Another Day

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keep going, Meg Wheatley, patience, perseverance, St. Jude, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today is the feast of St. Jude, the Apostle. He has been designated “the saint of desperate or hopeless cases.” I don’t think much about that but I suppose that has something to do with my trust that God is in charge, rather than I, myself. I read something today that made me consider an option to hopelessness – something that keeps me going, I mean. It’s patience. And that’s a growing thing. It seems to be a close relative of perfection; we don’t come into the world with it. Rather, we need to grow into it. Here’s what Meg Wheatley says about patience.

It’s not that we start out patient. We don’t persevere because we are patient people. We become patient people because we have to. There is no choice — the work is endless. Everyday we have to make a choice. Will we give up or will we keep going? When day after day we are willing to keep going we discover, quite to our amazement, that we have become patient. And then we just continue on. Day after day. (Perseverance, p.141)

Think about it. We’re still here, aren’t we? So let’s hear it for another day!

Determination

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Brian Johnson, challenge, determination, keep going, Optimize, pandemic, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

When I was younger (much younger!) I used to be able and willing to run two miles with a colleague after school. When I moved to the country, I delighted in walking two miles down our road to breathe in the good air and watch the changes in the landscape in every season. That lasted a very long time. Lately, I have been disappointed to experience a diminishment that I am blaming at least partially on the pandemic. I find my capacity for foot travel woefully less than I ever expected. My goal is to strengthen my legs by exercising but that is not working very well in this long season of distress…

This morning I read something that may be a solution for me. I plan to try it anyway. It was in Brian Johnson’s daily post, “Optimize” where he wrote the following:

The next time life presents you with a challenge, don’t simply assume everything will work out. Don’t tell yourself you can’t do it. Just evaluate the situation. Figure out what you can accomplish right now. Then draw your line. When you cross that line, draw another one. And keep going.

In this difficult season, it seems important to me to remember that “small is beautiful” or “one step at a time” is the way to go. The determination not to take on too much is key. Wish me luck – or better yet – pray me along and join me!