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Control The Dragons

Who wants to resist happiness?    All of us, according to Matthew Kelly in his 2016 book, “Resisting Happiness.”  Father Healy provided this book during Holy Week, and all the copies were donated by a generous parishioner.

According to Kelly, “What is resistance?  It’s that sluggish feeling of not wanting to do something that you know is good for you; it’s the inclination to do something that you unabashedly know is not good for you; and it’s everything in between.  It’s the desire and tendency to delay something you should be doing right now.”

He goes on to say that resistance wears a thousand masks: “laziness, procrastination, fear, doubt, instant gratification, self-loathing, indecision, escapism, pride, self-deception, friction, tension, and self-sabotage.”  Quite the list!   “These are just some of the ways resistance manifests its ugly self in our lives and causes us to settle for so much less than God has imagined for us.”  Kelly calls resistance our enemy, and he insists “we must slay it like a dragon and slay it anew each day.”

After reviewing the list, we all should draw our swords and start swinging.   I find at least four or five “masks” I wear from time to time. 

Kelly suggests action steps to battle resistance, and one is prayer.  He recommends offering an hour (or more) to God for a specific intention; set an alarm to go off at that hour; then take a deep breath; and lift the hour to God.

Let’s all remember: Don’t Worry (or fear, or doubt, or be lazy).  Offer up to God, and be happy!

Perhaps our best and most realistic approach is to tame our dragons.  We can never slay them, only control them.   Recognizing our ugly selves is half the battle.

Deacon David Pierce

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