All our life is sown with tiny thorns that produce in our hearts a thousand involuntary movements of hatred, envy, fear, impatience, a thousand little fleeting disappointments, a thousand slight worries, a thousand disturbances that momentarily alter our peace of soul. For example, a word escapes that should not have been spoken. Or someone utters another that offends us. A child inconveniences you. A bore stops you. You don’t like the weather. Your work is not going according to plan. A piece of furniture is broken. A dress is torn.
I know that these are not occasions for practicing very heroic virtue. But they would definitely be enough to acquire it if we really wished to.
St. Claude la Colombiére
Thursday, August 2, 2018
The tiny thorns of life
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As they say in the AA program acceptance of the world as it was made is key to serenity.
ReplyDeleteTrue, though this is more than acceptance. It is an occasion to practice virtue, which means putting more of oneself into the situation than just taking it as it comes. :-)
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