I loved this. It is both heartfelt at times and then other times a relief to shed some of my expectations of myself and just be what Yeshua means for me to be. More like him in every way. Not always an easy task but grateful for His mercy and grace every morning to pursue His word's of wisdom to fallow Him all the day's. His love is never ending and for this I can carry on. Thank you my God Almighty 🙏 🙌 ❤️
As contradictory as it is to acknowledge your commentary on the value of not be acknowledged, I would nevertheless like to say to that I very much resonate with your feeling of becoming unseeking of the limelight as a way towards letting go of the endless cycle that “needing” keeps us trapped in. And yes, the best way to do that is focusing on how we can be there for others, and may I add, be there for ourselves in the process. The people who need the attention and the praise really do need our attention: they are still finding their gifts, coping with their challenges. They need affirmation from the outside, whether it is a parent that comforts them in failure or someone who thinks they are winners in the looks/brains departments.
I Iooked at the Litany of Humility and my underlying feeling about the prayer, is, “Wow, what a great freedom to be able to let go of all that need!” It is a great tool, and I think you would agree with me that the caveat is, “ in the right hands”. We both are in the cusp of “being old” vs “getting old” and in this prayer, in our hands now, with our mature capacity to say, “If I died tomorrow I can hope that I will have left the world, at least in some respects, better for my having passed through and thus have fairly fulfilled my life with my true character granted to me as a fractal of the divine” In the hands of someone who has not yet formed a full and mature ego (which in our advanced years we are finally ready to let go of) the prayer can be an impulse to feel it is somehow virtuous or Godly to think little of oneself or belittle oneself. Catholic guilt is famous for that, as is Jewish guilt. Out of that immature thought we can end up suppressing much of our most beautiful natures. This is the double edged sword of Catholicism, and many other religions as well: a self abnegating positive truth for those who can see the greater picture can lead to spiritual freedom, but it can become a source of self belittlement for someone of a younger, less seasoned ego. I would not want a 5th grader to have to recite this. They are at the age where they should be feeling like they deserve the spotlight, get the praise , the love, the trophies and all that stuff we now see as fluff. As the great Catholic thinker Thomas Merton said, “People may spend their whole lives climbing the ladder of success only to find, once they reach the top, that the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall.” Yet we must climb it to find out that another wall even exists. I am sure you are grateful you climbed the ladder of student, singer, artist, mother, etc. We make the world go around with our right actions, even if we are motivated by less than saintly action.
Speaking of aging, it seems to me that God gives us beauty when we are young, because we need it to feel like we are somebody of worth, at a skin level to give us a boost up, we need help perceiving that beauty exists everywhere. As we get older we gradually lose what is considered traditional beauty, hopefully at more or less the same pace that we find our inner beauty, and manifest that, shine it forth, for those who have eyes to see.
All things die away, and yet, as they die, aka surrender away, an emptiness of need that fills us with the gratitude of witnessing this blessing of just being alive takes place.
In finding freedom from the need to be recognized, finding solace in solitude, company in connection with our inner Christ and seeing that Christ manifest in the world around us in a multitude of ways is, well, freedom. When we are free of needing we are free to absorb the grace that manifests around us, be it grandkids or grand canyons, music or silence.
So Beautiful and so full of truth ♥️
I loved this. It is both heartfelt at times and then other times a relief to shed some of my expectations of myself and just be what Yeshua means for me to be. More like him in every way. Not always an easy task but grateful for His mercy and grace every morning to pursue His word's of wisdom to fallow Him all the day's. His love is never ending and for this I can carry on. Thank you my God Almighty 🙏 🙌 ❤️
"Put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth" (Ephesians 4:24).
Dear Michelle,
As contradictory as it is to acknowledge your commentary on the value of not be acknowledged, I would nevertheless like to say to that I very much resonate with your feeling of becoming unseeking of the limelight as a way towards letting go of the endless cycle that “needing” keeps us trapped in. And yes, the best way to do that is focusing on how we can be there for others, and may I add, be there for ourselves in the process. The people who need the attention and the praise really do need our attention: they are still finding their gifts, coping with their challenges. They need affirmation from the outside, whether it is a parent that comforts them in failure or someone who thinks they are winners in the looks/brains departments.
I Iooked at the Litany of Humility and my underlying feeling about the prayer, is, “Wow, what a great freedom to be able to let go of all that need!” It is a great tool, and I think you would agree with me that the caveat is, “ in the right hands”. We both are in the cusp of “being old” vs “getting old” and in this prayer, in our hands now, with our mature capacity to say, “If I died tomorrow I can hope that I will have left the world, at least in some respects, better for my having passed through and thus have fairly fulfilled my life with my true character granted to me as a fractal of the divine” In the hands of someone who has not yet formed a full and mature ego (which in our advanced years we are finally ready to let go of) the prayer can be an impulse to feel it is somehow virtuous or Godly to think little of oneself or belittle oneself. Catholic guilt is famous for that, as is Jewish guilt. Out of that immature thought we can end up suppressing much of our most beautiful natures. This is the double edged sword of Catholicism, and many other religions as well: a self abnegating positive truth for those who can see the greater picture can lead to spiritual freedom, but it can become a source of self belittlement for someone of a younger, less seasoned ego. I would not want a 5th grader to have to recite this. They are at the age where they should be feeling like they deserve the spotlight, get the praise , the love, the trophies and all that stuff we now see as fluff. As the great Catholic thinker Thomas Merton said, “People may spend their whole lives climbing the ladder of success only to find, once they reach the top, that the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall.” Yet we must climb it to find out that another wall even exists. I am sure you are grateful you climbed the ladder of student, singer, artist, mother, etc. We make the world go around with our right actions, even if we are motivated by less than saintly action.
Speaking of aging, it seems to me that God gives us beauty when we are young, because we need it to feel like we are somebody of worth, at a skin level to give us a boost up, we need help perceiving that beauty exists everywhere. As we get older we gradually lose what is considered traditional beauty, hopefully at more or less the same pace that we find our inner beauty, and manifest that, shine it forth, for those who have eyes to see.
All things die away, and yet, as they die, aka surrender away, an emptiness of need that fills us with the gratitude of witnessing this blessing of just being alive takes place.
In finding freedom from the need to be recognized, finding solace in solitude, company in connection with our inner Christ and seeing that Christ manifest in the world around us in a multitude of ways is, well, freedom. When we are free of needing we are free to absorb the grace that manifests around us, be it grandkids or grand canyons, music or silence.