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Choose Joy; a community life

26/2/2017

2 Comments

 
              Life in community can be very dynamic. When you live everyday with the same people in a small place, often you live what they live. You carry each other’s burdens, and together you strive for perfection.
                It is as we read in 1 Corinthians 12:26; when one part of the body suffers, every part suffers with it, if one part of the body is well, all the body is well.  When one person is down, for any reason, often it brings others down. Everybody feels and carries that burden, often not knowing what it is they carry. When someone’s happy, then everybody is happy; life seems easier and the atmosphere is calm.  From my experience, that is the simple reality of everyday life in community.  There are obviously some people who are not affected by these feelings on such a level, and those who supress them. Some people don’t even notice. But that’s for another time.
 
                Well my question is, what happens when one person is feeling down and the other feels happy? That is when it can get real messy. When a person is down, feels sad or has a bad day, then the person who is happy at that moment can seem very annoying. That makes them upset even more and they may close themselves into their own place of safety within. On the other hand it can be quite difficult for the person who’s very happy to understand the sadness of the upset person, and because, of its nature, cheerfulness is to be shared, they try to share it with them. That often seems to have an opposite effect, which may bring them down too or make them avoid the sad one.  
                For everyone else it can be difficult too. They may become angry and annoyed with the happy, cheerful person for making the upset person even more upset. That can also bring them down, so everybody is upset. Then some may join the happy person and avoid the sad one, some hide, and some join the upset person trying to reach out and help them. They are often disappointed and upset with others for not caring enough.
 
                It obviously doesn’t have to be this way and most of time it is not. If this doesn’t resonate with you, that’s wonderful. I find myself in all of these roles, at different times. But let us be aware of what we project through our faces and our behaviour. Let us offer our suffering to Jesus. Let us be brave to ask for help when we’re in difficult mood. And let us always share joy with love and gentleness.  Let us choose joy in the most difficult and upsetting moments for, however we feel, we are chosen, loved, anointed and precious children of God, saved by Him and sent out to the whole world. The whole world starts at our neighbour.
 
                “Cheerfulness is a sign of a generous person who forgetting all things, even herself, tries to please her God in all she does for souls. Cheerfulness is often a cloak which hides a life of sacrifice, continual union with God, fervour and generosity.” (St Teresa of Calcutta)
               
                “If you only knew what goes on within my heart. Sometimes the pain is so great that I feel as if everything will break. The smile is a big cloak which covers a multitude of pains.” (St Teresa of Calcutta)
 
                “I want to smile even at Jesus and so hide if possible the pain and the darkness of my soul even from Him.”  (St Teresa of Calcutta)
2 Comments
Love
26/2/2017 10:01:02 am

Hi Ondrej ,Your thoughts are so elegant and pure ,

I found it's simple when I Love my fellow being,It does not matter if he or she upset me or even try to kill my soul and body,Love them ,If they have wisdom ,the wisdom that forgives ,the wisdom that ever giving people would not do mistake,.When we Love a person we always try to please him and never wish to put him to any trouble even if it causes us some in convenience,Rather we feel happy by making our beloved happy . Love my neighbour as I love myself ,, well I would say as I love God ,,God give us chance and choice is ours , Whatever we do it's affects our fellow being .A small smile definitely can make a cheerfull day for our brother and sisters and a kind word is greater than gifts,it does not cost but cheers up the soul, But its our choice what we give ,what we give what we get ,,, not all the time though ,, its better not to expect anything because people may look richer but they may be poor ,, poor in happiness, wisdom ,and so on ,so i would'nt expect that smile back ,but prefer to give it because I do not know how long we exist ,esterday is gone and whatever I failed to do for others is failure, time is short so keep up that beautiful smile, it does not matter like in Acts :6-7..Stepen ,,storning of Stephen,When the crowd became furious at stephen ,Stephen looked up to heaven he said " I see heaven open and the son of man standing at the right hand of God ".I think Its true we see God and experience his divine Love and mercy when we are cornered and throned.I think we ourselves are the cause of our helplessness ,It is we who are responsible for our slavery, yes we entertain our harmful and destructive thoughts.but nothing to to despair we can do all good in Jesus.x

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Love
26/2/2017 09:27:25 pm

Sometimes people wear smile and cheerfulness as mask to hide their feelings and sorrow and trying not to hurt anyone.

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    Ondrej's place to share some thoughts. I'm a member of Sion Youth mission team.  

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