...Again with A Morning Resolve
Continuing on...
I like these, because they seem to flow effortlessly, one into the other. Just get the ball rolling in the right direction, and everything will fall into place. Here's what I mean.
With one busy day leading to another, economy in expenditure can be a great blessing, don't you think? We're all so used to running around "doing something" when we work - especially we Americans. While actions certainly can speak louder than words, maybe we should apply the lessons of "holy silence" to our actions. Just as constant jabbering mostly results in meaningless (or worse) noise, so lots of activity - without clear guidance and purpose - quickly becomes useless activity.
Example: I need to do a fair amount of reading and analysis. Over time, I've learned to read more efficiently. It helps me find the "meat" of the piece I'm reading. I've even taken the time to learn "better" ways of reading - not necessarily faster, but more efficient ways of reading. (A good source for this, by the way, is a book by Moritmer Adler: How to Read a Book.) There are only 24 hours in a day, and I've gotten good at using the time for work productively.
If you develop economy in expenditure, you'll find more time in your busy day to help others - generosity in giving. You won't feel constantly, endlessly, relentlessly pressed for time. When someone can use a helping hand, you'll be the one to help. Plus, you'll have more time to be generous with your work. You'll be able to really put in the "quality" time that some project require, in spite of all those deadlines you have to meet. Do better work; you'll be a better person.
Being efficient and generous with your efforts, will lead to carefulness in conversation. After all, who has time for misunderstanding? Exert more control over your daily activity and you'll find yourself more in control of your words. It's a natural progression.
Now if you had told me that the words "careful," "efficient," "control," "generosity," somehow all work together, I'd be hard pressed to show you how - but that's basically the direction we're going here. You see that, don't you? And with that you'll find that you exercise diligence in your appointed service. This means that what you have committed to do, in both your work and your personal life, somehow gets done much more effectively. You're doing things on time and the right way. It's not that it's effortless, but things just, well, flow more naturally. You've developed good habits and they naturally lead you to take your commitments seriously. You want to do things on time and the right way.
And with the attitude of getting things done the right way on time, you will develop fidelity to every trust: you will live up to the trust that people have in you. There's no way to betray a trust with these habits in place. Okay, so you may slip and fall from time to time, but you're more likely to live up to commitments and therefore much more likely to earn people's trust because you always come through. It's your way of doing things, your way of life.
Now the last piece - a childlike faith in God - is there to save you from taking too much credit. A Catholic man at work knows that ultimately God gets all the credit. You just thank Him - over and over again day after day - that He's seen to it that you can live up to your commitments, and that you do so in such a calm, charitable, gentlemanly manner. How else did you get this way? Do you really think you did all this on your own?
Next time, a final thought on this wonderful prayer...
...exercising economy in expenditure, generosity in giving, carefulness in conversation, diligence in appointed service, fidelity to every trust, and a childlike faith in God...
I like these, because they seem to flow effortlessly, one into the other. Just get the ball rolling in the right direction, and everything will fall into place. Here's what I mean.
With one busy day leading to another, economy in expenditure can be a great blessing, don't you think? We're all so used to running around "doing something" when we work - especially we Americans. While actions certainly can speak louder than words, maybe we should apply the lessons of "holy silence" to our actions. Just as constant jabbering mostly results in meaningless (or worse) noise, so lots of activity - without clear guidance and purpose - quickly becomes useless activity.
Example: I need to do a fair amount of reading and analysis. Over time, I've learned to read more efficiently. It helps me find the "meat" of the piece I'm reading. I've even taken the time to learn "better" ways of reading - not necessarily faster, but more efficient ways of reading. (A good source for this, by the way, is a book by Moritmer Adler: How to Read a Book.) There are only 24 hours in a day, and I've gotten good at using the time for work productively.
If you develop economy in expenditure, you'll find more time in your busy day to help others - generosity in giving. You won't feel constantly, endlessly, relentlessly pressed for time. When someone can use a helping hand, you'll be the one to help. Plus, you'll have more time to be generous with your work. You'll be able to really put in the "quality" time that some project require, in spite of all those deadlines you have to meet. Do better work; you'll be a better person.
Being efficient and generous with your efforts, will lead to carefulness in conversation. After all, who has time for misunderstanding? Exert more control over your daily activity and you'll find yourself more in control of your words. It's a natural progression.
Now if you had told me that the words "careful," "efficient," "control," "generosity," somehow all work together, I'd be hard pressed to show you how - but that's basically the direction we're going here. You see that, don't you? And with that you'll find that you exercise diligence in your appointed service. This means that what you have committed to do, in both your work and your personal life, somehow gets done much more effectively. You're doing things on time and the right way. It's not that it's effortless, but things just, well, flow more naturally. You've developed good habits and they naturally lead you to take your commitments seriously. You want to do things on time and the right way.
And with the attitude of getting things done the right way on time, you will develop fidelity to every trust: you will live up to the trust that people have in you. There's no way to betray a trust with these habits in place. Okay, so you may slip and fall from time to time, but you're more likely to live up to commitments and therefore much more likely to earn people's trust because you always come through. It's your way of doing things, your way of life.
Now the last piece - a childlike faith in God - is there to save you from taking too much credit. A Catholic man at work knows that ultimately God gets all the credit. You just thank Him - over and over again day after day - that He's seen to it that you can live up to your commitments, and that you do so in such a calm, charitable, gentlemanly manner. How else did you get this way? Do you really think you did all this on your own?
Next time, a final thought on this wonderful prayer...
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