The examen, based on the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius, helps a person hold onto what spiritually nourishes him by looking at what is giving him consolation in his life or causing him desolation. It allows someone to express his gratitude to God for the good stuff and turn to him for solace for the bad stuff. It is quite simple. You simply ask yourself, in the last day/week/month what gave me consolation and what caused me desolation.
I think I've been a bit of a downer with these posts so far, and so this week I really want to focus on the good stuff - which, of course, my life overflows with, even when I'm too busy/tired/whiny to notice.
So good stuff from this week =
I'm at the END of the nasty cold that has been pestering me....thank god for tussin and cough drops.
We had the first snow of the season, and it wasn't very much, and I didn't have to drive anywhere in it anyway.
I'm getting pretty good at grilling, even in the dark!
Jeremy is switching to his winter schedule at work, which means we will be home together Monday and Wednesday nights for the next four months - I get to see my husband again!
My heater checked out a-okay for another winter.
My student's mom did NOT have a flesh-eating bacteria on her leg.
My co-worker did NOT have to have her baby 3 weeks early.
My friend and her fiance' are expecting a baby in June - hooray for more babies to spoil!
That seems like an awful lot of blessings for just one week. As for my struggle from last week, thanks for the kind words of encouragement. I'm trying to learn to be thankful for the pain - after all, not having the pain would mean not having Keri, and I'm so glad I had her. So even in that desolation, I can find consolation - which, of course, is what SWB is all about.
4 comments:
Glad to hear you're feeling better.
That is a lot of blessings. No flesh eating bacteria? Supremely awesome!!!
As far as being a downer? I haven't felt that way about your recent SWB posts. I know that I am sometimes self-conscious about the "bad" stuff; however, I can look back and see how much more positive my attitude is when I've allowed myself serious reflection on what is paining me. So, in my book, be as "down" as you need to be. The upside always comes through eventually.
(That's not supposed to sound like a lecture... so if it did, please disregard.)
Wow! Welcome to a really blessed week!
If you're anything like me--it's all about what I'm keeping track of, yaknow?
Good things....excellent things gracing your life. I'm glad for you.
I can't do a lot of braggin'--I've seemed to be in that 'downer' mode more often than I like. That's why I need the examen's, eh?
They really do help me find perspective and help me move into a better space.
I'm glad to hear you're feeling better.
And bring on the GOOD! :-)
Very glad you're feeling better. Now if you could tell my ongoing cold to go away I'd much appreciate it!
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