Monday Musings: We All Fall Down

Hello there!
This post is dedicated to new beginnings.

Lately I have been pondering how throughout life I have fallen over and over again and have had to muster the strength to stand back up and start again. This has ranged from legitimately falling during the cross country season and having to humbly heal my ankle and restart running to falling out of routine in daily life and having to get back on track of striving to be the best I can be. Yesterday at mass I was in the midst of pondering this and I looked up and I was sitting right next to the Ninth Station of the Cross, Jesus Falls the Third Time. It hit me like a ton of bricks: no matter what, Jesus is right there with us and has felt everything we have. He fell too. He fell three times with a heavy cross on top of him and crowds jeering at him and yet he still got back up and showed the word his immense love. I realized I have to do the same. I will continue to stumble through life but every time I fall I must get back up and love the world around me with a more passionate love.

Also, I'm a newbie to the iPhone world but my brother's girlfriend, Beth, opened my eyes to the Laudate app (Let's just say I think it's great) and this is the excerpt from its reflection on the Ninth Station:

"Consider the third fall of Jesus Christ. His weakness was extreme, and the cruelty of His executioners excessive, who tried to hasten His steps when He had scarcely strength to move. Ah, my outraged Jesus, by the merits of the weakness Thou didst suffer in going to Calvary, give me strength sufficient to conquer all human respect and all my wicked passions, which have led me to despise Thy friendship. I love Thee, Jesus, my love, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt." 

Wow. Let's begin again and take the world over with our optimism.

picture via  Claire Bach taken near Hallstatt, Austria

Wave As It Goes

Blog blog blog. Hello blog. Long time no see.

Fall semester 2012 is over. Phew. What a whirlwind.

Ups downs and in betweens I am so incredibly blessed to be living the life I live. Some days were awful but others were so incredible that words cannot describe them and I am so thankful for both scenarios. Growth has occurred all over the place and I’m excited about it.

Now onto to preparing for studying abroad. Wait what? Ready. Set. Go.

Don't Let the World Harden You

The other day I was starting to feel really down and not as happy as I usually am and I didn't know what to do or how to act. I was starting to feel trapped in my own body. However, thanks to my run, I came to the conclusion that I was letting the world get to me and letting it influence me negatively. Going running serves as a great place for provoking thoughts and brainstorming for me. This particular run helped to remind me how beautiful this world is and how much beauty each of us has to give. It is very easy for all of us to be our best/worst critic. We know all of our downfalls better than anyone else. We must, however, not focus on those downfalls in a negative manner we must build on them and learn from them -- incorporate them into the landscape, so to speak. We must stand resistant to the sad ways of the world; instead we should embrace the beauty which it contains and help to showcase it. I beg you to believe in the beauty of your dreams, believe in the beauty of yourself and all that you have to share with the world.

You Can't Force Passion

The other day while helping out at my Dad's veterinary clinic I had a client ask me if I was going to be a veterinarian too. I responded by saying something along the lines of, "No I don't plan on it, you have to have a passion for it and you can't force passion." The words just came out of my mouth. I had never established that thought before in my mind but it made me realize how true my statement was. You can't force passion. Everyone has their own special passions.
Sometimes I catch myself being jealous of others passions and wishing that I have the same talents and passions as them. A classic case of the "grass is greener on the other side" syndrome.
For me my passions are works in progress and I have to accept that and be ok with it. I'm still figuring out what I am truly passionate about and I will figure it out with time and faith in God's plan for me.

Achey Breaky Heart

A recent thought gone wild:
The aches of our hearts are so unable to be described yet they are there. The deep aches have been formed and rooted from time. These aches have roots that are layers of complexity that take time to form and even longer to uproot and set our hearts free. We yearn for love and we try to satisfy that yearning in a lot of different ways - a lot of which result in a loss of love and deeper entrapment, not freedom we are searching for.  To be free we must be in love with the Lord. Setting our hearts free means peeling back, untangling and pulling away from all of the entrapments we have placed within and on our delicately beautiful hearts. Through Jesus' help we must set forth on a journey of breaking down to be rebuilt in a new greater love. Like all good things our blood, sweat and tears must go into this process. We must persevere in our efforts having faith that the Lord is by our side lifting the entrapments with us. Holding onto the hope of what is to come must be our constant fuel. Through devoutly loving our God, ourselves and our neighbors we will be successful.

The Summer Blues

I need structure. I like having a schedule; something to keep me focused. I thrive on staying busy and jumping from one thing to the other.

In the summer I enjoy the freedom and chance to relax. However, this summer I've been experiencing a roller coaster of emotions. I go from being super happy about being home with my family and old friends to being super sad and feeling alone without being at school with my friends there.
The lack of structure has also been not so beneficial for me. I tried to find jobs but alas, no one was hiring. So, without a set plan of what each day is going to be I have been failing to do much of anything.
Now is the time to reform my ways and give myself goals and tasks to accomplish! Let's hope I can follow through and keep on keepin' on. 

Sacrifice

sacrifice |ˈsakrəˌfīs|noun• an act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy: we must all be prepared to make sacrifices.• Christian Church Christ's offering of himself in the Crucifixion.• Christian Church the Eucharist regarded either (in Catholic terms) as a propitiatory offering of the body and blood of Christ or (in Protestant terms) as an act of thanksgiving.ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French, from Latin sacrificium; related to sacrificus ‘sacrificial,’ from sacer ‘holy.’
Lately I have been struck by the lack of appreciation my generation has for sacrifice. I am in no way saying that I am the ultimate expert on sacrifice or that I do not falter and wish for life to be without sacrifice. It is  just not something that many people think about but sacrifice is an essential part of every day life and leads us to be better versions of ourselves. There are multiple examples throughout the world and history of how first enduring unpleasant things allows us to fully appreciate the great joy that is to come. Look at the seasons for example, we must first go through the cold dead winter before we can experience the green lively spring. Although the winter may appear dead to some it is still beautiful in its own way and allows for the earth to go through the cycle of life and death to prepare for the spring. Coming from this season of Lent we also see that in order to get to Easter and enjoy the glory of Jesus rising from the dead we much cleanse ourselves by sacrificing things we regard as important to prepare for someone much more important, Jesus Christ.
More reflection on this to come.