Wow, another birthday has come and gone.  Where did the day go?  In fact, where did the past year go?  I now understand what people mean when they say time goes faster as the years go by.  I guess this makes me an official “older” person although I still feel 25 inside. 

In reading my lesson for today, I realized that Warren doesn’t capitalize the pronouns for God, so I’ll stop doing so as well.  I’ll apply the keystrokes I save on other words!

Lesson 4 asks me what I can give up and what I can begin doing, knowing that “the deeds of this life are the destiny of the next.” (This sounds very much like Buddhism’s idea of karma, except that instead of endlessly being reborn until we get it right, we’re reborn during our lifetime, by our choice, and either go to Heaven or Hell after death.  Having studied Buddhism, I’ve always viewed it as a complementary philosophy to Christianity.  Doing our best to serve others, tamp down our ego and all its shortcomings, opening our mind to hear, in Christianity’s case, God, are goals that Christians are encouraged to emulate.) 

Well, I already decided to not rejoin a professional organization I belonged to for years since I no longer work.  (I only attended one meeting last year so my membership dues were wasted.)  I also quit as a rep. for Avon.  Even though I was a rep. for 17 years, I never made any $, I lost several customers due to their retirements and Avon started charging reps. more out-of-pocket expenses, so I was barely breaking even. 

I view Warren’s question in this lesson as more of a spiritual one, one I’ve thought about for several days now.  What I decided I can do w/less of is:  procrastination, which I mentioned earlier,

impatience,

the need to control the outcome of situations to the best of my ability (a habit borne from the fact that I was in charge of my parents for years and had to make decisions affecting their health and well-being and that I’ve lived on my own for many years, even though my husband and I, who are happily married, have chosen to continue to live separately in our own homes and see/call each other several times a week.),

Judging others based on initial appearances

speaking before thinking, although I feel I’m making progress on this one.  [In fact, I noticed if I speak only when I have something important to say, very little gets said :)  ]

I’m sure I’ll come up w/other traits I can do w/o but these will do for a start.

As to what I should start doing, whatever’s opposite of the above, i.e.,

Tackling tasks immediately (my checkbook still needs balancing)

Looking at people as Children of God, and not judging them on their appearances, their speech, their lifestyle, etc  (This is very hard to do since, living in so. California,  these impressions help me determine if I may be in danger.  Examples include seeing a group of ragtag men hanging around a store’s entrance would make me think twice about entering.  And seeing a gang tattoo on someone would make me be cautious around him/her.  This raises the question:  Is God using our gut feelings as a way to keep us safe and/or to make the correct decisions?) 

Becoming frustrated when things don’t go as I planned.   Perhaps I can turn this around and look at it as my way of being like Jesus.  For instance, I made a hair appt. for my mother-in-law last month, who I’ve been taking to the salon.  My sister-in-law then cancelled it and made it for a week later.  She told me she didn’t know I had already made the appt. and didn’t check w/me beforehand.   A little thing but still frustrating. 

Yes, I know I can’t control others’ behavior but that doesn’t mean I can ignore it either.  However, in light of what Warren says in chapter 4, if I live w/eternity in view, I’ll place a “higher premium on relationships” (My in-laws have been very warm and accepting of me, a situation I understand is often rare in marriages!)

Wow, just writing about this helps put it in perspective.  What else can I discuss?  How about my cat, Button’s ringworm?  How he got this nasty fungus I don’t know, since he’s lives in the house along w/our other three and our dog.  While the creme prescribed by the vet is working, he still has a sore on his neck.  However, putting the creme on him has made him skittish as has the introduction of a younger cat into the mix a few weeks ago (both occurred at the same time).  Needless to say, Button is not a happy camper.  This frustrates me since I want him to be healthy and friendly once more.  My husband, who is very patient, tells me it’ll take time before he gets back to being himself but I want it to happen last week.  The same thing happens if someone I know is sick (or if I am), if someone cancels an event I’ve been looking forward to, etc.  I admit my empathy level is low, although, of course, I expect people to empathize w/me.  I definitely need the spirit’s guidance in this area.