MSI Press Blog

  BOREDOM “Behold, I am making all things new.” --Revelations 21: 5   We often use slogans to guide us through life’s complexity. I recently learned two slogans popular among young people today. YOLO: “You only live once.” It proclaims that we have only this one precious and wild life. So, we must make the most of it. This maxim reiterates the ancient wisdom, “Life is short.” Take advantage of our allotted time. A second piece of complimentary guidance is FOMO: “Fear of missing out.” There is a sense of urgency to fill our brief time here with stimulating activities. We want to cram as many experiences as possible in our available time. Only then can we feel satisfied and happy. We Americans assume that a fast-moving, active life is a fulfilled life. “An idle mind is the workshop of the devil,” a time-honored epithet reminds us. A boring life is a useless one. We want to do as much as we can as quickly as we can. Our goal is to be productive and efficient. We confess laziness

  You cannot write a blog day in and day out without once in a while becoming personal. Last week was personal. CB (my Charge Syndrome son who makes me a septaguanarian single mom) and I took off for Sacramento, about a three-hour drive last week to watch my grandson, Nicholas (had to have that name - he was born December 25), graduate from UC Davis in electrical engineering. Not sure how the "baby" became the "engineer" overnight! Neko, though, went through the covid years in high school -- and did not get a high school graduation -- and spent the first year in college learning long-distance before things settled down out here in California. Still finished in four years, though, which apparently is an accomplishment for science degrees.  Oh, yes! That hair is real. Like his father's before him (before his dad, my older son, had to crop it when CHP hired him). Neko is taking a few months off to figure out his next steps (working, probably). Clearly, he is as st

  SMILE An old friend recently died. I met Jean and her husband 60 years ago at our parish. I was a young seminarian, and they were active parishioners. We often prayed together at church and in their home. The depth of their faith inspired me. They nurtured my vocation. Last week, Jean died at the ripe old age of 102. Regrettably, I had lost contact with Jean and her husband for many years. During that time, her husband, three of her children, and many family and friends had passed away. When I reconnected with Jean two years ago, she was bedridden with severe dementia. Each of our visits followed a ritual. She asked, “Who are you?” I told her my name. She then enquired, “Why are you here?” “To visit you,” I responded. “Why do you want to visit me?” she asked. “Because you are a beautiful person, and I love you,” I said. Then, she smiled. With every visit, I looked forward to that smile. She never failed me. Even in our last visit a month before she died, she could not speak or en

  Excerpt from  Anxiety Anonymous  by Dr. Dennis Ortman --  Introduction   “Whoever can see through all fear will always be safe.” —Tao Te Ching  In our fast-paced society, living with stress seems normal. There is so much to do and so little time to do it. You may rationalize the stress as the inevitable price of ambition and success.  What you call stress is really anxiety. It is your fearful, nervous reaction to the many challenges of your life. That anxiety may escalate and persist to the point that you tell yourself: “I’m powerless over my anxiety, and my life has become unmanageable because of it.”   If your anxious reactions become harmfully excessive and beyond your control, you have crossed a line. You have become addicted to your anxiety. You experience it as powerful as any drug, taking over your life.  Nancy’s Story   Tonight was a special night for Nancy. She planned a surprise thirtieth birthday dinner for her husband Rick. It would be an intimate celebration for j

  Today's shared blog post comes from Dr. Frederic Craigie's weekly reflection: " How to Know a Person ."  Fred is author of Weekly Soul: Fifty-two Meditations on Meaningful, Joyful, and Peaceful Living . Book awards Book of the Year Award (gold) American Book Fest Book Award Finalist, Spiritual: Inspiration Reader Views Literary Awards, Silver Medal, Mind, Body, Soul Reader Views Literary Award, Silver Medal, Religion Kops-Fetherling International Book Awards Honorable Mention, Inspiration and Motivation Pinnacle Book Achievement Award, Inspirational National Indie Excellence Award, Well-Being For more posts by and about Fred and his book, click HERE . For more posts on the topic of knowing a person, check out socionics books by Filatova and Quinelle.

  The following post, appearing last year on Nanette Hucknall's blog, is timeless. The topic is joy -- as an antidote to a world filled with fear. Nanette writes: Joy is often portrayed as a grandiose and euphoric emotion, but a touch of joy can be uncovered in many simple, small encounters of our daily lives. Being enchanted by a piece of music, glimpsing a shifting sunset or catching the sound of children laughing as you pass them playing on the sidewalk –  to name a few. It is felt in any relationship where love, or even a gentle, respectful kinship is present. Joy abounds in nature – the hearty resilience of a stretching flower, a chilly breeze on your warm face or the scent of a nearby body of water and all its brisk beauty.  Read the rest of the post HERE . Nanette co-authored The Rose and the Sword . She also wrote How to Live from Your Heart . Book of the Year Award 2016 finalist Kops-Fetherling Legacy Award in Self-Help Pinnacle Book Achievement Award Book Excellence Award

  \ LIFE’S JOY “What can separate us from the love of Christ?” --Paul of Tarsus   “I’ve never been happy. I don’t believe I’ll ever escape my misery,” my elderly patient lamented. She had suffered from anxiety her whole life. She was its prisoner. “I’m always worrying about something. If it’s not one thing, it’s another. Anything can cause me to panic,” she explained.  I asked her, “Who would you be if you didn’t worry?” She responded honestly, “I don’t know. I wouldn’t know myself. That would be even scarier!” My patient had constructed an identity around her illness. She could not imagine living without it and the misery it caused her.  Another patient of mine was terrified of leaving the house. She insisted she wanted to feel free to go out and socialize, but still stayed home to feel safe. I asked her, “You say you want to go out, but still stay home. Which is true, what you say you want or what you do?” Both, in fact, may have been true. She felt hopelessly conflicted, not knowin