Wednesday, April 09, 2008

It's all about balance ot the wheel or whatever...

Call it whatever you want.. Welleness wheel... Balanced life style whatever...

As I watch our students go through their days I become more and more convinced that happiness and holiness is all about balance or being able to give everything its proper place in their lives, our lives. There are so many things calling for their, our attention and it is very easy to mess things up.

Approval, even the tough ones who say they don't need it, need it desperately and some can even almost get physically sick if they don't get it. How you are preceived is very important to a young adults just starting out in the world. I guess it is important to all of us to some extent.

In a balanced person there also has to be a place for physical well being. Our students are so much more attune to this then our generation was. The fitness center is almost always packed with people trying to stay healthy and yes "look good" there's that approval again. They also check the nutrition kiosk in the Student Dining room I've seen it... They aren't too good at getting enough sleep though... sometimes the temptation to watch a movie or play Halo is just to enticing. Some have also grown to depend on chemicals to change their mood and make them feel well. Sad.

Then there is their work or purpose, as much as it is fun to be here and enjoy the social life and new found freedom to live your life as you wish, it is paramount that a people here remember why they are here. 40 grand it a lot of money simply for the chance to live in Spellman and enjoy the kids down the hall. College is all about getting ready, getting ready to leave your mark or make your contribution it is all about purpose.

Some seem to think that our kids don't take studies seriously. I would venture to differ. Almost all of them know why they are here but quite often especially in the case of our Freshmen they just don't know how to get the job done. They know they have to study but they just don't know how go about it. Often they get lost in the moment, the present and can't get up and leave. They haven't developed the discipline to get up and do their work and the vast majority of them feel guilty very guilty about not doing their share. Some figure it out some never do. The guilt that many feel about not doing or being able to do what they came here for sometimes consumes them. If it is an impetus to push them on a little farther on their live journey that's great. However, a few just simply curl up on their bed or get lost in a bottle of beer medicating themselves. Sometimes you can pull them if you catch it in time. Being able to do your work, be about your business, and experience a feeling of accomplishment is essential in every stage of life. Remember the first time you road a bike?

Another key component in wellness is being able to put your needs and your desires in the proper context. A person who only thinks of themselves and what they want and what they hope to achieve is often never satisfied. When life becomes all about me then a person is walking down the road to sadness. Part of living a fulfilling life is being able and desiring to help others live a good life. The older a person grows the more they should grow comfortable with and desire to give or share themselves with others. People who discover this realize that the world is much bigger than their own perspective. It is really important to figure that out. The papers are filled with people who never got that lesson, from petty thieves to corporate executives. Yell and scream and play your music loud at 3:00 in the morning when the big football player next door has 6:00 AM practice and sometimes you'll find out that life is not all about you quickly.

Approval, health, purpose all of these things are important I may have even left some important things out... don't hesitate to let me know.

However, I have also come to believe "duh" (I'm not sure how you spell that ) that you can never be well or whole or HOLY unless you know where you came from and where you are going and who you are journeying with. Everything we do leads somewhere . I believe that these questions can only be answered by faith. Only in the context of our faith can we figure out that we are so much more than a conscious speck of dust in the ever expanding universe. Faith teaches us that we are loved and created in the image of God... We simply not the product of some atom or particle that smashed into another one billions of years ago. Hard to believe but some people actually believe that. I know, I've spoken to them. Our destiny is to go home, to return from whence we came. We live for heaven our home our destiny.. And because we share a common Father our goal is also to bring as many people with us as we journey home. Everything we do, every breath we take, every hope, every desire should, must be examined in the light of where we came from, who we are and where we hope to go.

You can travel down the roads of life for a while without a road map and sometimes it may even appear that you are getting someplace... sadly, so sadly, sometimes without a clear map provided by faith, people often spend their lives traveling in circles.

What prompted these words... Last night as i mopped (see the post, "Have you mopped today") around a campus I ran into wonderful people. There wasn't a bad one in the bunch. But, many had part of their wheel missing and they were thumping along, moving through life but it was far to difficult. This one was failing two classes and discourage about failing his parents, that one was looking for a boy to go out with, there were a couple who blew off all of their classes yesterday and others who were surrounded by books but had no one to talk to. There were also those who seemed to be doing fine, we discussed internships with them, and tattoos with others (why did those come back) there was a lot of interest in the Pope coming. Several have lost their tickets already... The Freshman Retreat Team was agonizing over the theme for next year and the Architecture students were really disappointed that they don't get to do the murals this year.

I don't pretend to be the model of wellness but at least I know enough to write about it. I think all of us young and old should examine ourselves at the end of the day asking, What was missing from my life today? How did I do on the road home ?

Have a good day Holy ones and wannabe's

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