My friend Michelle has begun a marvelous post here (it continues on another blog), entitled "An Examination of Conscience for the Weary." I highly recommend it to all of us.
The questions she poses are not only valuable for today, for life as we live it now. I found them to be immensely encouraging as they led to me the realization that, while I can hardly answer them in the affirmative or negative as appropriate, I have experienced genuine growth in my spiritual life over the past couple of decades. Many of the matters the reflection calls us to consider were not even on my radar screen in my mid-thirties. It takes some of us a lot of living before we understand the value of a slower pace, of attentiveness, of calm, of a persistent orientation toward gratitude.
It might be a worthwhile endeavor to address these questions to one of your younger selves, and to the older future self you would like to become.
This has me thinking and reflecting! Love your writing and insight into life- its joys and struggles. God bless you and keep it up! This Catholic is a better person because of your writing!
ReplyDeleteRobin, I hadn't thought about looking back in quite that way -- what a wonderful suggestion for a reflection to look not at the answers to the questions, but whether these are even questions!
ReplyDeleteHow many of these questions would have been on my radar a decade ago? a year ago? For me, it's not a linear process, there are moments (ok, weeks, months?!) where some of these questions do not appear -- and should.