unique person, with their own talents that were given to them by God? If someone just boils something inside you and makes you angry, how often do we think that they are a person with things that make them angry and sad, with shortcomings (perhaps the very shortcomings that make you angry) that they are trying to get past? If someone is inconsiderate and makes you sad, how often do we think that they are a person that is doing their best to juggle the many things that life has given them, and they have things they are struggle with and that make them insecure?
Ultimately, nobody is perfect. Everyone has their fault sand weaknesses, and everyone can get on someone else’s nerves at times. The important thing to remember is that for every person that makes you mad, you probably make that same number of people mad (even if you don’t know it).
Remember that people are just people like you, prone to mistakes and bad behavior. The proper response is forgiveness, love, and charity, not annoyance, anger, and mistreatment. After all, you would hope for the same treatment when you messed up. After all, it is not something nameless, faceless, evil thing that is making you annoyed, it is a human person, worthy of your love.
Monday, January 24, 2011
A Grateful Heart is a Joyful Heart
On Thanksgiving, I heard a story from the priest during the homily.
He was talking about a family that he knew in Puerto Rico, and the young boy of the family (probably about 12 or 13 years old) was going one day to the park to play baseball. It was at night and starting to get dark, so he went and flipped the switch to turn the lights in the park on, and he got electrocuted and died.
The priest said that he had the chance to talk to the boy's mother a couple of days later, and the first thing that she said to him was (paraphrased), "It is difficult but I thank God for the time that He gave me with my son."
I thought that was an incredible statement to make, how could this lady be so strong in her faith? I hope I would do the same if such a tragedy would enter into my life (God willing it will not). I think there is just really a lot to learn from such faith.
A grateful heart is a joyful heart. If we are grateful for the things that we have and the things that we are given, we could not help but be joyful. The majority of us are blessed far beyond what we actually think. We have clothes to wear, food to eat, friends to talk to, fun to be had... these are not things we are entitled to, and they are certainly not things that everybody has or takes for granted. But yet, how often are we grateful for them?
In the end, let us have the attitude of GK Chesterton:
What are we grateful for?
He was talking about a family that he knew in Puerto Rico, and the young boy of the family (probably about 12 or 13 years old) was going one day to the park to play baseball. It was at night and starting to get dark, so he went and flipped the switch to turn the lights in the park on, and he got electrocuted and died.
The priest said that he had the chance to talk to the boy's mother a couple of days later, and the first thing that she said to him was (paraphrased), "It is difficult but I thank God for the time that He gave me with my son."
I thought that was an incredible statement to make, how could this lady be so strong in her faith? I hope I would do the same if such a tragedy would enter into my life (God willing it will not). I think there is just really a lot to learn from such faith.
A grateful heart is a joyful heart. If we are grateful for the things that we have and the things that we are given, we could not help but be joyful. The majority of us are blessed far beyond what we actually think. We have clothes to wear, food to eat, friends to talk to, fun to be had... these are not things we are entitled to, and they are certainly not things that everybody has or takes for granted. But yet, how often are we grateful for them?
In the end, let us have the attitude of GK Chesterton:
You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.
What are we grateful for?
Friday, January 21, 2011
Lessons From Mere Christianity: Trust in God
This is a post from my topic called Lessons From Mere Christianity.
Many times, we seem to think we can do things without God. I mean, He will still be there if we might need Him, but really, we've got it all covered. Of course, as probably most people could attest to, when we stop relying on God and start relying on ourselves, that is when things go terribly wrong.
CS Lewis says that often times when we fail or struggle to live up to the people that we can be, our first reaction is to try harder and harder, believing that next time we will be better, or resist the temptation to fall. However, the greatest effort in the world isn't going to achieve anything. CS Lewis writes:
Similarly, Lewis talks about when want to do things with unselfish and pure motives. No matter how much we try, we cannot achieve the results that we want all on our own, it is simply not going to work.
If we put all of our trust in ourselves, we will find out what everyone realizes... that we are merely human, prone to making mistakes, bad decisions, and falls. But if we place our trust in God, suddenly the impossible becomes possible, our weaknesses become strength.
If you are having trouble in some aspect of your life, make this your prayer: "Lord, I am not strong enough. You do it for me."
Many times, we seem to think we can do things without God. I mean, He will still be there if we might need Him, but really, we've got it all covered. Of course, as probably most people could attest to, when we stop relying on God and start relying on ourselves, that is when things go terribly wrong.
CS Lewis says that often times when we fail or struggle to live up to the people that we can be, our first reaction is to try harder and harder, believing that next time we will be better, or resist the temptation to fall. However, the greatest effort in the world isn't going to achieve anything. CS Lewis writes:
"All this trying leads up to the vital moment at which you turn to God and say, 'You must do this. I can't.'" (146)
Similarly, Lewis talks about when want to do things with unselfish and pure motives. No matter how much we try, we cannot achieve the results that we want all on our own, it is simply not going to work.
"But I cannot, by direct moral effort, give myself new motives. After the first few steps in the Christian life we realise that everything which really needs to be done in our souls can be done only by God." (193)
If we put all of our trust in ourselves, we will find out what everyone realizes... that we are merely human, prone to making mistakes, bad decisions, and falls. But if we place our trust in God, suddenly the impossible becomes possible, our weaknesses become strength.
If you are having trouble in some aspect of your life, make this your prayer: "Lord, I am not strong enough. You do it for me."
Thursday, January 20, 2011
The key to success and getting things done
Most people generally seem to have a problem with getting things done and having success in the things that they do. I am no exception to this. I have a lot of ideas to do stuff, but sometimes I struggle with actually following through and doing everything, let alone actually starting projects that I want to accomplish.
The key, I think, to consistently being able to finish things, and to successfully finish these things, is to find the things that you are passionate about and wish to pursue and learn more about.
In almost anything that we do, there will be times when we are struggling with achieving the results that we want, or there is a difficult problem to work through, or any number of things that get us frustrated. Finding those things that we are most passionate about can help to quell the problems. Finding reasons to be passionate about those things we have to do will help there too.
By living a happy life, keeping our priorities straight, and drawing strength from God, we can become more passionate people. If you are able to do that, you will find much greater success and happiness than in merely getting things done.
The key, I think, to consistently being able to finish things, and to successfully finish these things, is to find the things that you are passionate about and wish to pursue and learn more about.
"People can succeed at almost anything for which they have unlimited enthusiasm" - Charles Schwab
In almost anything that we do, there will be times when we are struggling with achieving the results that we want, or there is a difficult problem to work through, or any number of things that get us frustrated. Finding those things that we are most passionate about can help to quell the problems. Finding reasons to be passionate about those things we have to do will help there too.
By living a happy life, keeping our priorities straight, and drawing strength from God, we can become more passionate people. If you are able to do that, you will find much greater success and happiness than in merely getting things done.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Easy To Please, Hard To Satisfy
A few weeks ago, I realized something about myself... as I told Hannah, I am easy to please, but hard to please (fortunately, it made sense to her). What I mean is this... it is not hard at all for me to like something (in this particular case, we were talking about restaurants), but it is hard for me to LOVE something. With food, activities, events... chances are good that I will like whatever it is. But it will be hard to find something that I really love.
Anyway, I mention this because in a roundabout way, I think God is the same way. He is easy to please, but hard to please. Or, put another way, he is easy to please, but hard to satisfy.
He is easy to please in the sense that He loves all of our efforts, however feeble and often unsuccessful, to love Him and to try and follow His path for us. At the same time, He is never going to be satisfied until we are perfect, fully united with Him. Until that time, no matter how often we succeed, we will still fail, we will always be pushed harder.
CS Lewis explains this thought well, and though like I will go over it again at some point in my Mere Christianity series, it is worth mentioning here.
Then he makes an analogy which I like, in part because analogies help me really be able to grasp concepts and have them hit home in a very practical way, which this one does for me:
The two key points from all of this writambling, I believe, are this:
1) Every small action done for the will of God overjoys God.
2) There is no such thing as good enough. We are all called to be perfect, nothing less.
God is easy to please, but hard to satisfy. I tend to like that aspect about Him.
Anyway, I mention this because in a roundabout way, I think God is the same way. He is easy to please, but hard to please. Or, put another way, he is easy to please, but hard to satisfy.
He is easy to please in the sense that He loves all of our efforts, however feeble and often unsuccessful, to love Him and to try and follow His path for us. At the same time, He is never going to be satisfied until we are perfect, fully united with Him. Until that time, no matter how often we succeed, we will still fail, we will always be pushed harder.
CS Lewis explains this thought well, and though like I will go over it again at some point in my Mere Christianity series, it is worth mentioning here.
"And yet - this is the other and equally important side of it - this Helper who will, in the long run, be satisfied with nothing less than absolute perfection, will also be delighted with the first feeble, stumbling effort you make tomorrow to do the simplest duty."
Then he makes an analogy which I like, in part because analogies help me really be able to grasp concepts and have them hit home in a very practical way, which this one does for me:
"As a great Christian writer (George MacDonald) pointed out, every father is pleased at the baby's first attempt to walk: no father would be satisfied with anything less than a firm, free, manly walk in a grown-up son.
The two key points from all of this writambling, I believe, are this:
1) Every small action done for the will of God overjoys God.
2) There is no such thing as good enough. We are all called to be perfect, nothing less.
God is easy to please, but hard to satisfy. I tend to like that aspect about Him.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Martin Luther King Jr. - "I Have a Dream" Speech
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Are we there yet? In some places, but certainly not everywhere.
"With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that:
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Keeping a positive perspective
Oftentimes, life is all about how we look at things and how we perceive them. If we have a positive attitude about something and try to stay positive throughout, it will often make it a good experience. However, if we have a negative attitude about something, or we do not make every effort to be positive, it will often turn out worse than we would have hoped.
Sometimes, I think happiness is all about making the best of what we have and trying to view the positive in every situation. A happy person can find a ray of light and a way to stay positive in any situation, while an unhappy person could find the silver lining in any situation, even if it's a good one.
Another positive side effect of making the best of everything and staying positive: you will generally be a lot more fun to be around, which will lead to better friendships. I once heard a quote that "Optimists are the human personification of spring." Interesting!
The optimist will brighten up any room that they enter, and they will encourage others to have the same optimistic and positive outlook on life that they have. It is almost a contagious state of mind. How hard is it to stay in a bad mood if you are around someone that is always very joyful?
When you go through hardships, when life seems a little more difficult than it should be, just remember, it's not what you look at, it's what you see. Life is what you make of it.
"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see." - Henry David Thoreau
Sometimes, I think happiness is all about making the best of what we have and trying to view the positive in every situation. A happy person can find a ray of light and a way to stay positive in any situation, while an unhappy person could find the silver lining in any situation, even if it's a good one.
Another positive side effect of making the best of everything and staying positive: you will generally be a lot more fun to be around, which will lead to better friendships. I once heard a quote that "Optimists are the human personification of spring." Interesting!
The optimist will brighten up any room that they enter, and they will encourage others to have the same optimistic and positive outlook on life that they have. It is almost a contagious state of mind. How hard is it to stay in a bad mood if you are around someone that is always very joyful?
When you go through hardships, when life seems a little more difficult than it should be, just remember, it's not what you look at, it's what you see. Life is what you make of it.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
What are you waiting for?
Brendan Benson has a song that I really enjoy (well, he has a few, but there is one in particular) titled "What I'm Looking For." He has one line in the song that always jumped out at me a little more than the rest:
It seems like very often in our lives we are waiting for something. We probably don't know what, but we might have a lot of dreams and plans filed for "someday." Likely, that someday will never come.
There is no perfect time to do anything. If you want to and try hard enough, you will always be able to find a reason not to do something. Often at the core of this is that we are scared to fail, or scared that we won't do well at something. However, we have to be able to get past these things if we are going to achieve what we want to achieve, and if we are going to be the people that we want to be. Sometimes the very best thing of doing something and achieving something is overcoming the risk that it takes to even try.
So try to think about those things that you have been putting off, or the things that you want to do but you are not sure you will be able to do them. Plan for how you will accomplish something, or just jump right in. You might fail, but then, that's not really the worst thing in the world.
If not now, when?
"Well I don't know what I've been waiting for/
But I know that I don't want to wait anymore"
It seems like very often in our lives we are waiting for something. We probably don't know what, but we might have a lot of dreams and plans filed for "someday." Likely, that someday will never come.
There is no perfect time to do anything. If you want to and try hard enough, you will always be able to find a reason not to do something. Often at the core of this is that we are scared to fail, or scared that we won't do well at something. However, we have to be able to get past these things if we are going to achieve what we want to achieve, and if we are going to be the people that we want to be. Sometimes the very best thing of doing something and achieving something is overcoming the risk that it takes to even try.
So try to think about those things that you have been putting off, or the things that you want to do but you are not sure you will be able to do them. Plan for how you will accomplish something, or just jump right in. You might fail, but then, that's not really the worst thing in the world.
If not now, when?
Monday, January 10, 2011
Remaining Steadfast Always
In St. Louis de Montfort's Total Consecration, he writes (on day 4):
I think most of us, when things are going well in our life, have the tendency to kind of forget about God, or put Him on the backburner. Then, we figure, when we need Him (when things don't go as we wish), He will be there as a fallback option.
However, if we have this strategy, St. Louis de Montfort says, we are just setting ourselves up for a fall. The good times, the easy times, are not their simply for us to coast and enjoy, but those are the key times to grow stronger in our faith, stronger in our virtue, so that we can be strong when things don't go our way.
This should be no surprise, it holds true in all walks of life. If you are a farmer with a good crop, you don't eat it all and simply enjoy it because it's there, you save some in case the next harvest is not as strong. Financially, if you make some extra money, you should not spend it all immediately, but save some for when things are tough (or for when you want to retire!)
If you are in a period of many blessings and good times, be careful! Do not grow complacent, but grow stronger. Doing this, you will be able to withstand any storm.
"He who would be too secure in time of peace will often be found too much dejected in time of war. If you could always continue to be humble and little in your own eyes, and keep your spirit in due order and subjection, you would not fall so easily into danger and offense. It is good counsel that, when you have conceived the spirit of fervor, you should meditate how it will be when that light shall be withdrawn."
I think most of us, when things are going well in our life, have the tendency to kind of forget about God, or put Him on the backburner. Then, we figure, when we need Him (when things don't go as we wish), He will be there as a fallback option.
However, if we have this strategy, St. Louis de Montfort says, we are just setting ourselves up for a fall. The good times, the easy times, are not their simply for us to coast and enjoy, but those are the key times to grow stronger in our faith, stronger in our virtue, so that we can be strong when things don't go our way.
This should be no surprise, it holds true in all walks of life. If you are a farmer with a good crop, you don't eat it all and simply enjoy it because it's there, you save some in case the next harvest is not as strong. Financially, if you make some extra money, you should not spend it all immediately, but save some for when things are tough (or for when you want to retire!)
If you are in a period of many blessings and good times, be careful! Do not grow complacent, but grow stronger. Doing this, you will be able to withstand any storm.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Scripture Sunday: Isaiah 60:20
Every Sunday on this site I will take some time to look at a passage from the Bible that I like and think is great... though they could obviously be presented by themselves without further mention, I will throw my two cents in on what the verse(s) mean to me.
This week is one of my all-time favorite verses, and one that has provided a lot of comfort and inspiration for me. That is Isaiah 60:20.
This is a beautiful verse because it reminds us of a very real fact - as long as the Lord is our "sun" and the cause of light and joy in our life, why should we ever mourn, why should we be unhappy?
Obviously, the sun is what gives us light on earth, but every night, the sun goes down, and we are left with no light, except for what the moon can provide. But when both go down, we are left with simply darkness here on earth.
In the same way, if we put our hope and joy in earthly things, they will let us down. Just like the sun, they will go down at times, or we will simply not be able to rely on them for joy. There is no earthly thing or person that this is not true for. However, if we let the Lord be our light, He will not let us down. He will not set at night, or withdraw like the moon, but rather He will be there to light our life forever, and to bring our days of mourning to an end.
This week is one of my all-time favorite verses, and one that has provided a lot of comfort and inspiration for me. That is Isaiah 60:20.
"No longer shall your sun go down, or your moon withdraw, For the Lord will be your light forever, and the days of your mourning shall be at an end."
This is a beautiful verse because it reminds us of a very real fact - as long as the Lord is our "sun" and the cause of light and joy in our life, why should we ever mourn, why should we be unhappy?
Obviously, the sun is what gives us light on earth, but every night, the sun goes down, and we are left with no light, except for what the moon can provide. But when both go down, we are left with simply darkness here on earth.
In the same way, if we put our hope and joy in earthly things, they will let us down. Just like the sun, they will go down at times, or we will simply not be able to rely on them for joy. There is no earthly thing or person that this is not true for. However, if we let the Lord be our light, He will not let us down. He will not set at night, or withdraw like the moon, but rather He will be there to light our life forever, and to bring our days of mourning to an end.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Lessons From Mere Christianity: Virtue
This is a post from my topic called Lessons From Mere Christianity.
In writing about virtue (and more specifically, virtuous actions), CS Lewis makes an interesting distinction between the things that we do and the person that we actually are. He writes:
That is an interesting thought. I think this is also another reason why we cannot judge others. We generally will judge a person based on their actions, but that does not always speak to their character, and the type of person that they really are. At the same time, be careful not to become prideful if you perform a benevolent action, for to God the most important thing is the type of person we are.
In the same vein, we must be sure that we are doing things for the right reasons. Lewis writes:
The popular phrase is "fake it 'til you make it," and I fully endorse this strategy. However, it only works if you work on actually making it. That is, if you work on actually acquiring the virtue rather than continuing to fake it.
Let's take an example. Let's say that you only help out old ladies at the grocery store when there is someone around to see the good that you are doing. On the one hand, it is good to help old ladies at the grocery store, and so this is a positive thing, even though you are only doing it for the attention. Now, let's say you never moved onto helping old ladies in the grocery store because it was the right thing to do, and simply only did it when there was someone there to witness it, would you be better off as a person, and would you be a person of higher character because you helped when others were watching? I would argue no.
In short, if we truly want to become the best that we can be, we must perform the just and temperate actions, but we must also pray for a full conversion of the heart to be a virtuous person. If we do not put both parts together, all of our efforts will eventually be futile. Fake it 'til you make, but be certain that you are actually working to make it in the end.
In writing about virtue (and more specifically, virtuous actions), CS Lewis makes an interesting distinction between the things that we do and the person that we actually are. He writes:
"There is a different between doing some particular just or temperate action and being a just or temperate man." (79)
That is an interesting thought. I think this is also another reason why we cannot judge others. We generally will judge a person based on their actions, but that does not always speak to their character, and the type of person that they really are. At the same time, be careful not to become prideful if you perform a benevolent action, for to God the most important thing is the type of person we are.
In the same vein, we must be sure that we are doing things for the right reasons. Lewis writes:
"But the truth is that right actions done for the wrong reason do not help to build the internal quality or character called a 'virtue,' and it is this quality or character that really matters." (80)
The popular phrase is "fake it 'til you make it," and I fully endorse this strategy. However, it only works if you work on actually making it. That is, if you work on actually acquiring the virtue rather than continuing to fake it.
Let's take an example. Let's say that you only help out old ladies at the grocery store when there is someone around to see the good that you are doing. On the one hand, it is good to help old ladies at the grocery store, and so this is a positive thing, even though you are only doing it for the attention. Now, let's say you never moved onto helping old ladies in the grocery store because it was the right thing to do, and simply only did it when there was someone there to witness it, would you be better off as a person, and would you be a person of higher character because you helped when others were watching? I would argue no.
In short, if we truly want to become the best that we can be, we must perform the just and temperate actions, but we must also pray for a full conversion of the heart to be a virtuous person. If we do not put both parts together, all of our efforts will eventually be futile. Fake it 'til you make, but be certain that you are actually working to make it in the end.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Don't Give Up, Don't Ever Give Up
Many of you have possible (hopefully?) seen this video at some point, but if not, I thought it would be good to post.
Jim Valvano was a college basketball coach, mostly back in the 1980s, before he passed away in the early 90s from cancer. Before he died, he started The V Foundation (with the help of others) aimed at raising money for cancer research.
In 1993, he gave one of the most inspiration speeches that I have ever seen at the ESPY Awards.
Highlights from the speech:
RIP Jimmy V.
Jim Valvano was a college basketball coach, mostly back in the 1980s, before he passed away in the early 90s from cancer. Before he died, he started The V Foundation (with the help of others) aimed at raising money for cancer research.
In 1993, he gave one of the most inspiration speeches that I have ever seen at the ESPY Awards.
Highlights from the speech:
"To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. Number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special. "
"It's so important to know where you are. I know where I am right now. How do you go from where you are to where you want to be? I think you have to have an enthusiasm for life. You have to have a dream, a goal. You have to be willing to work for it."
And it's motto is "Don't give up, don't ever give up." That's what I'm going to try to do every minute that I have left. I will thank God for the day and the moment I have.
RIP Jimmy V.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Fake It 'Til You Make It
The name for that sounds very silly, but I can't think of a better way to put it. St. Louis de Montfort (among many others) talk about it the Total Consecration (day 11):
Time and again it seems true, the quickest way to acquire a virtue is to act as if you have already got it. Then, over time, it will become more and more natural, until it becomes second nature, and you find that you have indeed acquired the virtue. It is no longer an act, the play has become real life.
"When a certain anxious person, who oftentimes wavered between hope and fear, once overcome with sadness, threw himself upon the ground in prayer, before one of the altars in the Church and thinking these things in his mind, said 'Oh, if only I knew how to persevere,' that very instant he heard within him, this heavenly answer: 'And if thou didst know this, what would thou do? Do now what thou would do, and you will be perfectly secure."
Time and again it seems true, the quickest way to acquire a virtue is to act as if you have already got it. Then, over time, it will become more and more natural, until it becomes second nature, and you find that you have indeed acquired the virtue. It is no longer an act, the play has become real life.
Monday, January 3, 2011
The beauty all around us
"You light up the sky to show me/
that You are with me"
- The Afters ("Light Up the Sky")
People always want proof of things, they can't believe in something until there is absolute proof that it is true. The biggest example of this is faith. How do you prove God exists?
For me, one thing that works is just to look up the sky as the sun sets or the sun rises, or to look up at a mountain, or an open prairie, or a gushing river, or a weeping willow, or any number of a million different things. You want proof? Take a look at the world around you!
"Well i just saw the sun rise over the hill/
Never used to give me much of a thrill/
But hey man now I'm really living"
- Eels
that You are with me"
- The Afters ("Light Up the Sky")
People always want proof of things, they can't believe in something until there is absolute proof that it is true. The biggest example of this is faith. How do you prove God exists?
For me, one thing that works is just to look up the sky as the sun sets or the sun rises, or to look up at a mountain, or an open prairie, or a gushing river, or a weeping willow, or any number of a million different things. You want proof? Take a look at the world around you!
"Well i just saw the sun rise over the hill/
Never used to give me much of a thrill/
But hey man now I'm really living"
- Eels
Saturday, January 1, 2011
"The Perks Of Being A Wallflower" by Norm Chbosky Quotes
Here are selected quotes from The Perks of Being a Wallflower
by Stephen Chbosky.
- "Dear friend,
I am writing to you because she said you listen and understand and didn't try to sleep with that person at the party even though you could have. Please don't try to figure out who she is because then you might figure out who I am, and I don't really want you to do that. I will call people by different names or generic names because I don't want you to find me. I didn't enclose a return address for the same reason. I mean nothing bad by this. Honest.
I just need to know that someone out there listens and understands and doesn't try to sleep with people even if they could have. I need to know that these people exist." (2)
- "Charlie, we accept the love we think we deserve." (24)
- "Bob nodded his head. Patrick then said something I don't think I'll ever forget.
'He's a wallflower.'
And Bob really nodded his head. And the whole room nodded their head. And I started to feel nervous in the Bob way, but Patrick didn't let me get too nervous. He sat down next to me.
'You see things. You keep quiet about them. And you understand.'" (37)
- "Personally, I like to think my brother is having a college experience like they do in movies. I don't mean the big fraternity party kind of movie. More like the movie where the guy meets a smart girl who wears a lot of sweaters and drinks cocoa. They talk about books and issues and kiss in the rain. I think something like that would be very good for him, especially if the girls were unconventionally beautiful. They are the best kind of girls, I think. I personally find 'super models' strange. I don't know why this is." (51)
- "I don't know if it's better to have your kids be happy and not go to college. I don't know if it's better to be close with your daughter or make sure that she has a better life than you do." (59)
- "Sam and Patrick looked at me. And I looked at them. And I think they knew. Not anything specific really. They just knew. And I think that's all you can ever ask from a friend." (66)
- "And I thought that all those little kids were going to grow up someday. And all those little kids are going to do the things that we do. And they will all kiss someone someday. But for now, sledding is enough. I think it would be great if sledding were always enough, but it isn't." (74)
- "And all the books you've read have been read by other people. And all the songs you've loved have been heard by other people. And the girl that's pretty to you is pretty to other people. And you know that if you looked at these facts when you were happy, you would feel great because you were describing 'unity.'
It's like when you are excited about a girl and you see a couple holding hands, and you feel so happy for them. And other times you see the same couple, and they make you so mad. And all you want is to always feel happy for them because you know that if you do, then it means you're happy too." (96)
- "I didn't feel like reading that night, so I went downstairs and watched a half-hour long commercial that advertised an exercise machine. They kept flashing a 1-800 number, so I called it. The woman who picked up the other end of the phone was named Michelle. And I told Michelle that I was a kid and did not need an excercise machine, but I hoped she was having a good night.
That's when Michelle hung up on me. And I didn't mind a bit." (122)
- "I don't know how much longer I can keep going without a friend. I used to be able to do it very easily, but that was before I knew what having a friend was like. It's much easier not to know things sometimes. And to have french fries with your mom be enough." (144)
- "And I guess I realized at that moment that I really did love her. Because there was nothing to gain, and that didn't matter." (179)
- "So, I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we'll never know most of them. But even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel ok about them." (211)
"Tomorrow, I start my sophomore year of high school. And believe it or not, I'm not really afraid of going. I'm not sure if I will have the time to write any more letters because I might be too busy trying to 'participate.'
So, if this does end up being my last letter, please believe that things are good with me, and even when they're not, they will be soon enough.
And I will believe the same about you.
Love always,
Charlie" (213)
by Stephen Chbosky.
- "Dear friend,
I am writing to you because she said you listen and understand and didn't try to sleep with that person at the party even though you could have. Please don't try to figure out who she is because then you might figure out who I am, and I don't really want you to do that. I will call people by different names or generic names because I don't want you to find me. I didn't enclose a return address for the same reason. I mean nothing bad by this. Honest.
I just need to know that someone out there listens and understands and doesn't try to sleep with people even if they could have. I need to know that these people exist." (2)
- "Charlie, we accept the love we think we deserve." (24)
- "Bob nodded his head. Patrick then said something I don't think I'll ever forget.
'He's a wallflower.'
And Bob really nodded his head. And the whole room nodded their head. And I started to feel nervous in the Bob way, but Patrick didn't let me get too nervous. He sat down next to me.
'You see things. You keep quiet about them. And you understand.'" (37)
- "Personally, I like to think my brother is having a college experience like they do in movies. I don't mean the big fraternity party kind of movie. More like the movie where the guy meets a smart girl who wears a lot of sweaters and drinks cocoa. They talk about books and issues and kiss in the rain. I think something like that would be very good for him, especially if the girls were unconventionally beautiful. They are the best kind of girls, I think. I personally find 'super models' strange. I don't know why this is." (51)
- "I don't know if it's better to have your kids be happy and not go to college. I don't know if it's better to be close with your daughter or make sure that she has a better life than you do." (59)
- "Sam and Patrick looked at me. And I looked at them. And I think they knew. Not anything specific really. They just knew. And I think that's all you can ever ask from a friend." (66)
- "And I thought that all those little kids were going to grow up someday. And all those little kids are going to do the things that we do. And they will all kiss someone someday. But for now, sledding is enough. I think it would be great if sledding were always enough, but it isn't." (74)
- "And all the books you've read have been read by other people. And all the songs you've loved have been heard by other people. And the girl that's pretty to you is pretty to other people. And you know that if you looked at these facts when you were happy, you would feel great because you were describing 'unity.'
It's like when you are excited about a girl and you see a couple holding hands, and you feel so happy for them. And other times you see the same couple, and they make you so mad. And all you want is to always feel happy for them because you know that if you do, then it means you're happy too." (96)
- "I didn't feel like reading that night, so I went downstairs and watched a half-hour long commercial that advertised an exercise machine. They kept flashing a 1-800 number, so I called it. The woman who picked up the other end of the phone was named Michelle. And I told Michelle that I was a kid and did not need an excercise machine, but I hoped she was having a good night.
That's when Michelle hung up on me. And I didn't mind a bit." (122)
- "I don't know how much longer I can keep going without a friend. I used to be able to do it very easily, but that was before I knew what having a friend was like. It's much easier not to know things sometimes. And to have french fries with your mom be enough." (144)
- "And I guess I realized at that moment that I really did love her. Because there was nothing to gain, and that didn't matter." (179)
- "So, I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we'll never know most of them. But even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel ok about them." (211)
"Tomorrow, I start my sophomore year of high school. And believe it or not, I'm not really afraid of going. I'm not sure if I will have the time to write any more letters because I might be too busy trying to 'participate.'
So, if this does end up being my last letter, please believe that things are good with me, and even when they're not, they will be soon enough.
And I will believe the same about you.
Love always,
Charlie" (213)
"Looking For Alaska" by John Green Quotes
Here are selected quotes from the book Looking for Alaska
by John Green.
- "'He' - that's Simon Bolivar - 'was shaken by the overwhelming revelation that the headlong race between his misfortunes and his dreams was at that moment reaching the finish line. The rest was darkness. "Damn it," he signed. "How will I ever get out of this labyrinth!"'" (18)
- "Sometimes you lose a battle. But mischief always wins the war." (56)
- "'Auden,' she announced. 'What were his last words?'
'Don't know. Never heard of him.'
'Never heard of him? You poor, illiterate boy. Here read this line.' I walked over and looked down at her index finger. 'You shall love your crooked neighbor / With your crooked heart,' I read aloud. 'Yeah, that's pretty good,' I said.
'Pretty good? Sure, and bufriedos are pretty good. Sex is pretty fun. The sun is pretty hot. Jesus, it says so much about love and brokenness - it's perfect.'" (85)
- "So I walked back to my room and collapsed on the bottom bunk, thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane." (88)
- "We are all going, I thought, and it applies to turtles and turlenecks, Alaska the girl and Alaska the place, because nothing can last, not even the earth itself. The Buddha said that suffering was caused by desire, we'd learned, and that the cessation of desire meant the cessation of suffering. When you stopped wishing things wouldn't fall apart, you'd stop suffering when they did." (197)
- "I realized it in waves and we held on to each other crying and I thought, God we must look so lame, but it doesn't matter much when you have just now realized, all the time later, that you are still alive." (214)
- "He was gone, and I did not have time to tell him what I had just now realized: that I forgave him, and the she forgave us, and that we had to forgive to survive in the labyrinth... If only we could see the endless string of consequences that result from our smallest actions. But we can't know better until knowing better is useless." (218)
- "I would never know her well enough to know her thoughts in those last minutes, would never know if she left us on purpose. But the not-knowing would not keep me from caring, and I would always love Alaska Young, my crooked neighbor, with all my crooked heart." (218)
- "Before I got here, I thought for a long time that the way out of the labyrinth was to pretend that it did not exist, to build a small, self-sufficient world in a back corner of the endless maze and to pretend that I was not lost, but home. But that only led to a lonely life accompanied only by the last words of the already-dead, so I came here looking for a Great Perhaps, for real friends and a more-than-minor life. And then I screwed up and the Colonel screwed up and Takumi screwed up and she slipped through our fingers. And there’s no sugar-coating it: she deserved better friends.
When she fucked up, all those years ago, just a little girl terrified into paralysis, she collapsed into the enigma of herself. And I could have done that, but I saw where it led for her. So I still believe in the Great Perhaps, and I can believe it in spite of having lost her.
Because I will forget her, yes. That which came together will fall apart imperceptibly slowly, and I will forget, but she will forgive my forgetting, just as I forgive her for forgetting me and the Colonel and everyone but herself and her mom in those last moments she spent as a person. I know now that she forgives me for being dumb and scared and doing the dumb and scared thing. I know she forgives me, just as her mother forgives her. And here’s how I know:
I thought at first that she was just dead. Just darkness. Just a body being eaten by bugs. I thought about her a lot like that, as something’s meal. What was her - green eyes, half a smirk, the soft curves of her legs - would soon be nothing, just the bones I never saw. I thought about the slow process of becoming bone and then fossil and then coal that will, in millions of years, be mined by humans of the future, and how they would heat their homes with her, and then she would be smoke billowing out of a smokestack, coating the atmosphere. I still think that, sometimes, think that maybe “the afterlife” is just something we made up to ease the pain of loss, to make our time in the labyrinth bearable. Maybe she was just matter, and matter gets recycled.
But ultimately I do not believe that she was only matter. The rest of her must be recycled, too. I believe now that we are greater than the sum of our parts. If you take Alaska’s genetic code and you add her life experiences and the relationships she had with people, and then you take the size and shape of hre body, you do not get her. There is something else entirely. There is a part of her greater than the sum of her knowable parts. And that part has to go somewhere, because it cannot be destroyed.
Although no one will ever accuse me of being much of a science student, one thing I learned from science classes is that energy is never created and never destroyed. And if Alaska took her own life, that is the hope I wish I could have given her. Forgetting her mother, failing her mother and her friends and herself - those are awful things, but she did not need to fold into herself and self-destruct. Those awful things are survivable, because we ARE as indestructible as we believe ourselves to be. When adults say, 'Teenagers think they are invincible' with that sly, stupid smile on their faces, they don't know how right they are. We need never be hopeless, because we can never be irreparably broken. We think that we are invincible because we are. We cannot be born, we cannot die. Like all energy, we can only change shapes and sizes and manifestations. They forget that when they get old. They get scared of losing and failing. But that part of us greater than the sum of our parts cannot begin and cannot end, as so it cannot fail.
So, I know that she forgives me, just as I forgive her. Thomas Edison’s last words were: “It’s very beautiful over there.” I don’t know where there is, but I believe it’s somewhere, and I hope it’s beautiful." (218-221)
by John Green.
- "'He' - that's Simon Bolivar - 'was shaken by the overwhelming revelation that the headlong race between his misfortunes and his dreams was at that moment reaching the finish line. The rest was darkness. "Damn it," he signed. "How will I ever get out of this labyrinth!"'" (18)
- "Sometimes you lose a battle. But mischief always wins the war." (56)
- "'Auden,' she announced. 'What were his last words?'
'Don't know. Never heard of him.'
'Never heard of him? You poor, illiterate boy. Here read this line.' I walked over and looked down at her index finger. 'You shall love your crooked neighbor / With your crooked heart,' I read aloud. 'Yeah, that's pretty good,' I said.
'Pretty good? Sure, and bufriedos are pretty good. Sex is pretty fun. The sun is pretty hot. Jesus, it says so much about love and brokenness - it's perfect.'" (85)
- "So I walked back to my room and collapsed on the bottom bunk, thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane." (88)
- "We are all going, I thought, and it applies to turtles and turlenecks, Alaska the girl and Alaska the place, because nothing can last, not even the earth itself. The Buddha said that suffering was caused by desire, we'd learned, and that the cessation of desire meant the cessation of suffering. When you stopped wishing things wouldn't fall apart, you'd stop suffering when they did." (197)
- "I realized it in waves and we held on to each other crying and I thought, God we must look so lame, but it doesn't matter much when you have just now realized, all the time later, that you are still alive." (214)
- "He was gone, and I did not have time to tell him what I had just now realized: that I forgave him, and the she forgave us, and that we had to forgive to survive in the labyrinth... If only we could see the endless string of consequences that result from our smallest actions. But we can't know better until knowing better is useless." (218)
- "I would never know her well enough to know her thoughts in those last minutes, would never know if she left us on purpose. But the not-knowing would not keep me from caring, and I would always love Alaska Young, my crooked neighbor, with all my crooked heart." (218)
- "Before I got here, I thought for a long time that the way out of the labyrinth was to pretend that it did not exist, to build a small, self-sufficient world in a back corner of the endless maze and to pretend that I was not lost, but home. But that only led to a lonely life accompanied only by the last words of the already-dead, so I came here looking for a Great Perhaps, for real friends and a more-than-minor life. And then I screwed up and the Colonel screwed up and Takumi screwed up and she slipped through our fingers. And there’s no sugar-coating it: she deserved better friends.
When she fucked up, all those years ago, just a little girl terrified into paralysis, she collapsed into the enigma of herself. And I could have done that, but I saw where it led for her. So I still believe in the Great Perhaps, and I can believe it in spite of having lost her.
Because I will forget her, yes. That which came together will fall apart imperceptibly slowly, and I will forget, but she will forgive my forgetting, just as I forgive her for forgetting me and the Colonel and everyone but herself and her mom in those last moments she spent as a person. I know now that she forgives me for being dumb and scared and doing the dumb and scared thing. I know she forgives me, just as her mother forgives her. And here’s how I know:
I thought at first that she was just dead. Just darkness. Just a body being eaten by bugs. I thought about her a lot like that, as something’s meal. What was her - green eyes, half a smirk, the soft curves of her legs - would soon be nothing, just the bones I never saw. I thought about the slow process of becoming bone and then fossil and then coal that will, in millions of years, be mined by humans of the future, and how they would heat their homes with her, and then she would be smoke billowing out of a smokestack, coating the atmosphere. I still think that, sometimes, think that maybe “the afterlife” is just something we made up to ease the pain of loss, to make our time in the labyrinth bearable. Maybe she was just matter, and matter gets recycled.
But ultimately I do not believe that she was only matter. The rest of her must be recycled, too. I believe now that we are greater than the sum of our parts. If you take Alaska’s genetic code and you add her life experiences and the relationships she had with people, and then you take the size and shape of hre body, you do not get her. There is something else entirely. There is a part of her greater than the sum of her knowable parts. And that part has to go somewhere, because it cannot be destroyed.
Although no one will ever accuse me of being much of a science student, one thing I learned from science classes is that energy is never created and never destroyed. And if Alaska took her own life, that is the hope I wish I could have given her. Forgetting her mother, failing her mother and her friends and herself - those are awful things, but she did not need to fold into herself and self-destruct. Those awful things are survivable, because we ARE as indestructible as we believe ourselves to be. When adults say, 'Teenagers think they are invincible' with that sly, stupid smile on their faces, they don't know how right they are. We need never be hopeless, because we can never be irreparably broken. We think that we are invincible because we are. We cannot be born, we cannot die. Like all energy, we can only change shapes and sizes and manifestations. They forget that when they get old. They get scared of losing and failing. But that part of us greater than the sum of our parts cannot begin and cannot end, as so it cannot fail.
So, I know that she forgives me, just as I forgive her. Thomas Edison’s last words were: “It’s very beautiful over there.” I don’t know where there is, but I believe it’s somewhere, and I hope it’s beautiful." (218-221)
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