Overcoming Regret

July 31, 2021 Saturday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time Readings for Today Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Priest—Memorial

Video Herod the tetrarch heard of the reputation of Jesus and said to his servants, “This man is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him.” Matthew 14:1–2 Herod the tetrarch was one of three brothers and a sister who became 1st-century rulers to succeed their father, Herod the Great, when he died in 4 B.C. Herod governed much of the territory west of the Sea of Galilee, which was the territory in which Jesus spent most of His time during His public ministry. He also ruled a territory just east of the Dead Sea, which is where he had imprisoned and ultimately killed John the Baptist. Herod was known for being a very busy builder and is prominently known for his role in the deaths of Saint John the Baptist and Jesus. Recall that Herod had taken his brother’s wife, Herodias, as his own, and John the Baptist publicly opposed this. For that reason, Herod had John arrested and ultimately beheaded at the request of Herodias, who took the Baptist’s criticism very personally. Herod, on the other hand, had a strange sort of admiration for the Baptist. The Gospel passage quoted above reveals a somewhat unusual statement by Herod. After he had killed Saint John the Baptist, he heard about the reputation of Jesus Who was traveling throughout Herod’s territory preaching and performing many mighty deeds. Word spread fast about Jesus and quickly reached even the ears of Herod. So why did Herod strangely think that Jesus must have been John the Baptist raised from the dead? Though we do not know for certain, we certainly can speculate. In the version of this story found in the Gospel of Mark, we read, “Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him” (Mark 6:20). Herod may have been a man who had a spark of faith but was ultimately ruled by his passions and desire for power. Perhaps that is why he initially kept John the Baptist alive in his prison. It also appears that Herod had some form of either regret or fear over his beheading of John. And it is most likely for this reason that Herod immediately thought of John when he initially heard of Jesus and the “mighty powers” that were at work within Him. Regret, fear, and guilt are common effects of a conscience that is in conflict. Herod the tetrarch is a good example of what happens when we do not resolve that conflict within ourselves. The only way to resolve the interior confusion of a conflicted conscience is to humbly submit to the truth. Imagine if Herod would have repented. Imagine if he would have sought out Jesus, confessed his sins, and begged for forgiveness. What a glorious story that would have been. Instead, we have the witness of a man who has gone astray and remained obstinate in his sin. Reflect, today, upon this unholy witness of Herod. God can use all things for His glory, and He can even use the example of Herod to reveal to ourselves any similar tendency. Do you struggle with regret, fear and guilt? Does this cause conflict within you? The good news is that this conflict is easily resolved by a humble heart that seeks the truth. Seek the truth by admitting any long lasting sin you need to resolve and permit the mercy of God to enter in so as to set you free. My merciful Jesus, You desire that all people experience freedom from the sins of the past. You desire to penetrate our hearts and to bring resolution and peace. Please help me to open my mind and heart to You in the areas that still cause pain and regret, and help me to be set free by Your infinite mercy. Jesus, I trust in You.

What are the best road trips that can be done all over the world?

1. Four years ago, on this day, four of us completed a road trip from London to Bangalore. 20 countries, 78 days, 25k kms and innumerable memories. Biggest learning - we are all ONE HUMAN RACE across the world. We are built to love and support each other.

2. 20 countries, 6 immigration checkposts, 78 days, many government employees to deal with, lots of paperwork. Guess how much bribe we had to pay during the entire trip? ZERO. Yes, you read that right. ZERO. People are amazing - by default.

3. The amount of UNCONDITIONAL LOVE AND SUPPORT we got from people from all walks of life across so many regions of the world - simply unbelievable. Man to man, woman to woman, person to person - all we witnessed was the intent to help, support and love.

4. Skin color didn't matter. Race didn't matter. Religion didn't matter. Nation didn't matter. We connected with them. They connected with us. We were all curious about each other. And really open.

5. Race, Religion, Nation - these are all intangible concepts that helped the human race aggregate in numbers higher than 150(Harari Yuval in "Brief history of mankind"). And this ability to identify with an intangible common cause allowed us to become superior to other species

6. Yet, unfortunately it is these intangible concepts that divide us today. National beliefs, racist beliefs, religious beliefs. How ironic! What helped us eons ago is killing us today. I have no doubt that our innate instinct is to love and support. Some examples from our trip

7. We met one russian family of three (mom, dad and son) at a parking lot in slovenia. They helped us on so many fronts - free russia maps for our GPS device and many other tips. They told us to reach out to them when we hit moscow.

8. So we did. They took us to their parents place on the outskirts. His mom (~65 years) cooked a vegetarian meal for us in Russia! We spent the night there. They let us go only when we accepted gifts from their garden (vegetables, berries). They also gave us road trip supplies..

9. In a random countryside gas station in Kazakhstan, they gave us free petrol, chocolates and biscuits. All smiles, genuine warmth and love. You couldn't miss it if you tried hard.

10. At the russian border, a russian policewoman spent 30 minutes with us explaining in sign language what we needed to do and what forms to fill. She was smiling throughout. When we finished, she celebrated with a jump and huge huge cheer. And wished us luck

11. We were in a police station in China to complete some registration formalities. Things got delayed for hours. The policeman profusely apologised. He treated us like guests, not like criminals. Got us things to eat and coffee. Who would have guessed that this was possible?

12. We had a flat tyre in the Chinese countryside. Our tools broke and we needed help. An SUV stopped. A Chinese family helped us. The man insisted that he fix the tyre for us. After he finished, his hands were doing a namaste and he said "Welcome to China" !

13. A chinese family that ran a village store (monthly revenue not more than 200 USD) insisted on giving us free icecream and water bottles. When you see someone who has very little and they are still so giving, it hits a reset button in your head.

14. The trip taught us that all of us in this planet are genuine, caring, loving, supportive by default. That is how we enter this earth. A lot of things change us from our default state. Education, religion, caste, race, etc. Its time we question these influences and change them

15. Trust each other, support each other. You won't believe how full your heart will be and how beautiful the world can be! 🌍❤️

🍁 Depicted from - Bharath Devanathan's Twitter

🌟 Follow me - Hrishikesh Kashyap

Quels sont les moyens peu communs de travailler plus intelligemment au lieu de plus dur ?

Bastien Tonnellier

 · 

Suivi

Consultant en marketing numérique pour PMETraducteur · 13 avril

Dean Yeong

I live consciously.

Cette réponse peut ne pas être une traduction fidèle de la réponse de 

Dean Yeong

 dans Quora en anglais :  

What are some uncommon ways to work smarter instead of harder?

Le minimalisme décisionnel.

Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg et Barack Obama ont fait la même chose. Ils portaient presque la même tenue tous les jours. Prenez moins de décisions pour éviter la fatigue des décisions, afin d'avoir plus d'énergie pour vous concentrer sur les choses vraiment importantes.

Créez un environnement gagnant.

Trop d'amis m'ont dit qu'ils avaient travaillé si dur qu'ils n'avaient plus le temps d'organiser leur espace de vie et leur lieu de travail. Nous sommes façonnés par notre environnement. Pour travailler plus intelligemment, aménagez votre lieu de travail de manière à ce que votre génie se sente accueillant.

Arrêtez de vous fixer des objectifs.

Oubliez vos objectifs une fois que vous les avez fixés. Faites un pas de plus. Créez un système - des routines et des habitudes - et commencez à vous concentrer sur ce système. Si vous êtes un écrivain, faites en sorte d'écrire tous les jours. Si vous êtes un athlète, entraînez-vous tous les jours. Si vous êtes vendeur, prenez des rendez-vous tous les jours. Le fait de penser continuellement aux objectifs n'aide en rien.

Validez avant de commencer.

Mettez rapidement vos idées à la poubelle. Avoir plus d'idées nous rend plus occupés. Validez rapidement votre idée en posant à votre public potentiel (et à vous-même) des questions critiques. Si le retour est négatif, oubliez-la.

Optimisez la PREMIÈRE chose.

Améliorez le premier élément qui a un effet en cascade jusqu'à un entonnoir. Demandez-vous quelle est la première chose que vous faites qui affectera tout ce qui suit. Quelques bons exemples : concevez une routine matinale, augmentez la vitesse de votre trackpad/souris, et investissez dans le meilleur modem WiFi que vous pouvez vous offrir. (Crédit : Noah Kagan)

Automatisez et déléguez.

Appliquez la règle des 80/20 et concentrez-vous sur les 20 % du travail qui vous apportent le plus d'impact. Ensuite, automatisez ou déléguez le reste. Par exemple, l'écriture est mon 20 %, puis j'automatise le partage sur les médias sociaux et je délègue l'édition.

Arrêtez le multitâche.

Le multitâche est une illusion ; nous nous trompons nous-mêmes en croyant que nous gérons plusieurs tâches en même temps, mais ce que nous faisons en réalité, c'est simplement passer d'une tâche à une autre, et vice-versa, pendant cette période donnée.

L'exercice.

Nos performances cognitives sont étroitement liées à nos performances physiques. Prévoyez du temps pour bouger davantage.

Dormez plus. Faites des siestes.

Faites des pauses reposantes. Ne soyez pas celui ou celle qui porte fièrement l'insigne du manque de sommeil. Dormir moins ne vous rend pas plus productif. En fait, cela vous rend moins concentré et moins créatif. Dormez 9 à 10 heures par jour, et vous verrez votre productivité monter en flèche.

Sprint. Reposez-vous. Sprint.

Appliquez la technique Pomodoro. Faites un sprint (travail concentré) pendant 25 minutes, puis reposez-vous pendant 5 minutes. Répétez l'opération. Vous allez accomplir le travail en moins de temps.

Séparez la réflexion de l'action.

Prévoyez un temps spécifique pour réfléchir et planifier, puis un temps spécifique pour exécuter le plan. Ce que vous ne voulez pas, c'est penser à ce qu'il faut faire et comment le faire lorsque vous faites quelque chose.

Merci d'avoir lu jusqu'au bout, retrouvez-moi sur mon site BTM !C

Seeing the Greatness of Christ

July 30, 2021 Friday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time Readings for Today Saint Peter Chrysologus, Bishop and Doctor—Optional Memorial

Video Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue. They were astonished and said, “Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?” Matthew 13:54 Today’s Gospel goes on to say that the people in Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth took offense at Him, which led Jesus to say, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house.” It is somewhat surprising that they took offense at Jesus after witnessing His wisdom and mighty deeds. Jesus was very familiar to the townspeople, and it seems that that familiarity led them to doubt that Jesus was someone special. It should be noted that, in many ways, the people who knew Jesus for many years should have been the first people to see His greatness. And most likely there were some from His hometown who did. They would have known Jesus' mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and she would have given daily witness to incredible virtues. They would have known Joseph as a truly righteous and just man. And Jesus would have exuded every human virtue to perfection as He grew, and, again, that should have been easily noticeable. But many failed to see the holiness of Jesus and the Holy Family. This experience of our Lord should remind us that it is easy to miss the presence of God all around us. If those who were closest to Jesus did not recognize Him as a man of exceptional virtue and holiness, then how much more might we fail to see the presence of God in the lives of those we encounter every day? For some reason, perhaps because of our struggles with pride and anger, it is easier to look at the faults of another than at their virtues. It’s easy to be critical of them and to dwell upon their perceived weaknesses and sins. But this Gospel story should encourage us to do all we can to look beyond the surface and to see God present in every life we encounter. On the most fundamental level, God dwells within each and every person He has created. Even those who remain in a state of persistent mortal sin are still made in the image of God and reflect God by their very nature. And we must see this. And those who are in a state of grace carry the presence of God, not only within themselves by nature but also through God’s action in their lives. Every virtue that every person has is there because God is at work in them. And we must work to see this divine activity in their lives. Begin by thinking about the people with whom you are closest. When you think about them, what comes to mind? Over the years, we can build habits of dwelling upon others’ faults. And those habits are hard to break. But they can only be broken by intentionally seeking out the presence of God in their lives. As noted, if Jesus’ own townspeople had a difficult time doing this with Him Who was perfect, then this should tell us that it will be even harder for us to do with those who lack perfection. But it must be done and is a very holy endeavor. Reflect, today, upon the important mission you have been given to see the presence of God in the lives of those all around you. What if Jesus had grown up in your town? As your neighbor? And though the Incarnate Son of God does not live next door as He did in Nazareth, He does live in each and every person you encounter every day. Honestly reflect upon how well you see Him and commit yourself to the holy mission of seeing Him more clearly so that you can rejoice in His greatness which is truly manifest all around you. My Lord of true greatness, You are truly present all around me. You are alive and living in the lives of those whom I encounter every day. Please give me the eyes of faith to see You and a heart that loves You. Help me to overlook the faults and weaknesses of others. Jesus, I trust in You.

Familial Friendship with Jesus

Thursday, July 29, 2021 Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus Readings for Today

Video “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” Luke 10:41–42 Today’s memorial was formerly a memorial only in honor of Saint Martha. However, on February 2, 2021, Pope Francis expanded this memorial to include Martha’s sister and brother, Mary and Lazarus. Thus, today we celebrate these three siblings together. Martha, Mary and Lazarus were close friends of Jesus. They lived in Bethany, which was only a short distance from Jerusalem. Martha is remembered especially for the story in which she had been preparing a meal for Jesus, while her sister, Mary, sat at Jesus’ feet listening to Him, leaving all the work to Martha. Martha complained to Jesus, urging Him to “Tell her to help me.” Jesus’ gentle rebuke of her request is quoted above. Mary is also known for the above story in which she sat at Jesus’ feet. This has traditionally been seen as a symbol of contemplative prayer. She is also presented in John’s Gospel as the one who poured an entire jar of expensive perfumed oil on Jesus’ feet and dried them with her hair just six days before Jesus’ death. Though medieval tradition has at times associated Mary of Bethany with Mary of Magdala and with the sinful woman who anointed Jesus’ feet (Luke 7:36–50), most scholars agree today that these are three different Marys. In fact, one of the reasons Pope Francis added Mary of Bethany to this memorial today was so that she was honored with a liturgical memorial that did not confuse her with Mary of Magdala. Lazarus is, of course, well known for the fact that Jesus brought him back to life after being dead and in the tomb for four days. Little else is mentioned about Lazarus in the Gospels except for the fact that the Pharisees wanted to arrest Lazarus at the time they were also seeking to arrest Jesus and that he was the sibling of Martha and Mary. Why do we have this memorial honoring all three of these siblings together? When this memorial was established, the Congregation for Divine Worship said, “In the household of Bethany the Lord Jesus experienced the family spirit and friendship of Martha, Mary and Lazarus, and for this reason the Gospel of John states that he loved them.” By honoring these siblings together, we are especially reminded of the importance of remaining close to family and inviting Jesus into our family. Martha, Mary and Lazarus lived together and shared a common life of love. They invited Jesus into their family life, and He accepted their offer. Jesus’ choice to befriend this family is an indication of His desire to unite each family and to befriend each member of every family so as to be the central source of their shared love and unity. Family love is central to our human lives. And though not every family enjoys unity and mutual love, we must never forget that God wants to enter every family just as He did with Martha, Mary and Lazarus. Reflect, today, upon your own family. In which ways does Jesus desire to befriend you more? How does He desire to enter your family life and strengthen it with His love? And how does He want to use you to help? Even if your family struggles in various ways, know that God wants to love you and your family in the same way He did the family of Martha, Mary and Lazarus. Though they were not perfect, He loved them nonetheless. And He desires to do the same to you and your family.  My loving Jesus, You chose to love the family of Martha, Mary and Lazarus. In doing so, You also reveal to us Your desire to love all families with a holy love. I invite You into my life and into my family, dear Lord. Please strengthen our bonds, bring unity and mutual respect. Please remove any past hurt and division and enable every family to share more fully in Your friendship and love. Jesus, I love You.  Jesus, I trust in You.