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I’ve been in my head too much lately and all the worries and stressors and to-do lists and contingency plans have been reeking havoc. I feel like I’ve been walking in a fog…there but not there, distracted. I finally had to put my foot down and firmly say, “Self, it’s time to stop thinking and start doing. We have (pardon my ‘French’) shit to do.” So I did.
+ I found two little packs of water beads left over from years ago and surprised the little boys with them one morning. They were thrilled!
+ In honor of Saint Therese’s feast day, I made sacrifice beads with my daughter.
+ We’ve officially declared that Wednesday afternoons are for baking. This week, we made thumbprint cookies (using delicious Four Fruits jam!), English muffin bread and a coffee cake.
+ I just started reading Get Your Life Back: Everyday Practices for a World Gone Mad and I stopped in my tracks with this paragraph: “Thanks to the smartphone and the web, you are confronted on a daily basis with more information than any previous generation had to deal with! And it’s not just information; it’s the suffering of the entire planet, in minute detail, served up on your feed daily.” (emphasis mine, p.4) This put in words something I have felt, but couldn’t describe. While it’s important to be aware of the suffering of others around the world, is man supposed to shoulder the burden of everyone all the time? For me, that burden sometimes feels crushing.
Eldredge provides a solution to this that he calls benevolent detachment: “You’ve got to release the world; you’ve got to release people, crises, trauma, intrigue, all of it. There has to be sometime in your day where you just let it all go. All the tragedy of the world, the heartbreak, the latest shooting, earthquake – the soul was never meant to endure this. The soul was never meant to inhabit a world like this. It’s way too much. Your soul is finite. You cannot carry the sorrows of the world. Only God can do that. Only he is infinite. Somewhere, sometime in your day, you’ve just got to release it. You’ve got to let it go.” (p.24) Thought provoking.
+ The entire family has been playing Trouble and it’s pretty intense! We even made a family leaderboard on the chalkboard and sadly, I’m nowhere near the top, ha! Hoping to win a few this week.
I have days that are my GST days… When i work hard to Get my S#it Together. Sometimes those days are filled with garden work or house chores and other days it’s filled with prayer and if i’m lucky adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.!
Yes technology and sharing of information can be overwhelming… i always look forward to Advent and Lent when we as a family take a break from devices and phones!!
Both types of your days sound wonderful and productive! It’s been a long time since I’ve been to adoration – what a gift for you to be able to recharge with Him.
It’s true, you cannot carry the sorrows of the world. Unfortunately, I’ve seen some people on social media implying that you are a privileged uncaring human if you decide to stop torturing yourself and following the news daily of all the misfortunes happening around the world. Everyone is called to different causes in different ways.
“Everyone is called to different causes in different ways.” <-- YES. We can all do something but not EVERYthing, you know? I think it's unfair to put that kind of immense pressure on ourselves and others.
“We have shit to do” Oh Ashley! Truer words! Haha! My worrying is SUCH a time suck. I am glad I am not alone in this.
And that quote!
“The soul was never meant to endure this.”
That made me take a breath. It reminds me how important breathing, meditation and mindful presence are. Just be here, where I am, not trying to solve the world.