Courage is lonely but powerful.

Courage is inherently lonely. It's lonely to make hard decisions, to stand up to a bully, to take huge risks for the sake of doing what one thinks it right. How much courage does it take to go along with the crowd?
Political courage is no exception.  How much courage does it take to disregard a sound public policy - a balanced budget, for example - in order to gain power, or to avoid losing it?
Ironically, how much power - particularly regarding the bully or "the crowd" - there is in the lonely act of showing courage!

Do I shrink from responsibility? Why?

Do I shrink from taking responsibility for my decisions because I don't want to be responsible for their consequences?  
Do I, for example, tell myself "I didn't choose to do that; I had to do it," because I don't want to create any duty or expectation in my own mind or in others' minds that I will take on responsibility for more things?

I am fully responsible for the foreseeable consequences of my decisions - including what I choose not to do.  But I will not allow myself to be paralyzed by fear of the unforeseen.  I hope in this way to contribute to society and to preserve my integrity and the example I set for my children.

December 24, 2017

What religious teaching, law, or cultural or family tradition affects our values without our conscious or unconscious acceptance?

Apart from human, mechanical and natural exigencies which demand that we respond, what external power of any kind frees us from responsibility for our choices?

What more can – or need – the Holy Spirit do for us than reveal Itself, beckon us to seek to develop our relationship with Itself, and offer us in return Its wisdom, our growth, and a greater experience of love and peace?

December 17, 2017

Like radiation from outer space, there is in life a constant flow of objective facts in the physical world.  Those facts include what individuals say or do, what groups of people say or do, and what I say or do.  Most of the time, however, it is not the fact itself but its meaning to which we respond - and each of us is responsible for discerning what that meaning is for us.

In discerning the meaning of what people say and do, what filters do I use?  Is my perception of the meaning of facts based on self-righteous judgment or fear?  Or is it based on guidance from the Holy Spirit; on love, an open mind, and a desire for growth and contribution?

Facing the bear

You know joke. "I don't have to outrun the bear: I just have to outrun you."
It's no joke if the bear is real. 
It's no joke if the bear is fear: fear of failure, of not being enough, of loneliness, of violence, of not being loved.
It's no joke if the bear is adversity: living in a war zone, addiction or other illness (one's own or a loved one's), being a victim of discrimination, employment travails or unemployment, hunger, homelessness.
Let's not try to best each other. Let's be kind to each other. Let's be strong for each other. 
Let's stand together and help each other face and drive away the bear.