Love

It seems to me that love must be placed firmly in the present. One of the most dangerous ideas is that your love will increase in the future. This does not equal a 'firm purpose of amendment,' for even that begins in the present--I will change now. If your love does not have that character of unselfishness, disinterestedness, pure giving and devotion, resolve this minute to make it so. We cannot afford to procrastinate our lives, which after all are only a gift. Nothing will come along to solve all our problems; this can never be, for the very problems and struggles we face form part of the gift of our lives. The only answer to anything bad, anything that hurts or stings, anything that shocks or buffets, is to love.

Blog not dead, just working on thesis

Most, if not all, the members of this blog have now begun a new adventure: writing a senior thesis. This venture will take a long time for some, but for others (like me) it will be a lot of fun and will end soon after fall break. Right now, I have a cold and I don't want to do anything. That is probably why I am posting this. It is a mixed blessing to get sick on a Friday night. The positive aspect of it is that, ideally, you can rest up and recover by the time classes start again on Monday. The negative aspect is that you don't, you spend a lot of time wasting time and feeling sorry for yourself, you don't study or do your homework as well, you can't sing in choir, and you feel antisocial because you imagine that the ickiness you feel translates into a similar ickiness in outward appearance, causing an insurmountable insecurity when talking to anyone but one's closest and most sympathetic friends. Another positive aspect that I forgot to mention, however, is that by enduring illness without complaint and with a cheerful disposition one can grow in virtue and imitate Christ. I think I tend to forget about this positive aspect of being sick when I get sick myself, and if someone else is sick I certainly don't remind them of it. "Offer it up" is pithy, but hardly consoling, right? Still, life goes on, some people are sick all the time and I'm just going to be this way for a week or so (I hope). Ciao!

Sylvia