Choosing Contemplation

First a note:
Many of my photos have disappeared from my blog ~ it's not your computer ~ it's mine! Apparently anything I uploaded using Picasa's "Blog This" button no longer appears. Slowly I will get them all back up so please be patient and know that I am aware of this problem. If anyone else has had this problem I welcome any and all advice!

The plaque above was at the Franciscan retreat center in Scottsdale, Arizona. It spoke to me. It reminded me that it is really our own choice where we place our thoughts. We can choose to watch depressing news shows all the time or choose to place ourselves before the "mirror of eternity". We can engage in negative, complaining discussions or spend time with our soul connecting to the "brilliance of glory". We can surround ourselves with friends and people whose lives do not reflect our own values and do not inspire us to become more than we already are or we can place our hearts before the "figure of the Divine Substance" found in people we truly admire.

To "transform our whole being into the image of the Godhead" sounds lofty and even ridiculous until we realize that it truly is our own choice. We can control what we think about, what we talk about, what we act like and how we spread joy and peace to those around us. It will not happen by chance or during commercial breaks. It happens through contemplation, through quiet, through effort, through divine grace. And the fruit of this transformation is a life filled with peace of mind and a unique kind of love that overlooks flaws and flows freely to all who know us.

This plaque encouraged me to turn off the tv more often, to spend more time in contemplation: both in self-examination and meditation on God's pure love. Sometimes we simply need to take the time to sit and receive the grace available to us and then let it transform us from the inside out.

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