Philosophy
Desensitized
Evil’s greatest objective is to desensitize us to its reality. If we fail to perceive evil for the threat that it is, to our lives and our society, then it can more easily dominate us.
We have a political class in Washington that universally denies the basic dignity of children in the womb. So evil their beliefs, that they don’t even believe that these children have a basic right to life. That is evil. The Chinese Communist Party has interned over a million Uyghurs in concentration camps for well over a year, and the strongest response to this evil from the world community is not sending diplomats to fancy parties at the Olympics. For two weeks, the deranged machinations of a single man has inflicted pain, suffering, and misery on the people of Ukraine.
In days like these, it’s easy to be overwhelmed. We are looking evil in the eye, that reality that we tried so hard to deny. We pray for peace, but still see suffering. Despair is a terrible thing.
This is another wake-up call for us. It’s a reminder that the fight for our salvation is a daily struggle, and that we are witnesses to the light in the face of great darkness. This is the essential truth that C.S. Lewis so beautifully conveyed in the _Chronicles of Narnia_. In the face of evil, good always triumphs.
Keto Recycle
Over the past three years, I’ve experimented with the keto diet. It’s fashionable right now, a fact that’s helped me stay consistent. My grocery store stocks a variety of keto-friendly options, which is fantastic.
Alison and I first switched over because we were looking to do something different. I wanted an eating plan that would make menu planning easier. With fewer food options, we could benefit from focus. I learned that a strict keto diet is the single lifestyle factor that consistently delivers me more migraine-free days.
There are stages that the body goes through when on the keto diet. The first two weeks are like a brick wall, as all sugar stores burn up and the body transitions into ketosis, where fat is the body’s energy source. Sometimes this transition is known as the keto-flu, and it isn’t fun.
The deeper into the diet I get, the less I eat. I’m less hungry and fill up easier. My tastes change, and the richness of food comes through. Black or dark roasted coffee becomes a true delight.
At some point, when I’m deep into keto, I get tempted to quit. It may be a tray of Christmas cookies or just the smell of Chick-fil-A waffle fries. Whatever the temptation, I’m always amazed at how effective it is at getting me to break keto. I can see my enhanced energy levels and the easily beatable migraines. I know how hard I’ve worked and the pain I’ll go through to start over again, but I break anyway.
Why do I keep quitting?
It’s the same reason I sin, and it’s the same reason I don’t stick to my prayer routine. The grass always looks greener on the other side, but it never is.
I no longer look at keto as a diet but as a cycle. Like my life, I’m always in motion. I’m drifting further into the diet or further out of it. The goal is to spend more time in keto for more extended periods in each cycle.
The goal of holiness isn’t perfection. The goal is to live as perfectly as possible, contending with and overcoming your faults through grace.
When I break keto, I always gain a few pounds, but I never get back to the very beginning. The same is true for the spiritual life. Sin sets us back; it doesn’t reset the clock. Hard work reaps benefits, so keep doing the hard work.
Noticing Progress
It’s hard to notice progress in our personal growth. We’re so intimately familiar with ourselves that small changes are imperceptible. Even the markers that we mentally track can be deceiving.
In our relationships, we tend to have conflicts around the same themes. Those areas where there are disagreements between spouses seldom change. However, in time, the friction can fade away with work and love, as you both learn to accept each other for who you are.
In the spiritual life, the same is true. Think back on your last three Confessions. The themes, if not the specific sins, were likely the same. Maybe it’s been that way for years. It’s not that you’re not making progress; it’s that those are the areas in which you are weakest. That’s where your version of concupiscence, our natural inclination to sin, plays out. Your holiness is the work of a lifetime; acceptance and a refusal to quit is enough progress.
This blog is nearing nine years of work. I started to look back at my first posts last week, and I had to blush. The writing was rough, choppy, and lacked subtlety. There were fragments, grammatical errors, and a lack of polish. I can distinguish between the quality and style of those first posts and those that I publish today.
In between the first post and this one, #858, was slow, steady imperceptible progress.
We tend not to give ourselves credit for the tiny steps forward we take each day. Yet, taking a moment to step back and pan out reveals the actual trajectory of our progress. That’s something worth appreciating.
Pivot
We’re in a season of disruption. Three major holidays in a row, travel plans, end of year tasks, and more all add up to significant calendar changes. Our routines upended, we’re left scrambling to find the peace of the season while still covering our bases.
I read that the main characteristic of the 21st century is flexibility. Life in a rapid, 24 hour-cycle requires frequent adaptation. This isn’t just about the pandemic, but really the massive changes that have occurred since 2008, and even back to 2001.
To be successful, we must pivot. This is true in all aspects of our lives, including our spiritual lives. Daily prayer is the essential medicine to encourage virtue and help us to avoid sin. If it becomes so mundane that we resist or skip it, we put ourselves at risk. We have to pivot to a new prayer routine or expression of faith.
Structure is good, but rigidity is fatal. We have to be willing and able to pivot. We have to look forward and see disruption coming, and ensure that we’re living our best lives.
Acceptance
Most of the Christian life is about acceptance. Acceptance is the humble admission that the great plans of God are far superior to the limited ones we have for our lives.
Humility is a Christian virtue. It’s easy to get ahead of our skis, setting out plans and ideas for ourselves that stray far from the mind of God. Humility calls us back to the essential truths of life. Our life is for loving and serving others.
Since 2006, I’ve lived with chronic migraines. It’s the paradigm through which my life processes. My lifestyle choices, career choices, even plans for each day must pass muster through migraine. Migraines are limiting, but upon reflection, they’ve served more like providential bumpers. My plans fell by the wayside, and God’s plan of adventure for my life took hold.
I’m another point of acceptance. After years of trial and error, I’ve learned that a strict ketogenic diet is my best treatment plan. If I want to be in control, I need to avoid the deliciousness of sweets and carbohydrates. But all is not lost. I’m less hungry, at a healthier weight, and I have energy. I’m able to accomplish my tasks and play with my children. Our schedules suffer less disruption and my sleep schedule is no longer restrictive.
Acceptance is not resignation. I’m not resigned to a particular diet, a victim of my biological circumstances. I’m free to enjoy so many delicious foods. Not only that, but I lose far fewer days to migraine, and so I’m free to live each day with joy and energy,
This is the essential, if not paradoxical lesson, that I’ve internalized. Giving up on my plans opens me up to the grander vision God has for me.
Building Momentum
Just after my birthday this Spring, I started walking again each morning. My most successful streaks start with little planning and no fanfare. My alarm goes off, and I go walk for an hour. I kept up with that habit, day after day, all the way until our summer vacation in July. I took the week off, and I’ve struggled to get back on track.
Momentum is hugely important because it defeats resistance. Quietly humming in the background, momentum propels us to keep doing something because it’s easier to keep going than it is to stop and start over later. I didn’t have the excuse that I could just skip a day because it wouldn’t matter. I walked yesterday, so why not walk today? There were many mornings that I slept in during that Spring walking streak, but at the end of the day, I’d always lace up and head out. I’d walk in those evenings because walking is just something that I did.
I experience the same resistance when I fall out of a prayer routine. Why start small when I can just start tomorrow? Why take 10 minutes at the end of the day when I can really do a good job tomorrow morning? I need to start now because it’s the best time to start.
I don’t give momentum a lot of credit, but that’s because it’s the silent partner of success. By taking the excuses off the table, it’s easier to just do what I had planned than it is to rationalize why I shouldn’t.
The Monk and the Merchant
The pictures coming out of Afghanistan are heartbreaking. We will forever remember the image of the C-17 taxiing down the runway with dozens of people hanging on, desperate to escape the evil that has descended on their homeland. It hurts not just because it was preventable, but because we feel powerless to help. Our elected leadership has failed on the world stage, and we share in the moral fallout.
Disaster and tragedy are part of the human story. Afghanistan feels personal because, while there is little that we can do about dictatorships in China, North Korea, or Cuba, this one was within our power to stave off. Every day in the World News section of the newspaper are stories of natural and human disasters. This is to say nothing of the quiet crimes against humanity that go unnoticed by the global community.
In times like these, I’m reminded of the book, _The Monk & The Merchant_. It’s a short story, in the vein of those management quick-reads. The story is about a merchant who visits a monastery and wishes he could spend all of his time focused on serving God. The monk whom he meets reminds him that the lifestyle of the monk is possible because of the financial generosity of the merchant. So while the merchant may spend his day tending to his business and growing his profits, his work is holy, too. It’s the work that enables the monastery to function.
Most of us are not called to the missionary field. Most of us are not called to travel to Haiti after an earthquake, or to Kabul to save people from the shadow of a dictatorial theocracy. But we are called to help. We can make a positive difference by giving generously to charities that have the experience, capability, and manpower to make a tangible difference on the ground.
If you’re looking for a reputable group, especially one that helps Christians facing persecution and genocide in the Middle East, take a look at the Knights of Columbus Christian Relief Fund.
We may not be monks, but our work as merchants is holy. Our work makes the life and charitable works of the monk possible.
Environment
I caught the back to school bug last week. The malaise of summer broke, and I worked through my checklist of projects. I oiled squeaky doors, replaced door handles, and ordered in some extra decor for our schoolroom. I even started easing us back into the regular daily routine.
Our environment speaks to our subconscious. The decorations on the wall, the art around the house, all contribute to a cohesive message.
We went to a pizzeria for a birthday dinner, and there were five televisions within eyeshot of everyone at the table. We didn’t talk much, we just watched the Olympics. The environment of the restaurant didn’t invite us to relax and talk, it encouraged us to zone out right in front of each other.
I want my children to see books throughout their day, pictures and statues of saints, and beautiful art on our walls. I want an environment that quietly draws us into prayer, meditation, and reading throughout the day.
There’s more work to do, but I think we’re on the right path.
Second New Year
August is here and back to school is right around the corner. We limped over the finish line in June, and it’s hard to believe that we’re about to get started again. There’s a bit more planning and organization to do. This year will bring a new challenge. I have two students in my class, with a third in tow.
As I start to turn my thoughts to school days, I’m reconsidering our schedule. I really got into a summer mindset this year. It was wonderful. Nothing on the schedule, just a daily clean slate. That also meant that I lacked momentum to keep doing the things that I did sketch out.
Back-to-school time is like a second chance new year. We can reorient, restart, and refresh our goals. That’s what I’m doing.
I took a few minutes last week to sketch out a schedule. In the past, I’ve managed to ignore almost all of my planning. Too much structure breaks, too much flexibility means less gets done. This year, I’m breaking my day into two parts: morning and afternoon. I have a list of things to do in the morning and a list for the afternoon. Simple.
My areas of focus are on daily prayer and reading. I built in a brief period of morning prayer and a rosary after lunch, but before naps. I’m looking forward to the rosary because it adds in a calming element to the schedule, along with mindfulness.
No need to be upset about the missed opportunities of summer days. Rest is a wonderful thing.
Spiritual Wokeism
I’m old enough to remember when being woke was enough to get you made fun of on SNL. What started as a fringe idea has now overrun the academy, government, the armed services, public health, and media. The essential contradiction of wokeism is that while it claims to be awake, to be fully embraced, you must deny reality. One of the clearest signs of this is the pervasive belief in the fallacy that America is no better today than it was in 1776.
This is a heavier topic than usual. I like to keep this blog light and digestible, but I think there’s an element of wokeism at play in our spirituality. It’s easy to believe that we are no better today than we were yesterday, or even a decade ago.
When we go to Confession, we repeat the same litany of sins, sometimes adding a few but seldom removing any. This is a grating experience. We get the impression that we’re not improving.
Our expectations of instant renewal and transformation are unrealistic. We must take concrete steps to live and love the Law. Change, however, is slow. We’re working out our salvation and overcoming the innate character flaws that will be with us for life.
Like modern wokeism, spiritual wokeism is a lie. We’re better than we used to be. We may be committing the same sins, but we’re probably committing them less frequently. That’s progress! We may be making the same mistakes, but in different ways. That’s progress!
The Christian life isn’t about a life lived perfectly. It’s embracing our human flaws and, through grace, living out our vocation fully despite them.
We reject the fantasy of wokeism in public life, and we should reject it in our spiritual lives, too.