What’s your story?

Posted on by Shari Swanson

pencils

Are you the hero of your own story? What values do you stand for? If you look back at your life, do you see common elements–honesty, maybe, in the face of temptation; loyalty to family and friends, even when they maybe didn’t deserve it, strength of character?

If your life were a novel, what would be the turning points, the challenges? Who or what are the antagonists that fought you? How did you, as the main character, grow? Are you someone a reader would root for if they knew all your inner secrets?

Or, maybe, you’re not a traditional hero at all. Maybe, even, you’re a villain. Do you look back and see deceit, betrayal, unfaithfulness, selfishness?

Be honest here. No one is looking.

It never hurts to take a self-check and make sure you’re on the right trajectory to be the hero of your own story. No matter what, your life is– and don’t forget this– telling a story. Is it the story you were put on this earth to tell, or have you wandered off course?

In the case of St. Teresa quoted above, her life told a story of joy and faithfulness, even in abject poverty and working among the sick and dying. Her life told a story bigger than herself, of hope and meaning beyond the mundane. She was a hero.

What is your story?

 

 

All things?

Posted on by Shari Swanson

cultivate

It’s easy to be grateful for the good things. But … everything? What about the fear, anxiety, separation, loneliness? What about the loss and persecution? What about the things that challenge our life and morality and soul? What of these?

Yes. All. Even these things that most pain us or make us worry. It is in these times we draw on something deeper than ourselves and grow. These are the times that cause us to reach out to others and embrace community. These are the depths we can survive and use that survival to offer hope to others.

Gratitude forces a perspective shift. From despair to hope. From loss to possibility. From chaos to peace.

Even now, even this, even here. Be grateful.

Peace to you, my friend.

Posted on by Shari Swanson

peacejohn

We tend to think of peace as the absence of violence as quiet is the absence of noise, but is it more? Perhaps peace is active. It exists in the kind word offered, the refusal to meet hate with hate, the comfort of following higher principles, the strength of the outstretched hand. It is so easy to lose, to slip into mirroring the hate and violence we see around us, to sit silent in front of a bully, to trade barbs, to slide down. Peace is active. We maintain it in our hearts and mind. We breathe deeply to draw us back to that peaceful place. We remember truth, honor, decency, compassion. We breathe in the world; we breathe out heaven.