Posts Tagged: serenity

“Making People Walk the Plank or Loving People as They Are?”

On July 22, 2021 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

You gotta love people as they are, not as they aren’t. If you love people as they aren’t, you aren’t. That is, you aren’t loving them.

I read a story today as part of my addiction recovery work. The story compared recovery to sailing. People were setting sail for the Island of Serenity onboard a ship named “Recovery.”

It was a good analogy, but I got off-course—of course. I said to myself, being cooped up on a small ship with a bunch of selfish, obsessive, compulsive people—yep! That sounds like recovery!

In fact, it sounds like the church, family, my softball league, my new chess club, and every other group of which I’ve ever been a member. If you put two or more people together in anything for any reason, then you have two or more selfish people. The closer the proximity the more that selfishness will wear on everyone.

There is only one person on the ship that I can do much about, and that is me. The others, I have to learn to put up with. Putting up with others isn’t the same as loving them, but putting up with them is a necessary precondition for loving them.

So, before you and I make anyone walk the plank, we might want to remember that we need all the crew members if we are to reach our common destination. It might help also to reflect on the fact that there are many times when others have wanted us to walk the plank.

, , ,

“THE NUDGINGS OF GOD AND HEARING THE HOLY SPIRIT”

On August 10, 2016 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“Today, I am ready for positive change. I will be responsive to inner nudges that move me in that direction.”

The above is from a daily reading I receive.  I customized it for my daily twelve-step affirmation: Today, with God’s help, I am ready for positive change. I will be responsive to inner nudges that move me in that direction.

I also receive a daily “Three-Minute Retreat” from the Jesuits.  It is also very helpful to my recovery and my life.  Interestingly, today’s retreat talked about hearing the Holy Spirit, and was based on John 16:13.  The crafter of this retreat asked a thought-provoking question: “What gets in the way of my hearing the Spirit?”

I immediately thought of external noise.

But then, nudged by God no doubt, I thought of the really noisy noise in my own mind.  That is the real distraction!

So, how do I turn down the volume in my own noisy mind?

Perhaps stilling my body helps still my mind as well.  Of course, the converse is also true.

Then too, breathing deeply tends to help the mental noise to subside.

Listening to some soothing instrumental music (I love harps and flutes!) is good for me as well.

Noticing lovely things quiets my mind and spirit as well.  Today, before I went for my walk, I noticed our beautiful rose-of-Sharon trees, and the bees which were working on them.

Prayer can help.  Obviously, the Serenity Prayer is good.  There is a reason why it is called the Serenity Prayer.  It is not only a prayer for serenity.  It also helps to bring about the serenity for which I pray.

There is also a wonderfully simple (yet profound) prayer that I learned years ago, while I was doing a “Fifty-Day Spiritual Adventure.”  It is simply this: “Calm my spirit, Lord.”

But before any of this can help, I need to do one simple thing: I need to notice the noise.

A noisy mind is like a small child who keeps tugging on his mom’s arm until she pays attention to him.  After he has been heard, he is (sometimes) ready to settle down.

Perhaps this blog is one way of paying attention to my own noisy mind.  It might even help you, my dear and highly valued reader!

When I (and you) desire positive change, we will pay attention to our mental noise.  Maybe then we will be more sensitive to the nudging of God and the voice of the Holy Spirit.

, , ,
Follow on Feedly