Even More on A Morning Resolve
Continuing with the prayer, A Morning Resolve:
...cultivating cheerfulness, magnanimity, charity, and the habit of holy silence...
So right off the bat I'll tell you - as I have many times in the past - that cheerfulness presents a special challenge to me (to put it nicely). But there's always hope, right? With that hope firmly espoused, let's move on to "magnanimity."
Websters defines magnanimity as "loftiness of spirit, enabling one to bear trouble calmly, to disdain meanness and pettiness, and to display a noble generosity." There's a lot to magnanimity.
Frankly, when trouble comes, I run hot and cold. There are times - especially in my work - where I've learned to face trouble calmly. And at work, trouble comes us from all sorts of directions. For some, clients and customers can be troublesome, or maybe its colleagues, or technology...the list is long. But when trouble comes, not only should a Catholic man at work face it calmly, but facing it calmly will help to deal with it much more effectively.
Technology's been my biggest source of trouble lately. For the longest time, I'd really come unglued when a computer crashed, or e-mail acted up, or - well, you get the point. But with lots of prayer I've learned that God has a plan for me and this technology trouble is probably His way of helping me to develop the virtue of patience. Okay, so I still get "agida" at times, but I'm a lot better than I was.
Now to apply the same prayerful approach when it comes to family matters - you know with spouse, children, relatives, etc. Ah yes, more work to be done there.
As for charity, it's the ultimate challenge, isn't it? God is Love and since we're meant to be like God, that means that - in some sense I surely don't understand - we're meant to be, well, Love. Hah, if only it were so simply.
Of course, I've known some charitable people - besides Our Lord and Our Lady I mean. And I'm always in awe of those who act charitably even under the toughest circumstances. If only I could be like THAT! But until I am, I try taking a deep breath and counting to 5 (or sometimes 10) before reacting to something when I know either my impatience or my temper will push out some uncharitable word or behavior. Sadly, my progress seems better at work than at home. Much work to be done there.
Now, the habit of holy silence is an interesting one, especially in our chatty age. Everyone's either talking on their cell or texting - constantly. And we're all surrounded with so much noise from radios, TV's, computers, etc. the very meaning of silence is probably a mystery to most of us. But you find God in silence.
As for "holy silence" at work, I think it means that I don't want to just spill the beans to colleagues and clients and customers. Out of consideration, my words should be helpful, not just jabber. People want my expertise, not my gossip. The idea of holy silence filters out the "gossip valve" and lets my better side through. Oh, it's not that I gossip a lot. But every once in a while I find I've said something that's maybe uncharitable about someone else, or just a kind of dumb remark that's a waste of time. So the less said the better.
In any case, the more silence during work, the better work I do. It's not a matter of not being responsive; it's a matter of responding appropriately, with words and actions that address the person or problem effectively. And the more silence at work, the more room for God's presence in my work. I suppose that makes some sense out of the old phrase: "Silence is golden."
Meanwhile, there's more to this wonderful prayer...next time...
...cultivating cheerfulness, magnanimity, charity, and the habit of holy silence...
So right off the bat I'll tell you - as I have many times in the past - that cheerfulness presents a special challenge to me (to put it nicely). But there's always hope, right? With that hope firmly espoused, let's move on to "magnanimity."
Websters defines magnanimity as "loftiness of spirit, enabling one to bear trouble calmly, to disdain meanness and pettiness, and to display a noble generosity." There's a lot to magnanimity.
Frankly, when trouble comes, I run hot and cold. There are times - especially in my work - where I've learned to face trouble calmly. And at work, trouble comes us from all sorts of directions. For some, clients and customers can be troublesome, or maybe its colleagues, or technology...the list is long. But when trouble comes, not only should a Catholic man at work face it calmly, but facing it calmly will help to deal with it much more effectively.
Technology's been my biggest source of trouble lately. For the longest time, I'd really come unglued when a computer crashed, or e-mail acted up, or - well, you get the point. But with lots of prayer I've learned that God has a plan for me and this technology trouble is probably His way of helping me to develop the virtue of patience. Okay, so I still get "agida" at times, but I'm a lot better than I was.
Now to apply the same prayerful approach when it comes to family matters - you know with spouse, children, relatives, etc. Ah yes, more work to be done there.
As for charity, it's the ultimate challenge, isn't it? God is Love and since we're meant to be like God, that means that - in some sense I surely don't understand - we're meant to be, well, Love. Hah, if only it were so simply.
Of course, I've known some charitable people - besides Our Lord and Our Lady I mean. And I'm always in awe of those who act charitably even under the toughest circumstances. If only I could be like THAT! But until I am, I try taking a deep breath and counting to 5 (or sometimes 10) before reacting to something when I know either my impatience or my temper will push out some uncharitable word or behavior. Sadly, my progress seems better at work than at home. Much work to be done there.
Now, the habit of holy silence is an interesting one, especially in our chatty age. Everyone's either talking on their cell or texting - constantly. And we're all surrounded with so much noise from radios, TV's, computers, etc. the very meaning of silence is probably a mystery to most of us. But you find God in silence.
As for "holy silence" at work, I think it means that I don't want to just spill the beans to colleagues and clients and customers. Out of consideration, my words should be helpful, not just jabber. People want my expertise, not my gossip. The idea of holy silence filters out the "gossip valve" and lets my better side through. Oh, it's not that I gossip a lot. But every once in a while I find I've said something that's maybe uncharitable about someone else, or just a kind of dumb remark that's a waste of time. So the less said the better.
In any case, the more silence during work, the better work I do. It's not a matter of not being responsive; it's a matter of responding appropriately, with words and actions that address the person or problem effectively. And the more silence at work, the more room for God's presence in my work. I suppose that makes some sense out of the old phrase: "Silence is golden."
Meanwhile, there's more to this wonderful prayer...next time...
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