“Welcome back to 21 questions that will change your life.
Question #16 is about being whole. So many aspects of life and society try to break us up into little bits so it is critically important that we look at ourselves as a whole person on a daily basis.
Question #16 is… In what ways does your lifestyle promote (or detract from) your physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual well-being? Reflect on each of the four aspects of the human person: physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual.
Today’s question is… In what ways does your lifestyle promote (or detract from) your physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual well-being?”
“Welcome back to 21 questions that will change your life.
Question #11 is about envisioning your future. Sometimes we can get so caught up in the present and past that we forget to glance down the path and see where we are going.
Question #11 is… How do you want your life to be different one year from now? Imagine your life a year from now. If you stay on the path you are on, do you like where it will lead you to a year from now? What would you like to change about your life over the next 12 months? Think about the different aspects of life: physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, material, financial, professional, adventure, legacy. Which of these areas do you want to focus on at this stage of your life?
Today’s question is… How do you want your life to be different one year from now?”
Your body is not an end in itself; rather, it offers the gift of tangible connection to the spiritual world. As a human, you experience God in and through your physical body. Perhaps this looks like kneeling and standing through your worship service. Perhaps it looks like singing or dancing. Perhaps for you it is hiking through the woods or meditating in the grass. The way you reach out for God might differ from the way of the next person, but you can be sure that if your heart desires divine encounters, then your body will put itself to good use to make them happen. Have you ever thanked your body for this gift?
For the fact that your limbs and senses help you organize your spiritual experience in a way that you can understand and recognize? When you consistently honor your body for this holy gift, it becomes harder to criticize and despise it. When you can feel the very life of God flowing in and through your body, connecting you to transcendence itself, it becomes easier to accept whatever shape it happens to take.
“There are four aspects to the human person: physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual.
Physically, when you exercise regularly, sleep regularly, eat the right sorts of foods, and balance your diet, how do you feel? You feel fantastic. You feel more fully alive. You’re healthier, happier, and you have a richer, more abundant experience of life.
Emotionally, when you give focus and priority to your relationships, what happens? You switch the focus off yourself and onto others. As you do, your ability to love increases… and as your ability to love increases, your ability to be loved increases. You become more aware of yourself, develop a more balanced view of life, and experience a deeper sense of fulfillment. You’re healthier and you’re happier.
Intellectually, when you take ten or fifteen minutes a day to read a good book, what happens? Your vision of yourself expands; your vision of the world expands. You become more focused, more alert, and more vibrant. Clarity replaces confusion. You feel more fully alive, and you are happier.
Finally, spiritually, when you take a few moments each day to step into the classroom of silence and reconnect with yourself and with your God, what happens? The gentle voice within grows stronger, and you develop a deeper sense of peace, purpose, and direction. You’re healthier, you’re happier, and you have a richer experience of life.
Physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually, we know the things that infuse our lives with passion and enthusiasm. We know the things that make us happy. We just don’t do them.
It doesn’t make sense, does it?
On the one hand, we all want to be happy. On the other hand, we all know the things that make us happy. But we don’t do those things. Why? Simple. We are too busy. Too busy doing what? Too busy trying to be happy. This is the paradox of happiness that has bewitched our age.
Perhaps it is time to slow down. Maybe a better future involves less rather than more.”
“It is not the actual physical exertion that counts towards a man’s progress, nor the nature of the task, but by the spirit of faith with which it is undertaken.” — St. Francis Xavier
