Another long absence

Good morning, God!

And thanks much for this new day in our lives. I really appreciate the opportunity to live through another day on this amazing planet, and I'll do my best to make the most of this day that I've been given.

It's been a while since I've written anything here, as you well know. A long vacation will do that--my wife and I took our first long vacation--two weeks--in many years, and while we were gone, we had very little in the way of Internet connections. It was a good thing, though, because I wanted to spend as little time as possible online. Our goal was to be together and to do some exploring, not to do the same online stuff while on vacation that we do at home.

I want to thank you for the opportunity to take the vacation. I know that the vast majority of people on this planet will never be able to take such a vacation, and that it's only an accident of fate that we happen to live in a place that allows us the economic possibility of taking the vacation we just took. I want you to know, though, that we don't take it for granted, and that we do very much appreciate it. I do wish that more people could do things like that, but I learned long ago that it's important that we live within the realities in which we're placed--we shouldn't make ourselves suffer if we live in a situation that is better than other people have. Vacations are important in life; I know that my wife and I very much needed this one.

So we thank you for the chance to travel and to see new things, and I'll do my best to make sure that the benefits of the vacation make a difference in my life.

A response:

Welcome back. Yes, vacations are important--I gave you a world to experience, and if you want to get to know that world better, vacations are one of the ways that you can do so. I want you to know the world, to feel comfortable in it, to enjoy and learn from all that it has to offer you. You know as well as I do that you have never been extravagant with your vacations, and this particular one was a special treat on a scale that neither of you have ever experienced before. There's nothing wrong with treating yourselves, until it becomes excessive. But almost anything in excess is a mistake.

Vacation is a time for rest, relaxation, and renewal, and I sincerely hope that you've been able to experience all three. I also sincerely hope that the rest and renewal allow you to do stronger and better work in the different areas of your lives--in your work and in your relationships and at your church. Use the strength that you have now that you're rested to contribute more strongly in ways that you feel are most appropriate. You rest so that you can approach things in your life more effectively and more enthusiastically; nobody is served when you work yourselves to exhaustion. Enjoy your rested state, and all that you get done in it!

No particular thing to say

Good morning, God, and thank you very much for this new day! The sun will be coming up soon, we'll see blue skies and feel warm temperatures, and we'll have another day full of opportunities to make something special of it. We'll be able to talk to other people, get work done, relax and meditate, cook food and eat it, and really, anything else that we want to do, as long as we can afford it, of course. I won't be able to hop onto a plane to Australia just like that. Though I have to stop when I say that--I actually could do that, though I would be changing a lot of things if I were to do so, not the least of which would be my relationship with my wife if I spent that much money on a whim like that.

Being spontaneous is really important in life, of course, but we have to use our reason to decide which things are worthwhile and safe enough to try. I could try going out rock climbing, but there's a very good chance that I would fall while doing so, as I have no training at all. On the other hand, a nice hike up to a mountain lake may be not just doable, but inspiring and uplifting.

An interesting set of ideas set up by a sentence about what I can't do. So perhaps this is what this note is about: I'd like to ask you to help me to be spontaneous when I can be, and to help me to discern between those things that truly are valuable enough and possible enough to undertake, and those things that may seem like a good idea at the time, but which may not be the best for me.

A reply:

Good morning to you, too. I'm glad that you're here for this day, and I hope that you're able to make of it all that you're able to. A lot of what you do and don't do has to do with where you are with your tastes and desires--the simpler you're able to keep things, the more likely you are to have an astonishing day! That may be something for you to explore in a future entry. . . .

You understand why discernment is considered a gift of the Spirit--because it's an important skill to have when you need to make decisions. The human life is filled with decision after decision, and knowing how to make them effectively is extremely important for you and the other people in your life. Your father's decisions to go out drinking as soon as he got a paycheck had a lasting effect on you and your family. Your own decision not to drink for so long had a lasting effect on the person that you've become.

Impulse can be a wonderful thing, of course, but it can make things unpleasant if the impulse leads to negative results and has no real positive return. Impulse has been one of the most consistent obstacles to a full life for many, many people, and that's a shame. Practice your discernment when you face an impulse, but also remember that when the stakes are very low, impulse can be a wonderfully liberating force. Picking up a book and going to the park to read can be a very positive impulse; going skiing instead of going to the job interview you had scheduled may not be.

Of course, if it were me, I would tend to err on the side of spontaneity, trusting myself to be able to discern between what's good for me and what's not.

But that's just me. Have a wonderful Thursday!