Repetition

Howdy, I hope you folks have been well!

I could use every cliché in the book to describe the various patterns that life can take - as a journey, with twists and turns, separations and reunions; as a circle that never ends; as a chalkboard upon which to be written, as a book with empty pages to fill; as a test to complete or a promise to fulfill. However, none of these analogies can fully encompass the reality of life.  Philosophers have mused for millennia about what life is, its meaning an direction. Some say there is no direction, after pursuing it and coming up empty-handed. There are those who focus on the present moment and those who are trapped in their memories, those who are so busy with their "heads in the clouds" that they miss the experiences of the present, those who are looking so far down the road that they run into a barrier. We use so many approximations to describe our lives as a whole, or in little pieces, segments, characterized by events, people, experiences...

In a sense, we miss the point.

Life is about love. And learning, as I pointed out last week.  Learning to love, learning what love is, learning to receive love.  The late Pope John Paul II wrote to a young woman named Teresa, "It is not enough to give love; one must also be able to receive love."  We spend so much time chasing after this and that, ideals of "success", things we want to have or accomplish. Sometimes we try to become a better version of ourselves, and sometimes we try to become a different person entirely.  The general consensus is that being genuine, "true to oneself" is the best modus operandi, but that requires a thorough knowledge of oneself. The first ingredient then would be to engage in self-reflection which would enable integrity to flourish.  As human beings who are neurologically wired for relationships, we need each other and learn from each other, imitating those we like or admire. If we pay attention to our own hearts, we will learn what we like and dislike, what brings us joy and sorrow, learning from our mistakes to be empathetic with others.

As a fallible human being, I fail quite often.  It is said that the important thing is to get back up when you fall.  From experience, I would say that this is true.  Each new moment, each new day, is another opportunity to love, to choose to try again to do our best and serve others.  The old acronym I learned in Sunday school as a child still applies: JOY =Jesus, Others, Yourself (in order of importance). I have wrestled with my melancholy side for a while now, and I am beginning to see that the real fight is in acceptance and choosing to wield the "attitude of gratitude" against the temptations of negative thoughts. Instead of focusing always on my weaknesses, I should acknowledge them and then seek to find ways to maximize my strengths as well as my weaknesses in the service of others and (indirectly) betterment of myself.  All this, of course, in the context of praying constantly for the appropriate humility and grace to persevere as God wills.

Life is too short to always be thinking of death, and in so doing, dying without having lived. No, we must live even as we are dying...