Day 037: If You Want to Love Yourself, Invest in Yourself

So many people are hurting in our world. We don’t need statistics to show us something is wrong or that we do not value human beings as divinely created creatures. Without believing in Divine creation we have little reason to value ourselves and less reason to value others. What’s more astounding is that for the first time in history, humanity’s misery is largely self-inflicted and self promoted. With a modern experimentation into realms of self-esteem, mindfulness, new age practices, and yoga with its poses designed to create and release “energy” and other spiritual misperceptions, we still have some of the highest rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide mankind has ever seen.

If we want to find true joy, steadfast resilience, and unfailing love we cannot settle for temporary pleasures or shallow therapies. We must know our lives have purpose and meaning. To that end, Americans everywhere are realizing therapy alone is not enough. Good therapy is not bad, but it is simply not enough. It lacks the spiritual elevation hurting and confused souls need. Therapy can provide a life raft, but eventually we all need a solid shore to land on. The result is that after decades of casting God aside, Americans are discovering He gives our lives purpose and meaning and He alone is irreplaceable.

If we want to be happy, we need to invest in the Lord over everything else combined. The crazy thing about joy, resilience, and love is that to get them, we must be willing to lose everything we hold dear in this world. We must be willing to risk our finances, reputations, and families. We must be willing to risk our own lives in the willingness of standing for something greater than ourselves. Again, we hear the call beckoning us to live, not ordinary.

We must embrace what seems to make no sense by embracing the fact that joy, resilience, and love shines best in people willing to die for what they believe in.

No, that’s not right. As I read that, it occurred to me that many people are willing to die for what they believe in. Kamikaze fighters in Japan were willing to die for what they believe in. Muslim jihadists are willing to die for what they believe in. Addicts, who believe in the power of the drug, are willing to die to get another dose.

It is not enough to die for what you believe in. That does not bring joy, resilience, or love.

Instead we must LIVE for the good we know we can believe in and know that if we sacrifice in the process, our lives have elevated purpose and meaning. To lay it all on the line and live for the crown of martyrdom is to find true joy, eternal resilience, and unfailing Love. That is what it means to Live, Not Ordinary. That is the path to Sainthood.

I pray we all find that path!

God Bless…

Gratitude Journal – May 17, 2023

Thank you Lord for…

1. Running drill warm ups with are fun!
2. The neighbor who didn’t laugh (too hard) at me and the fun exchange we had together.
3. the Church being open
4. the ride to work behind the slow car and the humility that comes from accepting I am not in control of speed or time.
5. Most importantly, the lesson that teaches that I am not in control of others.
6. the reminder that she was going just under the speed limit and she probably wasn’t doing that to intentionally annoy me! Thank you Saint Ignatius and your presupposition of good!
7. C’s game that was too far for me to get to so I had time to catch up on things at work.
8. getting tests almost graded.
9. figuring out calculators needed.
10. Being able to go shopping
11. Alex, the cashier who arranged my groceries so incredibly nicely as he scanned them! He was a sweet kid!
12. Meema and Z for going to C”s game when I couldn’t.
13. M for wanting video of the game.
14. Meema for offering to take us to dinner and for being okay when I declined.
15. Z for picking up Chipotle.