Dear Readers,
Here is the latest Monday Muse with a perennial reminder, insight, and maxim/question to consider. To keep these brief, I’ve made the Dying Every Day series a separate meditation (on Tuesdays).
Be wise and be well this week!
🖌️ Monday Muse
The Monday Muse is a weekly collection of reminders, insights, and maxims. The term “muse” has two meanings: (1) a state of deep thought; and (2) a source of inspiration. May the following (in a small way) be a source of contemplation, insight, and wisdom to live your highest good.
📌 Perennial Reminder(s)
The theologian Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) on the good Samaritan:
The Samaritan comes along without any theories. His heart tells him what love is: to help the person who needs me here and now with everything I have and can do; to treat that person as if that person were myself; to love that person as myself…. The parable teaches us that it is not the big ideas that save the world but the courage to tackle what is at hand, the humility that follows the voice of the heart that is the voice of God. The parable thus aims at awakening our hearts so that we learn to see where our love is needed.
Source: Love Like a Saint by Elizabeth Kelly (via In Search of Wisdom)
📜 Perennial Maxim(s)
The American psychologist Carl Rogers (1902—1987) on the good life:
What does it mean to have a “direction” for your life?
💡 Perennial Insight(s)
The journalist and author Helen Russell on sadness:
Sadness is defined as the natural response to emotional pain, feelings of loss, helplessness, hopelessness, or disappointment. Sadness is normal. It’s also inevitable. As Desmond Tutu said: “I am sorry to say that suffering is not optional.” Or, in the words of Westley from The Princess Bride: “Life is pain . . . Anyone who says differently is selling something.” Sadness happens, to all of us—sometimes in heartbreakingly awful ways.
Only, in much of the world, we’re pretty poor at handling it. This can be isolating for those experiencing it and baffling for those trying to help loved ones through tough times. There will always be tragedy. There will always be loss. And there’ll be day-to-day troubles, too—from the mundane to the dispiriting and demotivating. Sadness is far more layered and complex than happiness, and it’s everywhere. […]
Source: How to Be Sad (via In Search of Wisdom)
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Thank you for reading; I hope you found something useful.
Until next time, be wise and be well,
J.W.
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