You may not know it but I am currently converting to Catholicism. At the grand old age of 36, it's quite an interesting journey.
At the last meeting with our Priest we were discussing Lent and he told us that when thinking about what we should give up, it's not always about sweets & chocolates! We should think about things we aspire to be and give up those that take away from that.
Well, I'd love to be a cat, or a fast car BUT, I'm not quite sure that's the route we're taking here.
At the last meeting with our Priest we were discussing Lent and he told us that when thinking about what we should give up, it's not always about sweets & chocolates! We should think about things we aspire to be and give up those that take away from that.
So what do I aspire to be?
Well, I'd love to be a cat, or a fast car BUT, I'm not quite sure that's the route we're taking here.
I know that a few of my major bad points are getting a tad angry, frustrated and impatient. This is a tricky one as just today, someone described me as placid so I'm not sure if I'm good at hiding it, or maybe people are just too polite to correct me. Trouble is, they don't see what's going on in my head when I'm heading dangerously fast towards the irate intersection!
We've read this passage a few times over the last few weeks and you've probably heard it before too. I'm a little ashamed to say I originally assumed it was from a rather poetic love song!
But yeah, I've taken a few realistic (for me) traits that I am going to keep in mind over the next 40 days.
Now, it's no coincidence that patience is first up there, if you think about it, once you've lost your patience, the flood gates are open.
I told a friend at work my plans yesterday (Day 1), I said a prayer and sure enough, I was tested, BIG style.............. twice :(
Today is day two and yes, I was faced with another situation that ordinarily would have caused one of my 'outbursts'. This time however I think I managed to keep those plates spinning in my mind and kept my cool.
Once I got home I decided to document the forty days to see how I improve my tolerance (if at all). I have to say, even being mindful of something makes any situation a lot easier to deal with, plus, when you read it back you get a fresh perspective. I know I'm being tested here and the outcomes can only be good, right?
So yeah, here are my forty days of patience (and other good things). I hope this will inspire you, wherever you are on your journey with God, to think deeper, be better and get closer.
PS. I'm not planning on letting all this work slip on day 41. It's not like I'm holding off eating a plate of profiteroles.
One of our kits, well, both actually, had got into some cooking oil earlier in the week. Unfortunately, Geoff is suffering with his reoccurring bladder problem at the moment so he's not too good to start off with and whilst Una bounced back within 24 hours, the oil has only made things worse for Geoff. So yeah, I had wanted to get home quickly on my dinner hour to make sure he was ok. I'm not sure he is though, so if he's not back to his usual self by tomorrow morning we're going to take him back to the Vet. So yeah, I spent 40 minutes with the cats and then went to the PO & back to the day job a little angry that I didn't have the opportunity to take him to the Vets right there and then!
Naturally, if you know me personally you'll see what's coming next, this sent me into a baby bummer. You'll know this feeling if you're of a certain age and childless through circumstance (not choice). Yeah, I'll openly admit that I'm a CCL, but as cats don't count as real babies, well, you can't just up and leave and take them to the doctor when they're ill and you're at work. Ooops, more resentment there. I'm not doing as well as I'd hoped here am I? Well, we'll see what tomorrow brings eh? Onwards and upwards, here's a little snap of Geoffy when I got home from work this evening.
Today is day two and yes, I was faced with another situation that ordinarily would have caused one of my 'outbursts'. This time however I think I managed to keep those plates spinning in my mind and kept my cool.
Once I got home I decided to document the forty days to see how I improve my tolerance (if at all). I have to say, even being mindful of something makes any situation a lot easier to deal with, plus, when you read it back you get a fresh perspective. I know I'm being tested here and the outcomes can only be good, right?
So yeah, here are my forty days of patience (and other good things). I hope this will inspire you, wherever you are on your journey with God, to think deeper, be better and get closer.
PS. I'm not planning on letting all this work slip on day 41. It's not like I'm holding off eating a plate of profiteroles.
So day one I was super optimistic that I was going to be full of patience, kindness, selflessness, joy and well, all that good stuff. I explained to my pal at work my intentions and we had a laugh about things that could go wrong/things I could overcome. One of those things was a certain customer ringing up.......
Later in the day I was just about heading off for my dinner and to post the last drop for Valentine's Day when we had an unexpected visit from a store manager wanting to give us the results of an audit she had just performed.
I had half an hour before the last post and as she was explaining the new process I was now to adopt, I could feel both the panic building up in my chest (53 orders) and the rage sticking in my neck at the size of the workload now ahead of me.
I had no choice but to roll with it, patience sparked in my mind and what she was saying was actually of interest to me plus the audit turned out to be pretty tootin' good.
By the grace of God, she couldn't get the computer to work and had to make a phonecall so I seized my moment, slipped away and got those letters dropped!
As it turned out, I had an hour and a half before the last post as I'd misread the box! Good times.
After we'd finished up the audit results and the Manager had left, I started to gather my things together when yes, you've guessed it, the phone rang, 17 minutes later I hung up and left, deflated.
Rating ~ WOW
Day two started with equal optimism. The whole day infact went really well. I had a nice chat with the girls at work and it was today that I was described as placid (and not impatient!)
We were bang on track workwise, only a few problems but we sorted them and yes! It was looking great for me to get away on time. I walked out that door a happy camper bang on going home time, only for my colleague to be standing outside telling me to 'take a deep breath'. It was then I noticed the giant skip truck blocking in our cars.
We both laughed, I knew I wasn't going to get away with it this easily. As I was reversing in and out in and out in what must have been a highly laughable sight, we decided I was basically shit at reversing, so we swapped, yep, we're both shit, but this time the car went into the wheely bin. NO problem, I actually like the odd war wound on my car and funnily enough, I've never personally made a dent on it!
Just as my colleague was realising she too could not get this car out, the owner of the truck came over and asked if we needed some help. He couldn't move the truck as it was in the middle of lifting the skip but he pretty much flew the car out. I guess compared to driving his skip truck, my car (a Micra) would be like rolling a toy car down a footpath.
I'll be honest, whilst I'd manged to conquer the patience issue I did resent the fact that I had never once seen that skip truck before and yet on the day when everything fell in to place he somehow happened to be there the exact moment I was able to go for an early dart!
Another trait to ponder over there.
Rating ~ Marginal
Smooth seas for me today on the whole, but smooth seas do not make good sailors as they say. I had a minor swearing session at the traffic lights as I sat for a whole two rounds of light sequences.
When the lights changed to red for a second time, I noticed an old man in a car to the left of me pulling out, he must have seen me popping off and I have to say I was a little ashamed of myself. But yeah, today, I had a genuine need to get through the lights quickly.
One of our kits, well, both actually, had got into some cooking oil earlier in the week. Unfortunately, Geoff is suffering with his reoccurring bladder problem at the moment so he's not too good to start off with and whilst Una bounced back within 24 hours, the oil has only made things worse for Geoff. So yeah, I had wanted to get home quickly on my dinner hour to make sure he was ok. I'm not sure he is though, so if he's not back to his usual self by tomorrow morning we're going to take him back to the Vet. So yeah, I spent 40 minutes with the cats and then went to the PO & back to the day job a little angry that I didn't have the opportunity to take him to the Vets right there and then!
Naturally, if you know me personally you'll see what's coming next, this sent me into a baby bummer. You'll know this feeling if you're of a certain age and childless through circumstance (not choice). Yeah, I'll openly admit that I'm a CCL, but as cats don't count as real babies, well, you can't just up and leave and take them to the doctor when they're ill and you're at work. Ooops, more resentment there. I'm not doing as well as I'd hoped here am I? Well, we'll see what tomorrow brings eh? Onwards and upwards, here's a little snap of Geoffy when I got home from work this evening. Rating ~ Aghhh Snap!
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