Well seems like you got it down. I have been studying the I Ching as well as the Holy Bible.
I Ching recommends detaching. Attaining a neutral position. Stop looking at problems.
Turn your attention to other immediate matters.
Seek inner independence that means total surrender to Creator. All similar to Christianity
“Be in the world, not of the world” a real balancing act.
I go back and forth too on engaging the world
Getting sucked in, trying to help, and end up
Becoming infected by the world.
I like taking weekends off the phone off the world. Re engage on weekdays.
Thanks for your detailed thoughts.
Me thinks the more we are filled with the Holy Spirit the less room for the toxic trauma. The more prepared we are to do battle.
Consider Satan would love everyone on the sidelines, watching the game. Christ might ask us to get in the game shine your light and play to win.
People oblivious to what’s going on seem happy.
Not sure if ignorance is bliss. It helps to have a heart of a child. Also helps to be engaged in
Some small manner, with the mind of seeking Justice.
On the playground, bullies only stop when stopped. If you want peace you stand up to bully. If you want to be haunted you ignore bully yet some moment he’ll come for you.
Put your full armor of God on.
We are have always been at war with evil. It’s just extremely more in our face, mocking, teasing, killing with so far impunity.
Wow, James. You have so beautifully encapsulated the question, expressed the tension of the dilemma, and highlighted true ideas that open the way forward.
"Be in the world, but not of the world" also came to mind as I was writing. Another truth that lights the way is "Peace I leave with you; My Peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." The fact that Jesus says this just before He talks about how we can bear fruit as branches of Him (the Vine), and then tells us to love each other as He has loved us and that "greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends" . . . all points to exactly your response here — especially about challenging bullies, putting on our full armor of God, and fulfilling our God gifted potential. As I said, beautifully spoken.
Now I'm going to spend some time pondering "Lord how best do I exalt you?" Not as an intellectual quest but as a meditation, a prayer. Thank you for that, especially.
First thank you!! Second yes you covered what the Christ said. And it’s up to us to take his words as solemn and sincere.
Since he did lay down his life for the likes of us.
I’ve tried everything and lately came to understand the Holy Spirits role and have partnered with this Divine Baptism by fire that has given me courage to face myself the world. Not always easy to not get angry, frustrated. I know my messages I get are pray meditate more and clean my inner cup.
I Ching states each soul has a blue print of their maximum best.
Since life is a gift
We honor our Creator God by polishing our natural talents that me thinks plays a positive part in all walks of life.
Also daily bread, is reading scripture.
We are Blessed by a great invincible God. And if God is that so are we. We just haven’t yet come to our full blooming. And in a way, me thinks the Covid is adversely testing souls.
In our adversity we either grow stronger
Or become demoralized. This is why the world is constantly 24/7 gas lighting
Keeping people in stress and fear. Some people seem completely oblivious.
Thanks for your comments, it’s nice to share. God Bless !!!
"Everything under heaven is a sacred vessel and cannot be controlled. Trying to control leads to ruin. Trying to grasp, we lose. Allow your life to unfold naturally. Know that it too is a vessel of perfection".
I have felt a tap on my shoulder ever since returning safely from my Marine Corps experience in Vietnam, Leah. A deep appreciation of life was recognized and with life , a responsibility to speak.
I have nothing so compelling as war experience prodding me. But I like that you frame it in terms of appreciation for life. That's a compelling angle right there. Thanks FtB!
Hi there Leah.....just getting to re-reading your post and thinking about it more. We Catholic folks are always taught that Faith, Hope and Love are the greatest gifts - and, love is the greatest of all. That surely does ring true although in practice, it gets sticky. But beyond that - which to me is a whole other topic for later - your story is the one you and I were talking about during Advent, and it still is an issue for me as well. I recently had a girls weekend with my daughter, my sister and her daughter. We kept it light mostly, but at one point I mentioned the horror of October 7. Neither my daughter nor niece knew of it initially until I told them the details. They they realized what it was, but I could tell they did not want to go there. My shock is that these are bright and great young women (36 and 32). So I thought....what in the world are we to do if these girls aren't engaged in the real world?? Then I sat back and recalled my life raising kids while also teaching high school. We were busy parents....as are they. Was I engaged in world events then like I am now? Nope....so I tried to cut them some slack. I, maybe like you, am often too engaged in world events, which is why I may try to step back again during Lent. More to the point....with faith, we have hope - and we are freer to love and share the Lord's light actively with those around us. And, I follow a horse trainer on FB, and I love her philosophy, not only with her horses who are also therapy horses - but in life. She said this morning.....we should find joy and beauty each day in the small things. This is, I think, what you meant when we say the Lord's prayer and ask for our daily bread. I have often thought that cannot only be literal, so it may mean what you suggest....to live like we are dying - to the world and ourselves. Such a hard hard thing to think about for me these days. I ramble, but, suffice it to say that we are on a similar journey; seeking the Divine daily is something you have reminded me to do very consciously. Thank you. Ellen
"With faith, we have hope - and we are freer to love and share the Lord's light actively with those around us." Yes—I really think this is the key to hold on to particularly in times of tumult. Rather than add to the angst in the world with fear and worry we can seek to be conduits for God's Light and Love into the world. His Providence is not operated mechanistically through a divine control panel in Heaven, but rather through the activity of the human beings He creates as recipients of His love and wisdom. Our work is to orient ourselves to receive receive Him and to live in His image and likeness.
Also, I agree that "finding the beauty and joy each day in the small things" is our daily bread, our manna from heaven. Those daily offerings of goodness are one way the Lord feeds our souls. So keeping our eyes open to see and celebrate the beauty and joy is an important spiritual practice. I also think that it's one of the main battlefronts on which hellish spirits attack us, trying to starve us of spiritual nourishment by distracting us with Everything That Is Wrong With The World, with all the fear and anxiety such a focus inspires. One of the truths I keep coming back to is that the Lord is Infinite—He is infinitely mightier than all the power of hell combined (He proved that 2000 years ago). So the idea that, in the end, evil could win against Him is just a fantasy the hells love to inspire—a delusion. If we choose Team God and don't let ourselves be sidelined by doubt and fear and we keep showing up to do our part, we can't lose.
Thank you for sharing your reflections; I'm always interested to hear your thoughts.
Two points: First, anger. You don't really deal with anger directly. I'm guessing you meant that you felt anger when reading the masses of media you immerse yourself in. And I'm guessing you saw lots of anger in what you read. I know anger. Over the years it has come easily to me. Lately not so much, for which I am grateful. I spent years feeling guilty over the anger. My mom had angered easily and didn't always handle it well. I quickly came to understand the cliche solution, of 'anger is okay, as long as you don't act on it or from it.' And I tried to follow that advice. However, I have come to believe that anger is a perfectly fine emotion to experience. I don't ask for it. If a God exists I might blame it on him LOL! But I've been accused of being too emotional and not rational enough. and I reflected on that and decided it wasn't true. I am both emotional and rational and decided it was an excellent mix, even if anger is one of the emotions.
Second point: reading too much media! I realize over the years I have almost stopped reading the news. I've rarely watched it. For years I listened to NPR while I made my family dinner. But since the arrival of digital news, I have let my attention dwindle. What happens is I open up the email (which is how I subscribed to the news) and start reading, and invariably I became depressed. I pushed through for a while, but eventually I just didn't want to live with the depression and sometimes fear or anxiety. So, I really have slipped into that place you worry about where I don't participate in the media frenzy of news. I feel much calmer and happier. Do I feel a little guilty, yes. But less and less. I have picked one area of political and social upheaval (education) and work on doing something about it. I read about it and am writing a book about it that I hope might make a difference. But I can't do much about all the rest and so I just keep a very loose connection to world events. I will try to inform myself well enough to vote, but even that brings anxiety and depression.
I have a lot to say about anger, and I didn't go in that direction here (saving for a future post!) but yes, I think you interpreted me correctly on how it fits in the issue I'm dealing with in this essay. I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on it when I get to writing about it.
I am so in sympathy with where you've landed re: news consumption. I keep going in that direction and pulling back or getting confused about whether its really the most useful (as I'm sure you can tell from this post). JamesDuff in his response sketches out really well the way my thinking trends; I think I need to get a handle on where my line is exactly. I have a hard time feeling good in the longterm about total info blackouts (per those Lent days) as a way of moving through the world, yet my info-junkie tendencies too easily pull me in too far over my head. I need to figure out how far in I can wade without overwhelm. Because there is also a part of me that feels real use, sees true value, in tackling the current events of the day. As one of my favorite writers—Rod Dreher—just stated on his Substack: culture warfare really is spiritual warfare, which is why it actually matters. So I can't, for the sake of my personal desire for peace of mind, just walk off the battlefield and leave it all to others. And the battle is raging in me as well, anyway, which means there is no way out but through. So the question then becomes: how well do I follow the Battle Plan, not just for my own spiritual survival, but in the fight for Goodness and peace in the world around me. Phew.
Thank you for sharing how you are tackling the issue. I know we come from different priors re: the underlying spiritual component here. But I think you are on to something with your decision to narrow the scope of attention to the arena that matters most to you. I've been moving in that direction myself, and I think it is definitely a promising way to keep upright rather than being pulled under. I appreciate your helpful testimony on it.
So many sparkling gems here! Thank you for shining the Light from your beautiful heart that is finding the holy peace and balance within you -
"..the sweeps of movement and change are both inevitable and complex beyond any of us.." ..
“..handing over the wheel and realizing that while we might be able to read and understand His map, our Driver knows the territory and the route far better than we do. He is the One who will bring us safely home.”
“So to get into the flow, trust in the Divine and ascribe everything to Him. Final answer. Because the stream of providence is the only current I want carrying me.”
How beautiful it is - you are Living in the Light of knowing God. Trusting Divine Intelligence, knowing the Divine Imprint is real. Yes, we all have it within us. Everything we need to know shows up for us, and Even what we thought were mistakes, turn out to be beautiful detours that guide us Home, back to our Heart, to our Self and to God's Presence. We can thank the whole 'scene' for the Good it brings. Yes, the Way of Love and Joy and Peace within us can change the world around us, so we begin Here and stay Here - silly as it may seem to anyone else. We know It works like this - we do, yes we do.
Well seems like you got it down. I have been studying the I Ching as well as the Holy Bible.
I Ching recommends detaching. Attaining a neutral position. Stop looking at problems.
Turn your attention to other immediate matters.
Seek inner independence that means total surrender to Creator. All similar to Christianity
“Be in the world, not of the world” a real balancing act.
I go back and forth too on engaging the world
Getting sucked in, trying to help, and end up
Becoming infected by the world.
I like taking weekends off the phone off the world. Re engage on weekdays.
Thanks for your detailed thoughts.
Me thinks the more we are filled with the Holy Spirit the less room for the toxic trauma. The more prepared we are to do battle.
Consider Satan would love everyone on the sidelines, watching the game. Christ might ask us to get in the game shine your light and play to win.
People oblivious to what’s going on seem happy.
Not sure if ignorance is bliss. It helps to have a heart of a child. Also helps to be engaged in
Some small manner, with the mind of seeking Justice.
On the playground, bullies only stop when stopped. If you want peace you stand up to bully. If you want to be haunted you ignore bully yet some moment he’ll come for you.
Put your full armor of God on.
We are have always been at war with evil. It’s just extremely more in our face, mocking, teasing, killing with so far impunity.
Each of has our gifts to be used to help
When we are expressing those gifts we are
Fulfilling our highest human God gifted potential
Ask God, Lord how best do I exalt you?
Wow, James. You have so beautifully encapsulated the question, expressed the tension of the dilemma, and highlighted true ideas that open the way forward.
"Be in the world, but not of the world" also came to mind as I was writing. Another truth that lights the way is "Peace I leave with you; My Peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." The fact that Jesus says this just before He talks about how we can bear fruit as branches of Him (the Vine), and then tells us to love each other as He has loved us and that "greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends" . . . all points to exactly your response here — especially about challenging bullies, putting on our full armor of God, and fulfilling our God gifted potential. As I said, beautifully spoken.
Now I'm going to spend some time pondering "Lord how best do I exalt you?" Not as an intellectual quest but as a meditation, a prayer. Thank you for that, especially.
First thank you!! Second yes you covered what the Christ said. And it’s up to us to take his words as solemn and sincere.
Since he did lay down his life for the likes of us.
I’ve tried everything and lately came to understand the Holy Spirits role and have partnered with this Divine Baptism by fire that has given me courage to face myself the world. Not always easy to not get angry, frustrated. I know my messages I get are pray meditate more and clean my inner cup.
I Ching states each soul has a blue print of their maximum best.
Since life is a gift
We honor our Creator God by polishing our natural talents that me thinks plays a positive part in all walks of life.
Also daily bread, is reading scripture.
We are Blessed by a great invincible God. And if God is that so are we. We just haven’t yet come to our full blooming. And in a way, me thinks the Covid is adversely testing souls.
In our adversity we either grow stronger
Or become demoralized. This is why the world is constantly 24/7 gas lighting
Keeping people in stress and fear. Some people seem completely oblivious.
Thanks for your comments, it’s nice to share. God Bless !!!
Thanks for YOUR comments, James. Agree, agree, agree!
"Everything under heaven is a sacred vessel and cannot be controlled. Trying to control leads to ruin. Trying to grasp, we lose. Allow your life to unfold naturally. Know that it too is a vessel of perfection".
~ Lao Tzu
Thanks 🙏
I have felt a tap on my shoulder ever since returning safely from my Marine Corps experience in Vietnam, Leah. A deep appreciation of life was recognized and with life , a responsibility to speak.
I have nothing so compelling as war experience prodding me. But I like that you frame it in terms of appreciation for life. That's a compelling angle right there. Thanks FtB!
My pleasure.
I appreciate your work.
I’m so happy to have found you. This is exactly what I needed to see today.
Thank you for sharing this. It’s exactly what I needed to see today!
Hi there Leah.....just getting to re-reading your post and thinking about it more. We Catholic folks are always taught that Faith, Hope and Love are the greatest gifts - and, love is the greatest of all. That surely does ring true although in practice, it gets sticky. But beyond that - which to me is a whole other topic for later - your story is the one you and I were talking about during Advent, and it still is an issue for me as well. I recently had a girls weekend with my daughter, my sister and her daughter. We kept it light mostly, but at one point I mentioned the horror of October 7. Neither my daughter nor niece knew of it initially until I told them the details. They they realized what it was, but I could tell they did not want to go there. My shock is that these are bright and great young women (36 and 32). So I thought....what in the world are we to do if these girls aren't engaged in the real world?? Then I sat back and recalled my life raising kids while also teaching high school. We were busy parents....as are they. Was I engaged in world events then like I am now? Nope....so I tried to cut them some slack. I, maybe like you, am often too engaged in world events, which is why I may try to step back again during Lent. More to the point....with faith, we have hope - and we are freer to love and share the Lord's light actively with those around us. And, I follow a horse trainer on FB, and I love her philosophy, not only with her horses who are also therapy horses - but in life. She said this morning.....we should find joy and beauty each day in the small things. This is, I think, what you meant when we say the Lord's prayer and ask for our daily bread. I have often thought that cannot only be literal, so it may mean what you suggest....to live like we are dying - to the world and ourselves. Such a hard hard thing to think about for me these days. I ramble, but, suffice it to say that we are on a similar journey; seeking the Divine daily is something you have reminded me to do very consciously. Thank you. Ellen
"With faith, we have hope - and we are freer to love and share the Lord's light actively with those around us." Yes—I really think this is the key to hold on to particularly in times of tumult. Rather than add to the angst in the world with fear and worry we can seek to be conduits for God's Light and Love into the world. His Providence is not operated mechanistically through a divine control panel in Heaven, but rather through the activity of the human beings He creates as recipients of His love and wisdom. Our work is to orient ourselves to receive receive Him and to live in His image and likeness.
Also, I agree that "finding the beauty and joy each day in the small things" is our daily bread, our manna from heaven. Those daily offerings of goodness are one way the Lord feeds our souls. So keeping our eyes open to see and celebrate the beauty and joy is an important spiritual practice. I also think that it's one of the main battlefronts on which hellish spirits attack us, trying to starve us of spiritual nourishment by distracting us with Everything That Is Wrong With The World, with all the fear and anxiety such a focus inspires. One of the truths I keep coming back to is that the Lord is Infinite—He is infinitely mightier than all the power of hell combined (He proved that 2000 years ago). So the idea that, in the end, evil could win against Him is just a fantasy the hells love to inspire—a delusion. If we choose Team God and don't let ourselves be sidelined by doubt and fear and we keep showing up to do our part, we can't lose.
Thank you for sharing your reflections; I'm always interested to hear your thoughts.
Two points: First, anger. You don't really deal with anger directly. I'm guessing you meant that you felt anger when reading the masses of media you immerse yourself in. And I'm guessing you saw lots of anger in what you read. I know anger. Over the years it has come easily to me. Lately not so much, for which I am grateful. I spent years feeling guilty over the anger. My mom had angered easily and didn't always handle it well. I quickly came to understand the cliche solution, of 'anger is okay, as long as you don't act on it or from it.' And I tried to follow that advice. However, I have come to believe that anger is a perfectly fine emotion to experience. I don't ask for it. If a God exists I might blame it on him LOL! But I've been accused of being too emotional and not rational enough. and I reflected on that and decided it wasn't true. I am both emotional and rational and decided it was an excellent mix, even if anger is one of the emotions.
Second point: reading too much media! I realize over the years I have almost stopped reading the news. I've rarely watched it. For years I listened to NPR while I made my family dinner. But since the arrival of digital news, I have let my attention dwindle. What happens is I open up the email (which is how I subscribed to the news) and start reading, and invariably I became depressed. I pushed through for a while, but eventually I just didn't want to live with the depression and sometimes fear or anxiety. So, I really have slipped into that place you worry about where I don't participate in the media frenzy of news. I feel much calmer and happier. Do I feel a little guilty, yes. But less and less. I have picked one area of political and social upheaval (education) and work on doing something about it. I read about it and am writing a book about it that I hope might make a difference. But I can't do much about all the rest and so I just keep a very loose connection to world events. I will try to inform myself well enough to vote, but even that brings anxiety and depression.
I enjoy your reflections on these topics.
I have a lot to say about anger, and I didn't go in that direction here (saving for a future post!) but yes, I think you interpreted me correctly on how it fits in the issue I'm dealing with in this essay. I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on it when I get to writing about it.
I am so in sympathy with where you've landed re: news consumption. I keep going in that direction and pulling back or getting confused about whether its really the most useful (as I'm sure you can tell from this post). JamesDuff in his response sketches out really well the way my thinking trends; I think I need to get a handle on where my line is exactly. I have a hard time feeling good in the longterm about total info blackouts (per those Lent days) as a way of moving through the world, yet my info-junkie tendencies too easily pull me in too far over my head. I need to figure out how far in I can wade without overwhelm. Because there is also a part of me that feels real use, sees true value, in tackling the current events of the day. As one of my favorite writers—Rod Dreher—just stated on his Substack: culture warfare really is spiritual warfare, which is why it actually matters. So I can't, for the sake of my personal desire for peace of mind, just walk off the battlefield and leave it all to others. And the battle is raging in me as well, anyway, which means there is no way out but through. So the question then becomes: how well do I follow the Battle Plan, not just for my own spiritual survival, but in the fight for Goodness and peace in the world around me. Phew.
Thank you for sharing how you are tackling the issue. I know we come from different priors re: the underlying spiritual component here. But I think you are on to something with your decision to narrow the scope of attention to the arena that matters most to you. I've been moving in that direction myself, and I think it is definitely a promising way to keep upright rather than being pulled under. I appreciate your helpful testimony on it.
So many sparkling gems here! Thank you for shining the Light from your beautiful heart that is finding the holy peace and balance within you -
"..the sweeps of movement and change are both inevitable and complex beyond any of us.." ..
“..handing over the wheel and realizing that while we might be able to read and understand His map, our Driver knows the territory and the route far better than we do. He is the One who will bring us safely home.”
“So to get into the flow, trust in the Divine and ascribe everything to Him. Final answer. Because the stream of providence is the only current I want carrying me.”
How beautiful it is - you are Living in the Light of knowing God. Trusting Divine Intelligence, knowing the Divine Imprint is real. Yes, we all have it within us. Everything we need to know shows up for us, and Even what we thought were mistakes, turn out to be beautiful detours that guide us Home, back to our Heart, to our Self and to God's Presence. We can thank the whole 'scene' for the Good it brings. Yes, the Way of Love and Joy and Peace within us can change the world around us, so we begin Here and stay Here - silly as it may seem to anyone else. We know It works like this - we do, yes we do.