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We used to say "Is the Pope Catholic?" as a sarcastic response to an obvious question. With this pope, it's a real query. Is this guy Catholic? He has some unusual ideas . . .
Our College had a common reader experience this year around a book about happiness. I will not get specific. I read the first chapter of it last night and thought, "White people's problems." Or as some people call it, first world problems. But it has got me thinking about how we throw around words without common understandings. Happiness. Balance. Meaning.
The book on happiness seems to have no reference to spiritual sources of happiness or contentment, so I don't think I will pursue it. It seems to be an "I did this each month for a year" kind of approach. Whatever. Happiness comes from gratitude and acceptance.
Balance. Well, balance between what? Can two unequal things be balanced? What people mean when they talk about balance is that they are bogged down and spending too much time in activities they don't want to do. They don't want to work as much as they do. They don't want to spend as much as time on X as they do, or as much physical and emotional energy. Balance is not really a goal, anymore than happiness is. They are means.
Our College had a common reader experience this year around a book about happiness. I will not get specific. I read the first chapter of it last night and thought, "White people's problems." Or as some people call it, first world problems. But it has got me thinking about how we throw around words without common understandings. Happiness. Balance. Meaning.
The book on happiness seems to have no reference to spiritual sources of happiness or contentment, so I don't think I will pursue it. It seems to be an "I did this each month for a year" kind of approach. Whatever. Happiness comes from gratitude and acceptance.
Balance. Well, balance between what? Can two unequal things be balanced? What people mean when they talk about balance is that they are bogged down and spending too much time in activities they don't want to do. They don't want to work as much as they do. They don't want to spend as much as time on X as they do, or as much physical and emotional energy. Balance is not really a goal, anymore than happiness is. They are means.
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