Good Morning Digital Neighbors & Friends! Happy Thursday to all! Thank you all for your thoughtfulness regarding Jacksons, I appreciate all the well wishes, prayers and empathy. I am sure I will be posting about Jackson and Holly again in the future. Let's listen to Mr. Jung a little bit more this morning and look at a beautiful barn or some other mixture of Mother Nature complimenting our humble efforts of construction.
Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better take things as they come along with patience and equanimity.
It is far better to take things as they are. Acceptance is such a key to happier and healthy living. While it is easy to talk about it is not easy to practice. It is so easy to confuse acceptance with resignation. While they look similar at the beginning of an experience, acceptance leads to peace and hope while resignation leads to despair and apathy. Acceptance does not mean we just float along living a life free of effort and devoid of growth. Acceptance as I experience it is a wrestling with reality as I discern what I can and can't change. Any of you 12 Steppers out there know the drill. š
My personal cocktail of peace is built on a a foundation of faith. If you don't believe in something greater than yourself, I am not sure how you ever pursue sustained growth that allows you to discern your strengths and address your shortcomings. You don't have to believe in a deity, but if not something ought to be more; higher goals, systems, virtues, a better life or world for yourself or those you love.
My faith as a Catholic is not without personal question and criticism, any individual or community should be able to withstand either. Killing your critics and silencing your questioners is a sign of a decaying system, that needs to be reformed or abandoned. No community is free from decay or corruption because no individual is. I know, obvious, but some think there is some magical system, religion or science out there that fixes it all. Good luck and don't forget to look for where the bodies are hidden if they are not open about the putting the outliers to death.
From that foundation I do my best to built it up with gratitude, humor and a desire for greater clarity and acceptance of reality. The clarity and acceptance part is under constant refinement since being wrong, mistaken and ignorant is a reoccurring experience for myself and many of us. One of the fruits of my personal system of striving for clarity is a refined sense of expectation. The reality of unspoken expectations, exaggerated expectations and imposed expectations taints relationships. Expectations are real, and many go unaddressed because they work for the good of all in a family, workspace or community. As you become aware of expectations, the questioning of them is either an invitation to understanding or change. BEWARE - those who like the status quo are not in favor of change. I am not saying you should not have any expectations, but having clarity about them is better than not knowing they exist and still living under the trials they will create. Enough ramblings - Happy Thursday my friends!
Meanwhile in Ireland
Today marks the three hundred and thirtieth birthday of the Frenchman FranƧois-Marie Arouet, better known by his nom de plume, Voltaire (1694-1778).
Born into a bourgeois family during the reign of Louis XIV, the āSun Kingā (r. 1643-1715), Voltaire suffered tragedy at a young age when his mother died. Never close with his father or brother, Voltaire exhibited a rebellious attitude toward authority from his youth. His brilliant mind was fostered in the care of the Society of Jesus, who introduced him to the joys of literature and theater. Despite his later criticisms against the Church, Voltaire, throughout his life, fondly recalled his dedicated Jesuit teachers.
Although he spent time as a civil servant in the French embassy to the Hague, Voltaireās main love was writingāan endeavor where he excelled in various genres, including poetry, which led to his appointment as the royal court poet for King Louis XV. Widely recognized as one of the greatest French writers, and even hyperbolically referred to by ...
Padre - Tom Miller invites you to a Coffee Talk, Speakeasies, Schmoozes, Tea Times, Afterhours and other gatherings.
https://teams.live.com/meet/93792382189049?p=DiBHsYfuECPgDrG7vO
2026 Coffee Talk with the ADD Irregulars
Thursday, January 1, 2026
6:00 AM - 8:00 AM (CST)
Occurs every day starting 1/1 until 12/31/2027
Coffee Talk - Daily beginning at 6:00 AM Central Time Zone - USA
White Pilled Wednesday - A break from the heaviness of news and current events to focus upon things more personal & positive for the first hour of Coffee Talk.
Afternoon Chats - Most Tuesday, Friday & Sundays 2:00 PM Central
Other chats as posted in the community.Ā
Good Morning, Digital Neighbors, and Blessed Sunday to one and all!
Sundays are for gratitude, and few things impact our lives more than intentional gratitude. It is not enough to say you are blessed or that you are fortunate; the actual naming of our blessings plants them deep in the heart, transforming us as persons rather than leaving us with the bland āthankful for everything.ā
Two years ago, I wrote this reflection on resentment and gratitude. In light of the celebration of our nationās 250th anniversary, I think itās worth revisiting. We can choose to be among those who are thankful for America or among those who find nothing but fault with it.
You cannot build a future based on resentments of the past. You cannot grow if you are mired in the injuries of yesterday. God and life do not call us to ignore such experiences, but He constantly calls us forwardāto be more, to receive more, to live more. Heal those wounds and work through those injuries, but do not be defined by them, and do not try to ...
