Have the End Always in Mind and Heart
February 11, 2025
Hello! How is each and every one? Happy Feast day of our Lady of Lourdes! Come to think of it is the fiesta of Our Lady of Lourdes over in our area. We belong to the Barangay of Lourdes in Quezon City. May I invite you to keep Our Lady most present in your day and in every activity you may find yourself today and always? I am sure she is present in her own way as always she is in each and every one’s day considering that she is our mother. Remember before Jesus expired on the Cross He entrusted Mary, His mother to John who represents each one of us saying “Woman, behold, your son! Behold, your mother!”
But it is also meritorious on our part to make the effort to mention at least to Mary our mother and to ourselves that she is our mother and she is always present in what we are doing, thinking and saying.
Now I am recalling what happened last Sunday during the homily about the apostolate, “I will make you fishers of men”? Remember Jesus told the apostles on Simon’s boat to throw the net on the other side and obeying they hauled in a lot of fishes the net was about to give in? The priest suddenly asked the question is “Mary an apostle?” And he directed his gaze to me asking the question again. I replied “Yes, of course?” He continued, “And how is Mary an apostle?” I replied “By being the way she is.” Then he continued “Mary gave us Jesus. And St. Joseph? He took care of the child Jesus.”
When I shared this experience with a friend the next day, I said I was thinking to myself that Mary said yes to God’s will to be the mother of Jesus. That she is the first Tabernacle. That she is the first altar. To Jesus, through Mary, etc. I thought of the game ‘Pinoy Genio’. My friend commented, puede? puede? puede? Then together we burst into laughter.
Let’s move on with the topic on our divine longing for well-being (From Broken Gods, Hope, Healing, and the Seven Longings of the Human Heart, Gregory K. Popcak, Ph. D. Ch 9).
It would be easy to think of gluttony as indulgence in the “sin” of enjoying food. That doesn’t really ring true to anyone who is the least bit familiar with Catholic culture. As the poem by historian and writer Hillaire Belloc cheekily asserts,
Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine
There is laughter and music and good red wine.
At least I’ve always found it so.
Benedicamus Domino!
Likewise, in the words of St. Alphonsus Liguori, It is not a fault to feel pleasure in eating: for it is, generally speaking, impossible to eat without experiencing the delight which food naturally produces. But it is a defect to eat, like beasts, through the sole motive of sensual gratification, and without any reasonable object. Hence, the most delicious meats may be eaten without sin, if the motive be good and worthy of a rational creature.
Remember that sin is accepting less than what God wants to give us (i.e., a “privation of the good”). Each of these saints notes that food and even the enjoyment of food can be a good thing. But too many of us eat for the same reason George Mallory climbed Mt Everest: “Because it’s there!” Unfortunately, the results are less admirable.
Eating in an unthinking manner, as the simplest animals do, essentially denies our humanity. If our destiny is to transcend our humanity and become gods through God’s grace, we settle for a whole lot less when we deny not just our divine inheritance, but our basic humanity by approaching our food the way an animal does, eating it simply because we have an urge to.
But even this doesn’t get at the deeper issue. As human beings, we are able to understand that our hunger is often about much more than a need for food. Nutritional experts know that the biggest cause of an unhealthy relationship with food is emotional eating, the attempt to satisfy an emotional, psychological, relational, or spiritual hunger with food or drink (Geliebter and Aversa, 2003).
When our relationships with the people in our lives, or our choices, or the ways we work, or think, or even pray (or don’t) are unhealthy, we experience a dissatisfaction that makes us hunger for the well-being that we are lacking. But if we don’t pause and consider what is driving us, it’s easy to mistake this deeper hunger for a simple desire for food or drink. Continuing the addict’s motto that we can’t ever get enough of what we don’t really want, we hope that the next trip to the fridge or the bar will fill the ache in the center of our being. We interpret that ache as hunger, and it is. But it is not a hunger for food or alcohol. It is a hunger to satisfy the divine longing for well-being, the desire to live a life in balance for the greater glory of God—a life that is considerate of our physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual well-being. St. Irenaeus once said that “the glory of God is man, fully alive”! When we live in a manner that pursues authentic well-being, our lives become works of art—living sculptures that glorify the sculptor by showing how, when we submit to the chisel of grace, every aspect of our lives can display the miraculous harmony in which God intended for us to live from the beginning of time.
Question: Does the mantra “I eat in order to live” given my situation, fit into the above?
I thought it worthwhile to share with you the following article from SCC (Singapore Counseling Centre)
How to Practice Mindfulness in Your Everyday Life
Being on ‘autopilot’, where we go through our routines without actually being present in the moment, can be problematic as it might cause us to engage in behaviours that might not be helpful for the situation, or even make us feel that life is meaningless. Mindfulness can help to increase our awareness of our thoughts and emotions, allowing us to better understand and express ourselves to others. But… What exactly is mindfulness?
What is mindfulness?
According
to Harvard Health, mindfulness is the practice of purposely focusing our
attention on the present moment and accepting it without judgment. In other
words, it means being aware of what we are feeling, without allowing ourselves
to be controlled by it. Mindfulness is contrasted by mindlessness, which is
equivalent to being on ‘autopilot’. An example would be when we sometimes find
ourselves having no recollection of how our commute to and from work went
because we were too fixated on something that happened at home or at
work.
What are its benefits?
1.
Mindfulness improves well-being.
·
Being mindful teaches us to savor the
pleasures in life as they occur, allowing us to be fully engaged in the
activities.
·
By focusing on the here and now, we
are less likely to get caught up in worries about the future or regrets over
the past and are less preoccupied with concerns of the self!
2.
Mindfulness improves physical health.
·
Practicing mindfulness can maintain low
levels of stress hours after meditating, contributing to more restful
sleep, reduced blood pressure and better discernment. It also reduces chronic pain as meditation reduces the
brain’s sensitivity to pain.
3.
Mindfulness improves mental health.
·
Practicing mindfulness allows us to clear
our mind and focus on the present day, so it helps in setting the tone for each
day.
· In recent years, many counselors have even incorporated mindfulness meditation in their treatment of mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety disorders.
How to Practice Mindfulness?
Mindfulness
can be practiced everywhere and at any time, whether we feel distressed or not.
Here are some ways for you to start on your mindfulness journey!
·
Accept your Feelings
·
Anxiety, stress and other negative
emotions are normal and healthy reactions when a threat is present.
·
Being aware of these emotions is the first
step to better self-regulation. It is okay to feel, but not act completely on
it. View your emotions neutrally by switching from a “feeling” mode to a
“thinking and acting” mode.
·
Basic mindfulness meditation –
One way to be aware of our emotions is to sit quietly and focus on our natural
breathing. Observe your inner thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations without
judging them as good or bad.
1. Pay
attention. Take time to notice external
sensations such as sounds, sights, and touch. The challenge is not to latch
onto a particular idea, emotion, or sensation, or to get caught up in thinking
about the past or the future. Instead, just observe what comes and goes in your
mind.
2. Gently
redirect your thoughts. If your mind wanders into planning,
daydreaming, or criticism, gently redirect it to sensations in the present.
Observe the thoughts come and go and recognize that your thoughts and
emotions are just passing through and they do not define you. This insight can
free us from negative thought patterns.
·
·
Surf your Urges –
We have constant access to good food and entertainment and sometimes we may
feel a strong urge to binge on unhealthy food or shows. However, we can have
control over these urges by being aware of them to avoid mindlessly acting on
them.
·
Begin by observing your urge without
judgement. Notice how your body feels as the craving enters and simply describe
the urge or craving without reacting to it. You do not have to push it away or
hold on to it. End by replacing the wish for the craving to go away with the knowledge
that it will subside.
·
Over time, learning to sit with and ride
out our urges without giving in allows us to gain more control over our
urges and emotions.
Does this sight look familiar to you?
Maybe you have been guilty of using your phone or watching television
during meal times. It may entertain you while you eat, but it may not be
healthy for you! Why not try paying more attention to what you eat?
·
Mindful eating
·
Mindful eating is about developing
awareness of our experiences, physical cues, and feelings about food.
·
Mindful eating helps us distinguish
between emotional and physical hunger. It also increases our awareness of
food-related triggers, like the sight and smell of food, and guides us to
choose better responses to them.
·
We can practice mindful eating by
following these four steps:
1. Eating
slowly by chewing thoroughly and not rushing through the meal
2. Removing
any distractions such as the TV or our phones
3. Paying
attention to the textures, smells, colors and flavors of the food with our
senses
4. Noticing
how full we are feeling as we eat and stopping once we feel full
·
Mindfulness journaling
·
Mindfulness journaling is a great avenue for us to
reflect on our thoughts and emotions and write them down. By identifying our
emotions and the reason for them, we can then consider what we can do as a
response. In this journal, we can also note down the things we are grateful for
each day.
·
With more gratitude, we will have more resources to
turn to when we face challenges and will be more likely to remain positive.
·
Deep breathing (4-2-6
technique)
·
Deep breathing is an effective and proven method for
helping us calm down when we are feeling anxious. In slowing our heart rate,
our slow breathing signals to the brain for it to relax. Breathe in deeply for
4 counts, hold for 2 counts, then exhale fully for 6 counts. This helps us to
focus and brings our attention back to the present.
References
Harvard Health Publishing. (2013, September 1). The
magic of mindfulness. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-magic-of-mindfulness
Last Sunday was also incursion day in my house. People have decided to stay in place and make the most of the day. It was agreed to watch a heartwarming, more humane, more relatable and realistic true to life movie. The one who willingly volunteered to do the task is the youngest in the group and up to now I am amazed at how she arrived at choosing that film. Was it suggested or proposed to her? It did not look like her type of movie.
But it seems she also liked it. It is the year of hope! The way things are moving about all around the world is truly awakening, revitalizing, energizing, dynamic. Haven’t you observed? You can find out for yourselves.
Oh! I almost missed out on the title of the movie
we watched last Sunday and I hope you make time to watch it with the
family.
Quartet – Comedy/Drama
Once-popular opera diva Jean Horton (Maggie Smith) creates a stir with her arrival at Beecham House, a home for retired performers. No one feels the uproar more than Reginald (Tom Courtenay), Jean's ex-husband, who still stings from her long-ago infidelity. Most of the other Beecham residents are de… MORE
Release date: January 1, 2013 (UK)
Director: Dustin Hoffman
Adapted from: Quartet
Distributed by: Momentum Pictures
Box office: $59.5
million
Need I say more? Yes! I
trust you and I will conscientiously nurture our relationship with Jesus, Mary
and Joseph every day. As always let us
talk to them about the above ideas and thoughts we have shared in this post. Let us guard our quiet moments of
conversation with them throughout the day.
See you in the next post, “May tomorrow be a perfect day; may you find love and
laughter along the way; may God keep you in his tender care; ‘til He brings us
together again.”
Affectionately,
Guadalupinky
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