When one enjoys consolation, let [her] consider how [she] will conduct [herself] during the time of ensuing desolation, and store up a supply of strength as defence against that day.He who enjoys consolation should take care to humble himself and lower himself as much as possible. Let him recall how little he is able to … Continue reading Living with life’s ups and downs
Tag: feelings
Emptiness
12 December 2015 I want to write about emptiness, loneliness, meaningless, and the apprehension of death. This is what I feel at the moment. But what to say? How to write about these feelings? I might say that there are days when I struggle with these feelings. There are days when I wonder what my … Continue reading Emptiness
3 reasons to pray: 1
I am feeling it now, resistance to prayer. To pray, in the manner in which I pray, is to stop and to sit down, to relax and to let go. This is what I wrote about last month: relax and trust. But I don't want to. It hurts. As I relax, muscles that have been … Continue reading 3 reasons to pray: 1
Occupation
… when we take up occupation of the site of our bodies in stillness before God. We are granted a place to be, simply in virtue of being there as material beings made by God: the physical act of drawing breath becomes an affirmation of my receiving of the gift of my place, an acknowledgement … Continue reading Occupation
11 Ways of Dealing with Anxiety: Roundup
Anxiety, holding Magnifying Glass. Studio Shot Anxiety is excitement without breathing.Fritz Perls So here we are: 11 Ways of Dealing with Anxiety. It took a while! Here's where we have been: BreatheFeel into this bodyMeeting with stillnessPrayerPauseTalkingWritingWalking and NatureDoing the dishesIdentifying fallacious reasoningSuffer the childThe next step Here are some things I have learnt in … Continue reading 11 Ways of Dealing with Anxiety: Roundup
11 Ways of Dealing with Anxiety:
10. Suffer the child
Anxiety, holding Magnifying Glass. Studio Shot This is the tenth instalment of 11 Ways of Dealing with Anxiety, an ongoing experiment in meeting yourself with tenderness. If something hurts me, the hurts I suffered back then come back to me, and when I feel guilty, the feelings of guilt return; if I yearn for something … Continue reading 11 Ways of Dealing with Anxiety:
10. Suffer the child
Soft heart, trusting heart
Lift your heart up to the Lord, with a gentle stirring of love desiring God for his own sake and not for his gifts. Cloud of Unknowing, Ch.3 (tr. William Johnston) I wake up anxious, feeling layers of loss, the mess I call my life, a failure, ashamed to be me. I am sure some … Continue reading Soft heart, trusting heart