September 2011
7 posts
3 tags
Looking up and Out at my Yard
Do you remember these flowers that grew in spite of all odds, without care?
Well, here they are now.
If we are determined to grow, in one way or another we will grow. We do need help however. These flowers did get some rain over the weeks.
Yesterday, I momentarily looked out the kitchen window while I was doing dishes. From that angle I saw something different.
There is a lesson in...
6 tags
Depression, Poverty, and St. Vincent de Paul
Many research studies have demonstrated a link between depression and poverty. That’s not hard to imagine. A person can feel pretty helpless if basic necessities are not met.
In 2010 there were 925 million hungry people in the world, most of them residing in Asia and the Pacific.
With regards to depression, the World Health Organization has ranked depression as the 4th leading cause of disease...
3 tags
A Day Off
Have you ever needed a day off and thought you couldn’t take one? Well guess what?
YOU CAN!!
I need a day off today. There are good reasons for that but that’s not important. So, I’m not writing a blog post today. Instead, here is a scripture passage for you to think about:
Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take...
6 tags
Laughter: Protection from Depression
Laughter is a healing emotion. It also helps create a protective layer against depression. Here’s how.
Depression comes in episodes. That means there are times when you are not depressed. It is during those times fostering a sense of humor is important. Studies about the impact of humor on mental health indicate humor expands the ability to learn new things and adapt better. These...
Resilience in My Yard
I hadn’t noticed before, being incredibly busy… but today I noticed. Two lone desert rose plants had grown in my flower pot. They are annuals, meaning they shouldn’t have come up this year. Further, I had never planted them there. Even more amazing is that I didn’t plant any flowers this spring knowing I’d be traveling a lot. The temperatures soared over 100...
7 tags
Pain, Prayer, and Grace
“Painful and difficult prayer is more pleasing to God than one which is easy and tranquil. The grief and pain of one who tries to pray in vain, lamenting his inability to do so, makes him a victor in God’s sight and obtains for him abundant graces.” Bl.Henry Suso
These are comforting words to someone in the grips of a depressive episode. The most important message of course is that even when...
7 tags
Anxiety, Speculation, and St. Paul
When I prayed this morning over today’s first reading, 1 Timothy 1: 3-5, I couldn’t help but be drawn to the line, “which promote speculations rather than the plan of God that is to be received by faith.” St. Paul lists some of the distractions of his times before he writes this line but what came to my mind was the television show, Through the Wormhole narrated by Morgan...
