Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
I remember reading an anecdote years ago about women in London during the hard years of World War II. (I think it was in a book by Karen Mains, but I can't find it. I'm sorry.) In the midst of food rationing, sending their sons to fight and not knowing if they would ever see them again, nightly bombings, volunteering, and doing everything they could do to help the war effort, these women also reserved time to arrange flowers. They would gather once a week and make flower arrangements. It became a very high priority in their lives. Even bombings and news of tragic deaths were not allowed to interfere with the time set aside for flowers. They were starving, not for food, but for beauty. In the midst of so much pain, fear, ugliness and loss, gathering weekly to create something beautiful with flowers fed their souls' needs for the good.
I have always sensed that there is something inherently necessary about great music, visual art, poetry, dance, drama, stories... Such things are not usually deemed practical or useful, but great art supplies a fundamental human need. Our thirsty souls need to drink in things that are lovely, commendable, excellent, worthy of praise. My theory is that during our most difficult seasons of life, seasons when we are bombarded with disease, or tragedy, or painful relationships, seeking out the excellent and beautiful becomes imperative.
I am not in a particularly dark season, but I think I'll go now, turn on some George Winston, and read something by Emily Dickinson anyway.
I would love to know what writer or musician or artist living or dead you turn to when you need a dose of something excellent. Perhaps your favorite will become my favorite too!
By the way, I tried to loosen the controls on posting comments on this blog. So, if you tried in the past to post a comment and weren't able to, please think about trying again. Thanks!
Showing posts with label happiness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label happiness. Show all posts
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
My Happiness Habit: Whatever is Just
Occasionally I run across a really good story; a story full of redemption, a surprise hero and things worth thinking about. Like most good stories this one starts with something bad.
A young woman named Jennifer Thompson was raped. She identified a man named Robert Cotton as her attacker. He was sentenced to life in prison.
A couple of years into the sentence, a man named Bobby Poole was housed in the same cell block as Robert Cotton. Poole began bragging that Cotton was doing time for him since he was Jennifer Thompson's true rapist. Cotton fashioned a knife intending to kill Poole. His dad encouraged him not to become a man who deserved to spend his life in prison. He told his son to put his faith in God instead.
Years later, DNA evidence in the case was examined using technology that didn't exist at the time of the original trial. It proved that the real rapist was Bobby Poole and not Robert Cotton. Cotton was released from jail after serving 11 years, and that's when the story gets really interesting.
Jennifer Thompson was in anguish over her own crime. Unintentionally she had stolen 11 years of an innocent man's life. She knew there was no way to give back those years, but she wanted to do what she could, so she arranged to meet Robert Cotton face to face.
They met in a church. She apologized and he forgave. They talked for hours about what had gone wrong. They talked about DNA and faith. Miraculously, they actually became friends. The man whose face had haunted Jennifer Thompson's nightmares for years, became her role model of forgiveness. She determined to forgive her real attacker.
15 more years have passed and Cotton and Thompson remain friends.
"Ron just calls to make sure I'm doing OK," Thompson says.
"He is an amazing human being. He has been a real good teacher for me."
Together they have written a book entitled, Picking Cotton and they work together for reforms of eyewitness identification procedures.
It is a story that is just worth thinking about.
Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just...think about these things. Philippians 4: 8
I gathered information for this post from the following web sites.
http://truthinjustice.org/positive_id.htm
http://nersp.osg.ufl.edu/~malavet/evidence/notes/thompson_cotton.htm
A young woman named Jennifer Thompson was raped. She identified a man named Robert Cotton as her attacker. He was sentenced to life in prison.
A couple of years into the sentence, a man named Bobby Poole was housed in the same cell block as Robert Cotton. Poole began bragging that Cotton was doing time for him since he was Jennifer Thompson's true rapist. Cotton fashioned a knife intending to kill Poole. His dad encouraged him not to become a man who deserved to spend his life in prison. He told his son to put his faith in God instead.
Years later, DNA evidence in the case was examined using technology that didn't exist at the time of the original trial. It proved that the real rapist was Bobby Poole and not Robert Cotton. Cotton was released from jail after serving 11 years, and that's when the story gets really interesting.
Jennifer Thompson was in anguish over her own crime. Unintentionally she had stolen 11 years of an innocent man's life. She knew there was no way to give back those years, but she wanted to do what she could, so she arranged to meet Robert Cotton face to face.
They met in a church. She apologized and he forgave. They talked for hours about what had gone wrong. They talked about DNA and faith. Miraculously, they actually became friends. The man whose face had haunted Jennifer Thompson's nightmares for years, became her role model of forgiveness. She determined to forgive her real attacker.
15 more years have passed and Cotton and Thompson remain friends.
"Ron just calls to make sure I'm doing OK," Thompson says.
"He is an amazing human being. He has been a real good teacher for me."
Together they have written a book entitled, Picking Cotton and they work together for reforms of eyewitness identification procedures.
It is a story that is just worth thinking about.
Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just...think about these things. Philippians 4: 8
I gathered information for this post from the following web sites.
http://truthinjustice.org/positive_id.htm
http://nersp.osg.ufl.edu/~malavet/evidence/notes/thompson_cotton.htm
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
My Happiness Habit: The Truly Happy Life
"The truly happy life consists of looking to you (God) for happiness, seeking it from you and through you. This is the only path to true joy. Those who think happiness is to be found in some other way are pursuing a different false version of it, but in their minds they still retain some image of the true joy...The happy life is joy based on truth...Why then are they not happy? Perhaps it is because they are engrossed in things that make them wretched and only have a dim memory of that which would give them joy." -The Confessions of St. Augustine
Anything I might add would only dilute the words of this great old saint. Savor them slowly and enjoy.
Anything I might add would only dilute the words of this great old saint. Savor them slowly and enjoy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)