Thursday, April 14, 2011

Ramblings In My Mind Volume II

This has been a long and difficult week so my "thoughts" have been sporadic. A couple of days I've been completely brain dead and very tired. I almost feel like these are not even worth sending out. Of course, every time I think my thoughts are not very good someone will write back to me and tell me they're the best ones I have ever done. For what they may be worth to any of you, here's a few ramblings from this past week.

Last weekend was way too busy and it went by way too fast. It felt like nonstop activity. Here's what I did last weekend. I hope this weekend is a little slower with at least the illusion that it lasts longer.

Last Friday I left work early on Friday to take my youngest son to the airport. Later that night I went to see Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin fame at the Palace Theater. I got up early on Saturday morning to pick my granddaughter up at "Daddy's Work" because Daddy overslept and didn't have time to drop Chloe off on his way to work. On Saturday afternoon my wife and I went to the Village 8 Cinema with Chloe to see "Mars Needs Moms". Chloe went home later to spend some time with her Dad so my wife and I watched the movie "Secretariat" which was a very good movie. I had to get up early again on Sunday morning to go pick Chloe up at her home so she could go to the airport with my wife and me to pick up "Uncle Nick". She enjoyed seeing the planes and afterwards we all went to breakfast where I got to pay the bill. Chloe stayed with us the rest of the day Dad went four wheeling in the country. When everyone had gone back home or back to school I took a nap!

In the monastery the monks take a vow called "Conversion of Manners". Basically it's a commitment to spend the rest of their lives trying to change for the better. One of my friends in the monastery, Father Michael, wrote some guidelines for people living in the world that might help them spend their lives trying to change for the better. Today I share some of his thoughts with you. In order to become a better version of who you are, you might consider doing the followin.

Become obedient to the demands of the moment, whether these come from family, work, or the needs of others.

Accept the limits imposed on you by the circumstances of your lives and the relationships to which you are committed.

Embrace the discipline that caring for a family or making a living demands of you.

Don't allow your thoughts or interests to be trivialized by reason of the values of the entertainment world.

Notice and appreciate silence when it is given to you.

Accept experiences of loneliness or solitude incumbent on every human life, especially in times of sickness, a bruised relationship or by other hardships.

Sacrifice your own interests when charity asks as much.

Be faithful to prayer or meditation when you would just as soon turn elsewhere.

Today is Thursday and I am finally at home after another long day at work. The evening commute was slow and taxing. My mind is empty. It has been a very long week and I am feeling very tired. In fact, I have decided to take a Mental Health Day tomorrow. A combination of things is making me feel very weary. It's nothing anyone needs to worry about and nothing a really good nap wouldn't cure. Life was just a little hectic and intense this week.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This whole week has been a very interesting week, where all of the past mistakes, wrongs committed against me, or even someone else, and so forth left my mind in a constant flurry, such that I couldn't even focus fully on my studies. My studies require much attention, time, and commitment, especially to detail, something that I have not done so successfully lately, I must admit. And, still looking for a job a little more than two years later creates more stress, and therefore, distractions from my studies. I'm learning, slowly, that I must enjoy the moment of now more than ever, be patient and wait on the Lord, and learn to treat others with respect even when they are not so nice to me. In light of all of that, your posts do make a difference- you present a lot of good food-for-thought that get people to think about their lives, and what they would like to accomplish in both the short-term and the long-term. I don't get to visit your blog as often as I'd like, but I do enjoy it. And, I find your posts incredibly helpful. They have gotten me to rethink the way I see my environment, as well as to stop being so bitter towards those who have committed wrongs against me, and my current situation. Lastly, youth has a remarkable way of making you feel invincible, and also incredibly foolish. Looking back at the past three years of my own life, I realize all of the things that have happened happened for a reason, good or bad, and it is my job to make sure that I become a better person through it all. Your posts are an instrument to that.

Steve Taylor said...

Very good Michael, one of your best, honestly.