Author Archives: watchwordsblog

Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today. Thich Nhat Hanh Meditation: One of my daughters said: “Everything happens for a reason”, while my other daughter in her agony said: “There is no reason”. SometimesContinue reading “Where Then Is My Hope?…”

Learn this from me. Holding anger is a poison. It eats you from inside. We think that hating is a weapon that attacks the person who harmed us. But hatred is a curved blade. And the harm we do, we do to ourselves.”  Mitch Albom Meditation: Anger when carried unexpressed for too long becomes depression.Continue reading “Be Angry and Do Not Sin…”

The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil. Hannah Arendt Meditation: That Hitler could commit his atrocities against humanity depended on millions of bystanders. Ordinary German people, who knew something was going on. They knew people were disappearing over night, butContinue reading “Most Evil Is Done…”

The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists. Hannah Arendt Meditation: The current president creates fiction wherever he goes. The people he put in charge of major federal agencies do not believeContinue reading “The Ideal Subject of Totalitarian Rule…”

True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. C.S. Lewis Meditation: We are living in a time in history when narcissism seems to have become the “new normal”. It is apparently OK to behave and be self-absorbed, self-obsessed, conceited, self-centered and egotistic. The Christian Church throughout the centuries tried toContinue reading “False Humility versus True Humility…”

To find joy in another’s joy, that is the secret of happiness. Georges Bernanos Meditation: This Saturday our church is preparing a lantern walk for about 60 children and their families. The story of St. Martin’s will be acted out, including St. Martin riding on a live horse. Usually the children who participate are enamoredContinue reading “Joy In Another’s Joy…”

Every time God forgives us, God is saying that God’s own rules do not matter as much as the relationship that God wants to create with us. Richard Rohr Meditation: I don’t know about you, but Germans like rules and regulations. At any street intersection (without a red light) Germans always yield to the personContinue reading “Every time God Forgives Us…”

Feeling real is more than existing; it is finding a way to exist as oneself… and to have a self into which to retreat for relaxation. Donald Woods Winnicott Meditation: I remember years when I was not at peace with myself. This was in my twenties. I had separated from my family of origin andContinue reading “Feeling Real and Having a Self…”

We take our kids for physical vaccinations, dental exams, eye checkups. When do we think to take our son or daughter for a mental health checkup? Gordon Smith Meditation: Yes, it is important to normalize mental illness, as it is a health condition that most American families today have experience with. Yes, we need toContinue reading “Mental Health Neglect and Violence…”

All defensiveness and emotional tumult is a fear response because of your need for acceptance and ruthless control of the territory of your safe fantasy world. Bryant McGill Meditation: When somebody gives us feedback that we do not like, or we are being called on a behavior that negatively impacted others, it is understandable thatContinue reading “Defensiveness…”