Is one permitted to make a excerpt from a book part of one's New Year's Resolutions if one really loves aforementioned excerpt. I think that hells yeah, one can. You guys might even want to try this resolution too! I recently read Eat, Pray, Love and it is so fantastic. It's not really theologically Biblical but there are definitely fantastic life lessons. Basically, this lady gets a divorce, falls in love with this other guy, and then has to get over him too. All the while battling the ever-paralyzing Crazy that many of us women, (what? no? not all of us?) battle on a daily basis.
So I've started being vigilant about watching my thoughts all day, and monitoring them. I repeat this vow about 700 times a day: "I will not harbor unhealthy thoughts anymore." Every time a diminishing thought arises, I repeat the vow. I will not harbor unhealthy thoughts anymore. The first time I hear myself say this, my inner ear perked up at the word "harbor," which is a noun as well as a verb. A harbor, of course, is a place of refuge, a port of entry. I pictured the harbor of my mind--a little beat up, perhaps, a little storm-worn, but well situated and with a nice depth. The harbor of my mind is an open bay, the only access to the island of my Self (which is a young and volcanic island, yes, but fertile and promising) . . . And now-- let the word go out across the seven seas--there are much, much stricter laws on the books about who may enter this harbor.
You may not come here anymore with your hard and abusive thoughts, with your plague of ships of thoughts with your slave ships of thoughts, with your warships of thoughts-- all these will be turned away. Likewise, any thoughts that are filled with angry or starving exiles, with malcontents and pamphleteers, mutineers and violent assassins, desperate prostitutes, pimps and seditious stowaways-- you may not come here anymore either. Cannibalistic thoughts, for obvious reasons, will no longer be received. Even missionaries will be screened carfully, for sincerity. This is a peaceful harbor, the entryway to a fine and proud island that is only now beginning to cultivate tranquility. If you can abide by these new laws, my dear thoughts, then you are welcome in my mind--otherwise, I shall turn you all back toward the sea from whence you came.
That is my mission, and it will never end.
amen.
mara.
mara.
1 comment:
hmmm. i've wondered about that book for a while now. those are some fantastic words. kind of comes close to 2 corinthians 10:5, even though this is clearly the more humanistic side of that concept. still, good stuff. thanks mara.
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