“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” comes to mind while writing this post. The pre-labour day plan from two posts ago has been postponed and updated to an end-of-the-year journey to the other side of the world; a homecoming of sorts a la Thorin Oakenshield and his crew of Middle Earth dwarves journeying back to their home in The Lonely Mountain. Often times, the level of fixation I dedicate to a particular goal limits my perspective like horse blinders, only for God to take away the horse blinders and compel me to look at the bigger picture and see how amazing the full view is if I just bothered to move eyeballs.
"...Human recognition is passing; it doesn’t even last a lifetime."
After a "thundersnow" event last week.
Good morning, folks. It is hump day--that arbitrary hurdle we try to get through during the week and that also provides motivation to look forward to the weekend. It is also "Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent" in the Roman Catholic Liturgical calendar. I felt inspired to post today, because today's Gospel reflects on "humble service". I invite you to think about humility--our elusive goal--wherein the pursuit is always a push-and-pull sort of journey. Do we gatekeep this journey or encourage fellow journeyers and potentially come across as being self-righteous? Interesting dilemma, isn't it?
I obtained a handy zippered Bible and some ribbon bookmarks that I cut and burned at the edges to prevent fraying. Happenstance: the zipper tab is a small Miraculous Medal similar to what I wear around my neck (thanks to my sister).
Going back to today's Gospel (Matthew 20:17-28), which had the section titles "The Third Prediction of the Passion" and "The Request of James and John" in my above copy of scripture--the notes at the end of Matthew's book states "......what makes for greatness in the kingdom is not lordly power but humble service." Humble service. Those were the words that caused me to write this post. Primarily because I have been praying daily for this hard-to-attain virtue and I believe that the Lord listens and that Our Lady, St. Joseph, angels and saints continue to intercede. Why do I say this? For some inexplicable reason, I have not been as easily anxious when others act in a particularly negative manner. I feel that I have been granted access to increased compassion. That a dose of personal humility (not in the sense of acting like a doormat) allows for the ability to reciprocate in the opposite manner--a loving diplomacy that results in progress and harmony. That if we reduce our pride or the implicit demand of only receiving the best treatment from others, we become more aware of what is going on outside of ourselves and how many of our peers (if not everyone) need help.
The smoothest cappuccino I have ever tasted as a non-expert coffee drinker. Learned about this coffee shop from an online review and I'm glad that one of its locations is near my workplace.
With renewed faith, I am fully able to enjoy the ordinary day-to-day moments with humble gratefulness. I have generated extra space in my mind and heart to relish more of the little things. Such as the discovery of new coffee shops (see above). I have tried to pray along with the persons in the video embedded below and I invite you to just try it out, if you are comfortable. Otherwise, you are free to click on the "X" button to rid yourself of my invitation. But if I can convince you to spend less than 3 minutes to meditate on humility, that would be awesome.
Thanks, folks. Thumbs up.
As a random mundane extra tidbit, I experimented with an orange marmalade-swiss cheese-cucumber-on-toast sandwich and it works. With a flat white from our friendly neighbourhood Balzac's coffee shop. Geez, this post is like a series of advertisements. I should probably reduce this free promotion, eh? I'll keep that in mind next time.
....as the song "Summertime" by The Sundays goes. I'm feeling very fortunate to be going on a pre-Labour day holiday/road trip/theme park extravaganza (thanks to plans by extended family) this year. Even though planning the nitty-gritty details can be cumbersome (not to mention the resources that need to be set aside for it), it's always nice to be looking forward to something. Knock on wood, fingers crossed...hopefully things go smoothly. For me, if it actually happens, everything else is cherry on top. These days, anything unexpected can occur and I'm hoping that nothing drastic akin to pandemic-epic proportions causes this dream trip to remain a fantasy. Suffice to say that I'm deeply grateful.
This is a personal blog that I share publicly as an anonymous individual and disseminate selectively to my family and some friends. All views expressed on this blog are my own in the most authentic way possible and do not represent the views of any entity that I have been or am now and will be affiliated. I have tried to be diligent in citing any material that did not come directly from my head, unless attribution-free content which I still sometimes cite. This blog is for entertainment purposes and my own catharsis. Any self-help related posts or recommendations should be taken with a grain of salt...or pepper, or ketchup, or your preferred condiment. I cannot be held responsible for any wonderful feeling you get from commiserating with me or from the useful coping mechanisms you learn and adapt from my hyperactive thought process. Relax. Enjoy.
