Author
Even if the hopes you started out with are dashed, hope has to be maintained. – Seamus Heaney I hope I get a new bicycle for Christmas; I got a sweater. I hope I got an “A’ on the exam; I got a “D”. I hope I pass my driver’s test; I flunked again. Hope…
Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays. – Soren Kierkegaard Last week’s blog dealt with the evolution of my image of God. In Catholic grade school, I obediently believed what I was told and recited the traditional prayers taught to me. In Jesuit high school, I questioned what I had…
Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. – George Bernard Shaw Progress often is achieved one step at a time; occasionally, however, it is hindered by one step forward and one step back. Such is the nature of life in most endeavors. The ability and willingness to…
A day of worry is more exhausting than a week of work. – John Lubbock Worry and guilt are powerful emotions that often become overwhelming and physically and mentally draining. This has been the case for me regarding many adverse afflictions in my life. Cerebellitis and its aftermath is unquestionably one of the predominant ones.…
Just when I think I have learned the way to live, life changes. – Hugh Prather At the end of my first year in college, I found myself on the horns of a dilemma. A fear of change led to worry, guilt, and indecision. These feelings were not new to me, but they never seemed…
Worry is a cycle of inefficient thoughts whirling around a center of fear. – Corrie Ten Boom As a child, teenager and young adult I experienced bouts of worry that were common among most people my age. Looking back on those years, I now realize that my encounters with worry were more frequent, intense, and…
Never let the fear of striking out get in your way. – Babe Ruth In my last blog, Doing It Afraid, I wrote about coming face-to-face with a particular fear and acting in spite of it. Today’s blog tells a different story. After spending a month in the hospital being diagnosed and treated for cerebellitis,…
The Bible says to ‘fear not,’ but this doesn’t mean you should never feel scared. It means when you do feel fear, keep going forward and do what you are supposed to do. Or as I like to say, do it afraid. – Joyce Meyer After contracting cerebellitis, I spent a month in the hospital. Physical…
Fear is the most debilitating emotion in the world, and it can keep you from ever truly knowing yourself and others- its adverse effects can no longer be overlooked or underestimated. Fear breeds hatred, and hatred has the power to destroy everything in its path. – Kevyn Aucoin Fear is a powerful emotion. It…
If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles. – Sun Tzu In 1984, because I did not know what was wrong with me, I was afraid of manic depression. Four years later, again faced with the unknown, I was afraid of cerebellitis. Once diagnosed, however,…