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Gratefulness
I am not only grateful for “good” experiences but also for the “bad” ones too, because it is these experiences that bless us with wisdom.
Today, I can be of service by taking the dog out and feeding him. I usually avoid this because he’s more aggressive with me than with my mom, but I will have her supervise me and correct me if I do anything wrong. I really want to learn to care for him.
For me, finding the lesson to be learned through hardships helps me to be grateful even in difficult times. I like to think that the hard times are the times when I have the greatest opportunity to grow in wisdom, resilience, and an ability to help others who are struggling.
Words matter. One inflammatory speech can lead to insurrection. Choose your words wisely.
To be honest, I want to offer my support for certain causes, but I don’t know where to begin. I want to do something about gun violence, the environmental crisis, and wealth inequality, but I don’t know where to begin.
Right now, some insights I’m having are: 1. The Divine is inherently and eternally relational from within itself, as all things in relationship with each other are the Divine 2. Understanding Jesus as the Messiah can create unintentional bias against Jews, creating an assumption that Jesus was the Messiah and thus, the Jews don’t actually understand their own scriptures since they don’t hold this view. A question Christians need to wrestle with is how they can un...
Right now, some insights I’m having are: 1. The Divine is inherently and eternally relational from within itself, as all things in relationship with each other are the Divine 2. Understanding Jesus as the Messiah can create unintentional bias against Jews, creating an assumption that Jesus was the Messiah and thus, the Jews don’t actually understand their own scriptures since they don’t hold this view. A question Christians need to wrestle with is how they can understand Jesus as Messiah and yet not hold condescending views about Judaism. 3. If we really want to learn about the simplicity Jesus taught, we can look to the Amish as an example of a simple lifestyle. 4. It is possible to blend Christianity and Humanism. 5. Accurate veridical perceptions, while anecdotal and not experimental, provide some compelling evidence for functioning beyond the brain during NDEs. 6. Elephants are seen by many Hindus as living incarnations of Ganesh, the elephant-headed god of success. 7. World War II is the main backdrop against which most UFO mythology developed in the United States. 8. Ancient Astronaut Theory is problematic in its racist tendency to assume that aliens must have been involved in the innovations of ancient societies because “those people” couldn’t have possibly developed culture on their own.
This past year, I have learned that, even though I still have some healing to do from my personal “stuff,” and even though I struggle with the rest of the world with what is happening right now, I also have a lot of resilience to get through it and find hope, even though I didn’t always see it before.
It is very cold outside tonight. For almost two years now, I have been going through a bit of a “winter of the soul,” but I also know that warmer weather inevitably follows winter.
Being mortal helps me remember not to take the time I DO have on this earth for granted. I want to do great things and make great changes in the world with the help of others, but I have to remember that I can’t always say, “Someday, I want to…” Eventually, someday will be now. I will die, and I try to remember that I would rather die knowing that I did something for the world rather than die regretting the time I squandered.
Right now, I have a lot of joy knowing that my semester is over, and I now have some time for spiritual practice and exploring deep questions about life and meaning.
This may seem weird, but the college I went to for undergraduate school was a place where I felt a lot of peace and calm. Doane University had a really beautiful campus, and I often feel nostalgia for that time in my life. Maybe I could think about Doane and remember that there may be a time when I feel that peace again soon, God-willing.
When I look at the world with fresh eyes, some of the problems that seemed so big before seem irrelevant compared to the beauty found in nature and in the universe.
My church families at Eliot Unitarian Chapel in St. Louis and First Congregational United Church of Christ in Greeley bring me lots of energy and joy. I can help them thrive by offering my voice and insights in Adult Education classes when we are able to attend in person again.
I went through a spiritual crisis that lasted from April 2010-August 2012. At the time, I believed that God was angry and was going to send me to hell because I believed that the Bible was infallible and literally true. Thankfully, I finally came to a place where I no longer believed in the infallibility of scripture and found a theology of love and grace. Today, I still struggle with what I experienced during that time, but I also wouldn’t trade it for the world because it made me who ...
I went through a spiritual crisis that lasted from April 2010-August 2012. At the time, I believed that God was angry and was going to send me to hell because I believed that the Bible was infallible and literally true. Thankfully, I finally came to a place where I no longer believed in the infallibility of scripture and found a theology of love and grace. Today, I still struggle with what I experienced during that time, but I also wouldn’t trade it for the world because it made me who I am today and led me to grow in wisdom and ask deeper philosophical and theological questions.
I think I would be a much kinder person if I assumed the best about everyone. It’s hard to do because part of us is wired to commit the fundamental attribution error (thinking that people who do good things do it because of their circumstances, while thinking they do bad things because they are bad people, while thinking I do good things because I’m good, and I do bad things because of my circumstances). Martin Luther, in his explanation of the eighth commandment, says that we sho...
I think I would be a much kinder person if I assumed the best about everyone. It’s hard to do because part of us is wired to commit the fundamental attribution error (thinking that people who do good things do it because of their circumstances, while thinking they do bad things because they are bad people, while thinking I do good things because I’m good, and I do bad things because of my circumstances). Martin Luther, in his explanation of the eighth commandment, says that we should take people’s “words and actions in the kindest possible way.” This is an interpretation of Torah that challenges me to assume the best intentions in everyone.
When our dog first kept having aggression issues, we thought there was nothing more we could do to help him and that no trainer would be able to help him. We even contacted Cesar Milan, the Dog Whisperer, but he was nowhere near Colorado at the time. Thankfully, however, we finally found a trainer in Pine who specializes in dog aggression, and he is so good with her! He still has some problems, and we have to stay cautious, but he has gotten so much better since we started working with her.
I have enough clothing; shelter; emotional support from my family, friends, and animal companions; clean food and water; transportation; and healthcare.
Sometimes, when I am thinking about my daily habits, it’s important to ask, “Is anything getting in the way of anything else? If so, what do I prioritize, at least for now?”
I want to learn more about people who have undergone really painful trauma at the hands of others and still have managed to forgive. People like the victims of the police state in El Salvador or the schoolhouse shooting in the Amish community are so inspiring to me!
1. Is forgiveness always possible? If so, what is the secret that those who feel they cannot forgive are missing? If not, how does is that reconcilable with a loving God? 2. Is everyone destined to experience eternal reunion with God? If so, how is that possible with free will? If not, how does that line up with the idea of a loving God? 3. Are psi abilities real? 4. Which forms of alternative medicine are effective, and which are quacks? 5. Does experiencing enlighten...
1. Is forgiveness always possible? If so, what is the secret that those who feel they cannot forgive are missing? If not, how does is that reconcilable with a loving God? 2. Is everyone destined to experience eternal reunion with God? If so, how is that possible with free will? If not, how does that line up with the idea of a loving God? 3. Are psi abilities real? 4. Which forms of alternative medicine are effective, and which are quacks? 5. Does experiencing enlightenment/Nirvana/moksha take away from mystery and the wonders of unknowing, as well as the variety of human emotions? 6. Is there an afterlife? 7. What is my personal and collective dharma? 8. Does God really exist? 9. Are the Law of Attraction and prayer really effective? 10. What are the signs of the reception of the Holy Spirit within oneself? 11. Why does the Shobogenzo say that one “cannot repent” of blaspheming against the dharma? Does this mean that one will suffer the karmic consequences of this deed forever? 12. Is time an illusion? 13. Why does the Avesta refer to some sins as “unpardonable”? 14. Are things really objectively “good” or “bad,” or is everything perfect as it is regardless of our perception of it? 15. What is the secret to eternal life/heaven on earth? 16. Is the Lotus Sutra correct when it says that some karmic consequences are eternal?
Where in Colorado do you live? I’m from Greeley!
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We are delighted to announce the release of Kristi Nelson’s book Wake Up Grateful
