1272: Splinter

It is 9:58pm

I went to church this morning with my mom. She is in town because her work is sending her to Austin for a month...So many good points in the Homily this morning (and I'm not a big church goer or evangelist).. First, the lesson of really looking at ourselves and fixing ourselves before we try to adjust the ways of others. If we are blinded by a splinter in our own eye, how are we to see clearly enough to remove a splinter from someone else's eyes?

Also, the priest told a story of a lady who went to see her priest for confession and admitted she had committed the sin of gossip. She asked to be absolved, and the priest said he would give her a penance after she went home and cut open her pillow and let all the feathers fly out into the wind. She did exactly what the priest asked and them came back to the priest who then told her she now had to go pick up all the feathers and place them back into a pillow case. To which she replied, "that's impossible!" Of course, the point being that when we spread gossip, it often takes off and spreads so widely that there is no way we could ever take back what is said. Gossiping is a dangerous game, and comes from a dark place. It takes a lot of bravery to do the right thing sometimes, but it is always worth it.

Lastly, he said (of course I am paraphrasing--this was hours ago), that if we go looking for God in words, God will get further and further away. We should find God in faith, and in quiet moments. And when you can no longer sit in quiet, your mind becomes noisy and it leads to some pretty bad stuff.

Even if you aren't of faith--and I mean of any type of faith, not necessarily religion--there is a lot to be learned here. If you can no longer sit in the quiet with yourself, reflecting, praying, or simply meditating, it may be time to seek some sort of help or healing.

I know that after Elijah passed away, it took a long time for my heart to come to a place where I could even fathom prayer--or meditation. Sometimes it is still scary to be alone in silence, but I am getting much better. I find that between time in nature (which I don't do enough of), and time in meditation (something I also need to do more of), my mental health can improve vastly.

Anyways, I'm not trying to be "Holier than Thou" or whatever. I am not perfect. I just thought these were valuable stories to share.

Sending you all lots of love.

Go change the world. Do it for Elijah.

Thank you.

Oh sweet boy.

I love you I love you I love you.

Always.

<3