Tag: hope

A Meditation: Avoiding Bitterness

Carl Setzer
achievement confident free freedom

Nadia Bolz-Weber, one my favorite theologians/pastors, received this question recently:

How do I guard against being a bitter and mean old lady?

I love her response (and highly recommend reading it), but let grab a few lines that hold the essence:

‘Could you maybe, even though it’s super cringy, place your hand on your heart and ask it “What hurt you? And how can we move on together?”’

“But reader, I am hopeful. Defiantly so. There are a million forms of shit out there, it’s true. But what is also true is that there are always more forms of love.”

As a boy I often heard the refrain “you are what you eat”. Eating better might be the goal, but I hold this true for mind, body, and soul. Therefore, to avoid bitterness, seek the beautiful, seek out love and joy. Also, write down those findings. That cements them into your soul.

Gratitude is the most powerful medicine against bitterness. Seeking out the good in the world is the only antidote to the world’s bitter cynicism. And it’s just an arm’s reach away.

Om Malik: How Do We Look At The Present?

Carl Setzer

I always appreciate the wit and wisdom of Om Malik. Today he tweeted this, which gives me great pause:

2020, a year of havoc and confusion, of transition and destruction, forcing to face our histories against our deepest resistance. Such a dramatic and violent reaction? Will we survive?

Half done or half over? Perhaps a question of optimism: half-full vs half-empty? In this time of pandemic, optimism seems myopic. But, I believe the opposite. Humanity holds what it needs to overcome our destructive tendencies. So I hold on to hope.

June 6, 2020: Morning Haiku

Carl Setzer

freshest morning light

brightening the clouds at dawn

puddles of songbirds

Watching dawn move on a cloudy morning, light comes through the clouds slowly, gently. The firs brighten, birds wake, yet humanity’s quiet.

The world still convulses, desperate for justice. A new day, an opportunity for change, for hope, for peace.

Seek Out Love

Carl Setzer

Seek out #grace, #joy and #love. Fill your hearts with #life.

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Embrace the Hope

Carl Setzer

Posted by @carlsetzer on Mirakee app.

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A Week’s Movement

Carl Setzer

A week; a moment 

Blur of daylight into night

Flows into winter

In this world that values busyness, it’s hard to focus. Mindfulness consumed by the God of more, of efficiencies. It’s easy to lose sight of what’s important and end up losing far too much time focused on the wrong things. When our actions don’t build towards something greater, we lose so very much. 

Always Seek Out Hope

Carl Setzer2 Comments

Always seek out hope 

Then our end will be better 

Beyond what we guess 

Moving through my life’s various trials in constantly struck by how often the results don’t match my predictions. At times, my conceptualization wasn’t even close. The best results achieve when I abandoned expectations and acted. Simply moved forward. Even if the end isn’t clear, the next step often is. 

Can we remove fear’s power over us?

Carl Setzer

Fears easily win

When I lose faith that there is 

A pathway forward

It seems that the quickest path to despair is giving up on finding a way forwards. That there are solutions to problems. Perhaps even that there’s any sort of solution. Sometimes, it’s easy to get so enmeshed into the details any problem that even obvious solutions become elusive. 

It’s critical that we challenge that mindset. That we refuse to believe in that self-talk. We’d just believe in growth, in learning, in the path forward through the darkness. 

I find reminding myself that other folks have gotten through similar challenges helps greatly. Knowing I’m not alone gives me peace, which feeds my strength.