A Sweet Life

"There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God." Brother Lawrence

Many years ago I read a book by Thomas Merton and decided to strive for being a contemplative in action.  All that means, in my opinion, is that my relationship with God is not constrained to the time within the hours of prayer, but that my intention is to make my life a prayer.  To do that, I start my day with spiritual practices or prayer, and then I strive to treat all people, things, and the planet with kindness.  Practicing gratitude helps with that focus.  So does something I learned many years ago from M. Scott Peck's book, The Road Less Traveled, which suggested that a person never say anything unless he or she was convinced it was in the best spiritual interest of the other person to hear it.  Wouldn't that stop a lot of the unkindness in the world?  All the hurtful things that are said would be affected by choosing to say something only if you thought it was in the best interest of the other person to hear it.  Notice that it is not if it is in your best interest, but is it in the best interest of the other person for you to say it?  I have extended that practice in my life to the decisions I make.  When I make a decision, and this includes when the decision was made to move Dwane into assisted living, I consider the best interest of everyone involved.  The decision needs, for me, to be in the highest and best interest of everyone involved in order for me to implement it.  We do need to make sure our ego is not the one in charge when we make these decisions, and one way I check to make sure is by asking the objective opinion of others whose opinions I value.  What decision could you make today that is in the best interest of yourself and the others who might be affected?