Skip to main content

What is vital a considered and measured response

+JMJ +

What is vital to thriving during this time of crisis is attaining and retaining and good perspective.

As I have written before, without perspective we can easily get snagged in a number of different pitfalls.

How do you develop a good perspective?

I have already discussed study and spiritual life, as well as prayer.

Also gratitude.

Now I think it is a good idea to think about pace of life.

I recently made a step in the right direction on this issue.

By pace of life I mean taking the time to ponder things at a deeper level, prior to reacting based on the surface elements.

How?

The example I have comes from my work life.

I have a co-worker (person x) who is very ambitious. We also have very different communication styles that compounded to create a difficult working situation.

Over the past couple of years I have been trying to figure out how to work with them.

Recently I had to cover for both my colleagues while they were on vacation.

On returning,  x cc'd me on an email to a senior scientist that I had been helping while x was away.

My first reaction was that part of the email was a dig at me. I felt myself getting upset. With an effort of the will I stopped myself from responding as I would have previously. After an hour identify back and read the email again. This time I was in a much better frame of mind. First I noted the tone of the email and simply concluded that I would never have used that tone with a senior scientist. Second, I was only cc'd, so no response was required.

End point, perhaps x intended to offer offense, but I simply left it on the table.

All because I slowed down and developed a broader perspective by realizing that I was emotionally charged and I should just give myself some time to reflect before I responded.

In this case I didn't need to respond. Since then I have set aside several emails for a few hours to ensure that I gave a considered and measured response instead of a ill-considered reaction.

P^3

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Curious Case of Steve Skojec and the Dangers of Deep Diving into the Crisis Sub-Titled: The Failings of Others

 + JMJ It's been a while now since Steve Skojec sold 1P5 and abandoned the Catholic Faith. I've been a 'Trad' since 1982 and in those 40+ years I seen this death-spiral before with a similar end point. It seems that anyone who jumps into the fray unprepared for the enormous task of righting wrongs will, eventually, become discouraged by not the task but the people who surround them.   I remember when Skojec complained of the treatment his family received from a traditional priest.  This seems to have been the start of the end for him. So what can we learn from the likes of Steve Skojec, Michael Voris (maybe?), Louie Verrecchio, Gerry Matatix and other celebrity Catholics? Probably quite a lot about what not to do. First, don't burn out on the crisis?  When you burn out, on work or anything else, little things assume a more greater importance than they are due.   This is one of my 'canary in the coal mine' signals that I've been stretching myself too th...

Dogmas of the Catholic Faith (de fide) - Expanded Listing

+ JMJ A friend had mentioned that he has seen a longer list of truths of the Faith than the one I posted here .  I have finally discovered it online. I have yet to completely determine what dogmas were missed in the original, those I have found are highlighted. Source: A List Of The Dogmas Of The Catholic Church - Fr. Carota Alternate Source: Referencing Ott   Posts Listing the Dogmas of the Catholic Church Dogmas of the Catholic Faith (de fide) - Expanded Listing: Answer for Reader (Oct 2022) Updated List of Teachings of the Catholic Church (Oct 2021) *** Dogmas of the Catholic Faith (Oct 2015) De Fide teaching of the Catholic Church (Apr 2013)           *** Latest version    

De Fide Teachings of the Catholic Church (Updated)

+ JMJ  Update: I was reviewing Ott's work directly and noted that some of the Teachings are De Fide while others are different levels of authority (such as Sent Certa etc).  So please refer to Ott for the actual classification). Posts Listing the Dogmas of the Catholic Church Dogmas of the Catholic Faith (de fide) - Expanded Listing: Answer for Reader (Oct 2022) Updated List of Teachings of the Catholic Church (Oct 2021) *** Dogmas of the Catholic Faith (Oct 2015) De Fide teaching of the Catholic Church (Apr 2013)           *** Latest version  

Homily vs Sermon

+ JMJ Something that I've noticed is that Modern Catholics use the phrase 'Homily' instead of 'Sermon'. I've often wondered about this difference. Here's what I found Catholic Encyclopedia (1910) Homily: ...Since Origen's time homily has meant, and still means, a commentary, without formal introduction, division, or conclusion, on some part of Sacred Scripture , the aim being to explain the literal, and evolve the spiritual, meaning of the Sacred Text.  ... Wikipedia Sermon: : A sermon is an oration , lecture , or talk by a member of a religious institution or clergy . Sermons address a scriptural, theological, religious, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. Elements of the sermon often include exposition, exhortation, and practical application.   Catholic Encyclopedia (1910) Sermon: As to preaching at the present day, we can clearly trace the influe...

Becoming Traditional Catholic Part I

+ JMJ It is a big step from the non-Traditional to Traditional Catholic World. First of all, the Trad world is much smaller, isolated and under siege. This leads to a number of interesting elements that a person making the transition needs to take into account. The Trad World Is Smaller It is a fact that in the states there are about 30,000 Traditional Catholics who support the SSPX and about 3,000 in Canada.  The other Traditionalit orders (FSSP, ICK, etc), I assume, are in the same ball park if not smaller. Let put that in perspective, in my area there are 270,000 non-Traditional Catholics. Consequently, aside from the larger centers,  a Traditional 'Parish' or Mass Centre will be 200 people or less. This has the advantage of being like an extended family and cozy. It has the disadvantage that any crazy 'uncles' in that family will be in plain sight. Be forewarned that any eccentricity that would be drowned in a sea of people in a non-Traditiona...