Ten Important Things I've Learned

I realized recently that there are many important things I've learned from various sources that God has put into my life.  Conveniently, there are ten of them--a nice round number.

1. Shift judgements to curiosities  ~Rescue Institute

I found The Rescue Institute recently on Twitter.  They tweet all kinds of motivational type sayings and this is the one that hit me the most.

 I love the idea of being curious about life.  I think it keeps us feeling alive and in touch with all that the Creator has put here with us.  

Judging closes us off.  It closes off communication and prevents real change.

Curiosity opens us up to share God's Love. 

2.  There is a physiological/psychological basis for many things that we assume people do out of pure ignorance or stubbornness. 

I learned this recently in a behaviorism class I'm in at work.  Even such mundane things as what we like (or don't like) to eat is partially based on an in-born trait.  Taste aversions are common in human beings and are there to help us avoid things that are poisonous.  It is easier to "learn" to dislike a taste than it is to learn many other things. 

Various types of behavioral conditioning are acting on us even when we are not aware of it. This may result in us disliking some pretty odd things for some pretty illogical reasons.

For example, if you feel ill from spoiled food, you may not learn to dislike that food in the future. Your brain may have learned to associate the nauseated feeling, not with the food, but with the song that was playing on the radio at the time you felt ill! You may still be able to eat that food in the future, but forever dislike that song.

Makes no sense? It does to your brain! 

3.  People are doing things because of THEM, not us. 

This is true.  It is often hard to believe, but it is essential that we err on the side of believing this truth. 

4.  We are attracted to like individuals.

Find someone you like?  There is probably something about yourself that you and that person share. You can learn a lot about yourself by finding out what you and that other person have in common. 

5.  We are happier when we live according to our values. 

Sounds fairly obvious, but this is also important to remember.  If you are unhappy, think about where in your life you are being asked to go against your value system. 

6.  It is worth finding our values. 

Living in alignment with our values/beliefs/preferences is worth doing.  It is worth searching high and low to find out what these are. 

7.  Our values can be discerned by finding out what makes us happy. 

Does something consistently put a smile on your face?  If so, it is probably something you value.  Values don't have to be the "big" things like "peace on earth".   

8.  There can be many ups and downs in life that fall within the range of normality.  

Emotions fall on a spectrum.  Think of a number line.  Zero is pretty much comatose and 10 would be jumping off the Empire State Building because I believe I can fly.  The territory in the middle is well within the range of normal.  Life has ups and it has downs.  That is ok.  

[Perhaps 2 and 9 are not normal either, but you get the idea.]

9.  We may need to go outside of our immediate circle to interact with people who share some of our values. 

Just because we love someone doesn't mean they are 100% like us.  That's ok.  Variety is the spice of life. 

Look outside your immediate circle to find more people who share your values. 

10.  Conversely, we can increase the gratitude we have for our own immediate circle by remembering numbers 1-3. 

Be curious about others, don't judge them, and assume that they are acting out of something within themselves.  

Sharing Some Earth Day Pics

Here is my yard all dressed up for Easter and earth day.

Mary has a special home under this gorgeous tree.  She sits above my rock that says "Wonder" and reminds us to hold the Lord and His creation in awe.

Being Truly Grateful

In reading Fr. Stephen's blog, Glory to God for All Things, God has generously given me more to think about with regards to gratitude and why it so easily disappears. We have been given abundance. Or, rather, *I* have been given abundance. God has given me people and things throughout my life and, as is common, I have taken them for granted.

Fr. Stephen quotes Elder Paisios of the Holy Mountain as saying,

The destruction of man lies in the abundance of material goods, because it prevents him from experiencing the presence of God and appreciating His benevolence.

By way of illustration, Elder Paisios tells the following story:

I lived in a place that had no water. I had to walk for two hours to get to a rock where water was leaking from its side. I placed the jug underneath and waited about an hour until it was filled up. The limited amount of water created in my soul various feelings:

Every day I was in agony: “I wonder, will the water be dripping from the rock?” I prayed to God to continue to make it drip. As I was walking towards the rock, I was anxious to see whether I would find some water and I prayed. When I could detect from far away the water glittering as the sun beams were falling on the rock, I glorified God. On my way back, I constantly thanked and glorified Him for the water He gave me. So, the small amount of water impelled me first, to constantly pray to God to make the rock drip and secondly, to thank and glorify Him, as He is the giver of all good things.

Elder Paisios ends with this advice:

The same thing applies to everything. If we are found in a difficult situation, we must not be upset; instead we should realize this is God’s way to make us feel closer to Him and become aware that He is the grantor of everything in our lives.

Indeed, Glory to God for all things!

Thank God for the Journey

I stopped by All Saints Convent in Catonsville today to pray for my friend who is dying of cancer, and for all of us who have been united once again via the blessing of Caring Bridge and the internet.  As I drove down the roads of my childhood and young adulthood, decades of my life, my decisions and attitudes, then and now, came rushing back.  I could almost see my different selves riding along.

I think it is a sad fact of human nature to want to put our lives in neat little boxes and forget what has brought us to our current place.  It is so tempting to want to put our past behind us to the point where we forget to express our gratitude to God for bringing us down the paths we have traveled to get us to where we are now.

Each stop on the road of our life is a gift.  Each person we meet is placed there for a reason. All our troubles and difficulties are there for our own benefit and the benefit of those around us.

Oh God,

I pray that I never again take for granted
the many gifts you have given me.
I thank You for everyone and everything You have sent me in my life
and I pray for the grace to use Your gifts
and to learn Your lessons
as You would have me do.
~Amen

Note: The photo is one I took today of a tree on the convent property that was just burning with color. Just gorgeous.

Praise Update on the Dissent Document

Catholic Exchange reports on a former priest who had signed a document protesting Pope Paul VI's Humanae Vitae in 1968 and has long regretted it. Here is his letter to Fr. Thomas Euteneuer.

Dear Fr. Euteneuer,

I have signed and am returning the Pledge of Assent to Humanae Vitae for the Laity. There is for me a special significance in signing this Pledge, and [it] will give me a peace of mind and heart that I have not experienced since 1968. In 1968 I was a young Franciscan priest studying in the Graduate School of Religious Education at Catholic University. I personally knew Fr. Charles Curran and Fr. Dan Maguire, and was a student of Fr. Robert Faricy, SJ. Since they, as well as many other professors and graduate students were signing the Protest Document, I went along and did so also.

In 1975 for personal reasons not related to any doubts or questions about the Faith, or the Church, or the Religious Life…I requested and obtained…a dispensation from Pope Paul VI returning me to the Lay State. Later, I was married in the Church and raised my two children in the Faith….I have had many conversations with my Pastor and with his assistant (who is my spiritual director) about my days as a Franciscan Priest, and have been active in many of our parish’s lay apostolate and ministries.

But I have always regretted having signed the Protest Document against Pope Paul’s teaching in 1968, and having learned a few years ago that Fr. Faricy had publicly repudiated signing the Protest, I had wished that I, too, could repudiate in some official way, having signed the Protest….And so your “Pledge” document offers me an opportunity to correct my mistake, and find healing - and telling you about all this helps me to feel that my repudiation of the Protest is now known and accepted in a kind of semi-official sort of way by an “authority” in the Church.

And thank you for reading this, thereby humoring an old man, who despite everything else, knows that he is a “priest forever, according to the Order of Melchizedek.”

Woo Hoo!

Doing the Gratitude Dance here. I'm 90% through straightening out my 81 year old aunt's 2007 tax situation. It wasn't as convoluted as I had expected.

Also, my wonderful dh is going to take a smoking cessation class at work.

Thank you, God!!!!!

(The following KT Tunstall vid is here specifically because of the "Woo Hoos" in the beginning. Also, its a great song.)

Attitude of Gratitude

I wanted to talk a little bit about what I am grateful for today.

I am grateful for my family--for my sister and my niece and for all the difference we can make in the lives of our elderly relatives. I am also grateful for our spouses, for being patient and understanding.

I am grateful that when I am driving home from my mom and aunt's these days, it is still light for half the trip!!!

I am grateful for my "Hairspray" CD to listen to and get me singing while I am driving.

Thanks everyone!