Points To Ponder by Pope John Paul II

Side note: I rarely write about religion and spirituality; This is one of those rare moments :-)

This post was inspired by this Sunday’s sermon by our local priest (yes, I do go to church and actually listen to the sermon! ). The entire sermon revolved around one sentence. It was so intriguing that long after the sermon was over, I was still thinking about it. Naturally, it made in to a blog post!

"We have lost the sense of sin" ~ Pope John Paul II

It seems this statement is fairly old; nevertheless new to me (have you heard this before?).

The "sense of sin" refers to having an accurate conception of sin and an awareness of sin in one's life. It is part of what is normally understood as "conscience."
After some digging around in Google, I came across this,

John Paul II in "Reconciliatio et Paenitentia" wrote of a "sensitivity and an acute perception of the seeds of death contained in sin, as well as a sensitivity and an acuteness of perception for identifying them in the thousand guises under which sin shows itself. This is what is commonly called the sense of sin. This sense is rooted in man's moral conscience and is as it were its thermometer."

Think about it.. Is our society losing the "sense of sin" ?

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I Have Learned (Poem by Kathy Kane Hansen)

I've learned -
that you cannot make someone love you.
All you can do is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them.

I've learned -
that no matter how much I care, some people just don't care back.

I've learned -
that it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.

I've learned -
that it's not what you have in your life but who you have in your life that counts.

I've learned -
that you can get by on charm for about fifteen minutes.
After that, you'd better know something.

I've learned -
that you shouldn't compare yourself to the best others can do. but to the best you can do.

I've learned -
that it's not what happens to people that's important. It's what they do about it.

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The One Minute Manager: Highlights From The Book

The One Minute Manager, was my week-end reading (last week). I thought of sharing my reading notes as a blog post.

"Once there was a bright young man who was looking for an effective manger. He wanted to work for one. He wanted to become one. His search had taken him over many years to the far corners of the world." Finally he met the "One minute Manager" who shared the secrets of "one minute management". He was neither autocratic nor democratic; neither tough nor nurturing. He taught three secrets of the one minute management to the young person.
So here we go...

Secret #1 : One minute Goal Setting

People who feel good about themselves produce good results

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5 Ways To Emerge Stronger When Your Best Is Not Good Enough

I have a friend who is a really good dancer. She recently participated in a dance sport championship and despite her training and preparation, she ended up fourth. When I talked to her after words, I could sense the disappointment when she told me, “My best wasn’t good enough”.....

In my experience, it's usually something of a personal nature that carries over into every aspect of our lives. Sometimes, no matter what we do, it's just feels not good enough.

“I'm trying my best at work and I still feel like a failure all the time.......”

“I study so hard but my grades are still low”

“I’m doing my best to make this relationship work, but it’s not going anywhere”

[your story here!]

Surely, you’ve had moments where you felt your best was not good enough? You felt helpless and couldn’t really figure out what to do next?

Well, here are some steps you can take when you find yourself such a situation. This is a list of options to consider; to help you decide what your next step will be.

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When The Right Decision Turns Out To Be Wrong

I recently bought a new sofa and I had put off buying throw pillows until I enough coins in my saving jar! I was happy (and proud!) that after a few months of saving I could finally afford the throw pillows. So yesterday I went to the store and was looking over the various pillows. My sofa's fabric is a sage paisley pattern with brown and burgundy accents. After much deliberation (and annoyance to the sales lady!) I decided to go with plush brown pillows.

After returning home I soon realized that the brown didn't coordinate nicely with the couch. I had to make another trip to the store, pleaded with my most charming smile and managed to exchange the brown with some burgundy pillows. Yap that looked quite lovely with the sofa!
This is an example of a decision that was easily reversed.

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