growth – …my temporary assignment.

Circumstance

“Let a man radically alter his thoughts, and he will be astonished at the rapid transformation it will affect in the material conditions of his life. Men imagine that thought can be kept secret, but it cannot; it rapidly crystallizes into habit, and habit solidifies into circumstance. “ – James Allen

A truly keen insight.

Thought, habit and circumstance. A pattern of interconnected consequence which creates a lasting resonance. Entirely and utterly accountable to you alone. And in certain respects, this pattern of interconnected consequence reveals how your character becomes woven directly into a pursuit of excellence.

As you make your way along this path, it would be prudent to honestly discern and conduct an assessment oneself.

What pattern of thoughts tend to hold you back? Is it fear? Of beginning? That it somehow isn’t within you to start?

Or, is it the commitment once started ? That it is too much for you to see it through. To finish?

Perhaps it is more about the unknown. The possible, undesirable outcome that dogs you. The daunting spectres of disappointment. Discouragement. Disapproval. Defeat.

Maybe it is the fickleness of change. A need for security. The inability to trust. An aversion to honesty or criticism. Selfishness. Arrogance. Ego.

Misperceptions about the call for your leadership ?

Misconceptions about its demands for constant, unrelenting accountability, presence and effort?

Despite your efforts at concealment and containment, your thoughts rarely remain secret.

Your thoughts and doubts are traitors. By word or deed, they make their way to the surface.

A little here. A little there.

Soon, all at once, you become an open book. No longer private, your thoughts can come to govern each habit, control every action, impede any achievement and prohibit excellence, all in a very public manner.

Alter your thoughts from doubt to possibility and then you can alter your trajectory.

So let the transformation begin.

Once thoughts crystallize into genuinely positive, productive and permanent habits, they will soon enjoin the effort to form your circumstance. A radical alteration of ones thoughts transforms the essence of ones life.

Circumstance becomes a product of habit.

And the outcome mirrors ones thoughts.

Sure am glad I did.

It is comforting how the gospels and the reflections offered reflect the present moment and circumstance. Perhaps there are days when they require a deeper level of discernment. But then again, they can appear on the marquis, lights ablaze, drawing one to step in and see what it is He is showing.

Bishop Barron as a wonderful way of cutting to the chase. Breaking down thoughts and words conceptualized and spoken hundreds, if not thousands of years ago, into the raw essence of their devotional meaning. Truly a gift in my estimation in that things can become obscured from their honest intention, whether by accident or design.

Today, we are called to change our hearts and behaviors.

As the Bishop so shared: “St. Augustine defines sin as incurvatus in se—that means ‘caved in around oneself.’ To be in sin is to be ‘caved in’ around the ego and its narrow concerns.” I then went a little further and found “incurvatus in se” referred to as being “curved in on oneself”. Being self-absorbed to the extent that focus, desire and effort is consumed entirely to the benefit of oneself, to the abandonment of others.

Speaking from experience, a level of this degree of self-absorption can lead to a wide and debilitating array of negative consequences. Among them perpetual, scathing self-analysis, life-long score-keeping, an affinity and affection for deception and additional, destructive modes of ensuring a gathering isolation. Upon some ongoing, in depth discernment, discussion and reflection, I can say for certain, that being “caved in” or “curved in on one self” hits the nail on the head.

So following the Latin route given to me today, a better path would be “excurvatus ex se”. In other words, approaching life curved outward. With an open, honest and receptive focus on others and God. Ceding that quest for internal control brings with it serenity and genuine peace. Something that can create a level of affirmation never quite known before.

With that newfound perspective comes that same wish for others.

Not born of the self absorbed confines of an incurvatus ego and judgement. But rather a true outward excurvatus perspective of what it is really all about; others.

Not because I say so.

But simply because it is.

Took me quite a while to finally get geometry.

Sure am glad I did.

Manure

We are farmers.

We spend a lifetime occupying our own plot of land. There may be droughts, there might be bumper crops. But in the end, when it comes time to harvest, the yield is entirely on us.

Now of course, every farmer goes about his business as they are made.

Certain ones may find ways to extend their growing season beyond that of their neighbor. Methods will vary from plot to plot. Some automate while others will choose “old school” and harness a horse. An engineered, hybrid approach will suit one while taking an organic, “back to the earth” approach will become a better fit for others. Ultimately, you have to be your own farmer. Be true to yourself. What may flourish for others may be just weeds for you.

Though seasons, methods, crops and yield may differ from field to field, being farmers we all soon share one common trait; expertise at spreading manure.

It may provide a temporary sudden burst of excitement, color and growth. It may assuage fear, anxiety or insincerity. But with the next rain or two, a heat wave or cold spell, it dissipates, burns-out or becomes a stagnant mass, losing both impact and intensity. Continual applications of manure might make you feel better, but can merely distract you from the truth.

And ruin a crop.

To make the things you truly want take root and flourish in your plot requires some discernment. Patience. Courage. And honesty. So get to know every inch of your acreage. Walk the fence lines over and over and over again. Learn the lay of your land. Pry up those rocks that work their way out of the ground. Dig up the stumps. Know the predators. Cut back the brush and pull out weeds that can begin to invade, choke and overtake your land.

And spread less manure.

Embrace the nature of your soil. Its texture, smell and even taste was made for you. Learn what grows well and understand what crops will enrich, invigorate and bring that piece of ground to an uncommon level of abundance. You cannot grow the same thing year after year and expect the same yield. In time, the yield will drop. The soil will become starved. And all of a sudden, what was once your staple – will no longer produce. Your land will become barren.

Spreading more manure won’t bring it back.

So as you begin to blossom, identify the crops that grow with little effort or attention, harvest them religiously, build up your stores and share the abundance with others. Attend to the crops that have been planted with the best of intentions but never seem to take root. Get them to grow. Move things around from season to season. Rotate. Mix. Match. Find ways to make all of them thrive together. Improve your soil, make things truly grow. One bumper crop after another. Season after season.

Then, as any good farmer does, go easy on the manure.