Life is choices: let's choose well.

Life is one choice after another, ideally - but hardly always - conscious choices.  The choices start with and, consciously or not, return again and again to one's attitude.

When I feel weary, when I feel lazy, when I procrastinate, what is my attitude?  In particular, to what extent is my attitude self pity?  Self pity - feeling as though I should have something more, or different, than I do - is toxic in any dosage.  It is a kind of self righteousness.  Self pity tells me that the way things are is not right, or not enough.  It rejects what is right and the good things which are plentiful and, to that extent, undermines peace of mind, gratitude, happiness, energy and motivation.

(In my office, I keep a copy of Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand's riveting story of the late Louis Zamperini's travails - an understatement - during World War II, as a warning to myself against, and an antidote to, self-pity.)

September 21, 2014

Being an instrument of peace may be a habit, but it is never an accident.

To be an instrument of peace requires intention: navigation toward that goal, vigilant attention to one’s situation and opportunities, reassessment of one’s values, and moment-by-moment adjustments.

It calls upon us to choose what is most important: commitment to peace, to one’s community, and to spiritual growth – our own and others’ – or avoidance of discomfort and, ultimately, even survival.

Impulses, appetites and judgments.

Impulses, appetites and judgments.
Can I accept that there is an endless supply of each of these?
Can I accept that each impulse, appetite and judgment requires a conscious or unconscious decision as to whether and how to act on it?
Do I accept responsibility for each of those decisions, making more and more of them with awareness of what I am doing and the values I am applying?

Modeling love.

To love is to model love, which is to be a leader, which is to take on responsibilities. Fortunately, the rewards of loving are great and enduring.

September 7, 2014

This morning, a leaf outside the Meetinghouse window caught my eye.  It was dead.  It had separated from the bush from which it had grown and was hanging from a spider’s thread.  Edge on, it was almost invisible.  When it caught the sun, the leaf shone brightly.  It twisted in the wind dozens of times in one direction, then in the other, over and over for many minutes until its gossamer hawser broke and it fell just now.

It has been said that no leaf falls in the forest but God knows of it and wills it.  I do not believe that God is a conscious being Who plans and wills every such event.  But I do believe that God is the Law of Life, the collective laws of nature, including physics, chemistry, electromagnetism, thermodynamics and gravity, which govern the universe and everything in it.  I believe God is in human nature, too.

I believe that each manifestation of the laws of nature is a creation, and an agent, of God – including us.

Economics of life

Math of life 101: "Enjoy each day to the max."  
Economics of life 101: "How can I deepen my enjoyment of life?"  How well do I use my twenty four hours?  How much time is allocated to the basics of survival?  How much is allocated to finding and maintaining a peaceful balance of health, growth, time alone and time with others, service to others (including work, family, community and life on earth) and play?  How much is allocated to improving the quality of my life, including my capacity for service?  To appreciating my blessings?  To developing and honoring my values - in particular to keeping my promises?  To keeping physically fit?  To keeping emotionally and spiritually well?  To seeing and, when appropriate, taking life's opportunities?   
To pure fun?
How much of my time is allocated to dealing with my troubles and challenges?  To helping others deal with their troubles and challenges?  To escaping from troubles and challenges?
How much is allocated to seeking the approval of others?  To doing things out of fear, not choice?  To doing things with resentment?
How much of my day is allocated to deepening my understanding and appreciation of others?  To enlarging the number of others I seek to understand and appreciate? To expressing my love and appreciation of others?
How well is my allocation of time serving me?
How well is doing this, right now, serving me?
How conscious am I of the economics of life?