Life is harried, hurried and overwhelming - at least according to the marketing guys over at Loyola Press. The Jesuit-run publishing house recently launched an 3-minute retreat application for the iPhone and iPod touch to help folks take a break, anywhere, anytime (as long as it isn't while you're driving!) from the concerns and pressures …
What keeps you from being happy?
Welcome to the weekly Happiness Project meeting! Today I'd like to share some thoughts - and get your input - about definitions of happiness and why we avoid doing things that might make us happy. Both defining the word and knowing what keeps us stuck in our misery-pattern is key if the happiness is the …
Do the right thing – easier said than done
I was thinking a lot this weekend about doing the right thing, recalling a conversation I had this summer with a 17-year-old neighbor. I was this young woman's confirmation sponsor and upon discovering that her catechesis was poorly done, I took her out to coffee, the Catechism of the Catholic Church in hand, and tried …
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Why women lie – men, too
Real Simple magazine has a piece on why people lie, with analysis of the six types of lies (I think there are way more) and how to avoid them. In a teeny-tiny article side bar, author Jenna McCarthy quotes Bella DePaulo, a visiting professor at UC-Santa Barbara, who studies lying. (Yes, this is where you …
Stuff that bugs me
File this under the "and more" part of God Blogging: This weekend was full of STUFF THAT BUGS ME. Maybe you all have had similar experiences, or other pet peeves you want to share - feel free. But this stuff really gets on my nerves: 1. Parents who bring their small children to non-G-rated movies, …
Maybe all that positivity is wrong
Stumbled across an article this afternoon that sort of goes against the conventional wisdom I referred to in the Happiness Wednesday post about thinking positively. In "Finding Your Inner Loser," John Cloud reports on a new study that shows that thinking positively can actually have the opposite effect by pointing out to people how unhappy …
Like being God – sort of
I'm not trying to commit blasphemy here, but this amazing thing growing in my small backyard garden has had me saying, lately, in good-humor and with a little bit of awe and a heck of a lot of excitement: "I'm like God!" In case you're not sure what this picture is of, it is my …
Religion for your iPhone?
For a reason unbeknownst to me, I have am now getting a subscription to Wired Magazine. I thought maybe it was a gift from a move-into-the-future friend, but he said no; likewise my husband has no idea who might have gifted me with this. Obviously, the only other answer is that God sent it. When …
Trusting strangers
My paper, the Tucson Citizen, was supposed to be closed by Saturday. With multiple newspapers for sale and no buyers jumping into the fray (the Rocky Mountain News folded a few weeks ago and the Seattle P-I shed about 130 staffers Monday to go to a 20-person online only newspaper Tuesday) no one expected a …
To be of use –
People wonder about the purpose of work, and a co-worker passed this poem on today that seems to answer part of the question: To be of use.To be of useby Marge PiercyThe people I love the bestjump into work head firstwithout dallying in the shallowsand swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.They seem …
