Nouwen is a priest who, after 20 years in the academic world, accepted the work at Daybreak, a community for people who are mentally handicapped. Nouwen writes:
"As I entered into my fifties and was unable to realize the unlikelihood of doubling my years, I came face to face with the simple question, "Did becoming older bring me closer to Jesus?" After twenty-five years of priesthood, I found myself praying poorly, living somewhat isolated from other people, and very much preoccupied with burning issues. Everyone was saying that I was doing really well, but something inside was telling me that my success was putting my own soul in danger. I began to ask myself whether my lack of contemplative prayer, my loneliness, and my constantly changing involvement in what seemed most urgent were signs that the Spirit was gradually being suppressed.....so I woke up one day with the realization that I was living in a very dark place and the term "burnout" was a convenient psychological translation for a spiritual death."
The New Year is typically a time of resolutions. I am good at making them, not so good at keeping them. I decided that I would try something different this year. I would make the New Year a time of personal reflection. Personal reflection is a wonderful learning tool, whereby one reflects on something recent, thinks about what went right, what went wrong, and what might be done differently next time, similar to a personal debrief. It can be done anytime, anywhere, preferably soon after the event.
As I reflect on my own life, and even just the past year, two questions posed by Nouwen come to mind. "Did becoming older bring me closer to Jesus?" and his follow-up question, "What decisions have I been making lately and how are they a reflection of the way I sense the future?"
Still thinking about it. I am interested in your thoughts.
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1 comment:
I'm not good at New Year's resolutions either. Personal reflection is an interesting approach.
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