H.U.G Corner: Thought of the Week 8/21

Quiet Mind: One-Minute Retreats from a Busy World

That’s how families end up if they merely allow the dominant culture to take over them. The implication is clear. We are called to face the culture proactively, to practice intentional living, to be active and not merely reactive and to want, along with Thoreau, “to live deliberately.”

When we are quiet, we become clearer about what we know and what we value. We don’t accept whatever the unthinking voices of the world happen to tell us. That’s the effect of being awake and remembering who you are. We are able to live with purpose, intentionally rather than by rote.

Consider:

We are naïve if we think that “advertising doesn’t affect me, I just don’t listen.”

We are misguided if we conclude that “false claims are harmless, everyone makes them.”

We will often be hoodwinked if we accept and believe whatever we are told, by whatever authority, without critique.

We are dangerously deceived if we allow someone (or some group, or institution) to think of us, to make decisions for us.

Mary Pipher, an experienced family counselor, speaks these very strong words from experience. She has seen people allow themselves to become addicted and put to sleep by acquiring a house full of junk, and who have no time for what, if awakened, they would consider really important to them.

Today, think about how much of your life is on automatic pilot and how much is intentional.