Breaking the Box

You know it’s spring when your lowered car window allows you to enjoy music from  cars in the next lane. This week, while driving through the city, I heard what sounded like Rap music drifting from the vehicle. What was the driver’s ethnicity? Right. An Asian man. How old was the driver? Right. About thirty years old. What kind of car did he drive? Right. A Lexus. Maybe you missed most of those answers. I usually picture middle-aged people owning luxury cars. We can easily stick people in boxes if we  guess who they are or assume we know their preferences based on our predispositions. See if this surprises you:   

                                     https://youtu.be/ZvNwCRujeFc

 It surprised and entertained me. If we assume a Catholic person is going to behave in a particular way, then we’re limiting our thoughts, and maybe our treatment, of them. Have you ever been prejudged? Try to fill in this sentence: Just because I _________, doesn’t mean I _______________. Have you ever prejudged someone else? What mischaracterization have you made, but will avoid in the future?     

Greater is Coming

Did you leave behind unfinished business in 2014? Maybe the year began with promise and plans of a new job, a new relationship, with starting a new hobby or establishing a good habit, and somewhere along the way things stalled.

If 2014 didn’t end the way you expected, perhaps you were knocking on the wrong doors in the first place. It’s similar to when our cat explores the house. She’ll stand and meow at a closed door until we finally open it. You’d think she’d be pleased about being able to walk through it but no, she looks into the room and decides that it’s not where she wanted to go after all. Before we know it, she’s pursuing a whole new adventure.

The point is if you’re waiting on doors that haven’t opened up, don’t be too quick to run through those doors when they do open. Maybe a closed door was to give you time to think   about adopting better plans. Interesting things can happen when you don’t look before you leap:

                                         http://youtu.be/aIdIjMa4Z54   

If last year’s circumstances felt uncomfortable, maybe it’s time to stop, regroup, and make a new plan. By keeping your eye on the big picture, you can begin again. What’s your greater plan for this year?