The Simple Life

Life Style Choices. - Simplicity Is Key.

Ever looked in the mirror and realized you've put on a bit of weight, and then noticed your jeans are just a bit too tight and your gut is sticking out a little more than usual OR Woken up on a Saturday and been tired and unenthusiastic about life? Yeah me too.
Unfortunately for me, I lack in a minor (major) essential attribute required for success in life; Discipline (that in turn means patience). I have this strange way of dreaming BIG and forgetting the baby steps to the bigger picture, so I get really really addicted to something, but don't often see it through. So I did a bit of research on how to get healthier, progressively. Here's my conclusion.

If you're anything like me, you wake up in the middle of the night and opt for that quick late night snack and go back to bed, you set your alarm for 6am but find an excuse to stay cozy in bed instead of go for that early-morning run and you always, always make excuses when it comes to unhealthy luxuries- i.e 'This is the last time' OR 'Only one bite'.
Here are some simple and easy to follow guidelines on how to keep both mind and body happy, and HEALTHY!

FIRST
Forget your crash diets, and fat burning pills, your soup diets and your personal trainer. This isn't the biggest loser, no one will force your dieting and working out on you. It is not an instant makeover #InstaSkinny #NoSuchThing

SECOND
Get moving. No walking from your bedroom to the kitchen and back doesn't count, lazy. All it really takes is 20 minutes a day of getting your heart pumping... Go for a run/a bike ride/ do a boxing session, pick anything! Cardio is good for the heart and good for the mind. Stress does not help weight loss!

THIRD
Eating healthier. No, don't go cutting out all your favorite chocolate's and candy. Depriving yourself will not teach you anything about discipline, once you're off your diet, you will jump back on the fast food train and all your efforts won't be worth it. Portion control is key. The easiest way of watching what you eat is by increasing your intake of whole grain, fiber, fruit, veg and protein. By no means should you cut out all the things you love to eat, you should just condition your mind into thinking them of them as more of a treat than a go-to snack. Also, try your best not to eat fast food. It's full of trans fats which usually leads to high cholesterol and diabetes.

FOURTH
No more smoking and/or alcohol. Again, this doesn't mean you can't ever have the occasional beer with friends, but all either do is impair your judgement and condition you to think that you NEED an un-natural substance, to aid you in day to day life. They serve no good purpose, if you can, cut it out!

FIFTH
Sleep! A friend of mine not too long ago, stressed to me the importance of sleeping a minimum of 7 hours and a maximum of 9 hours every night. This isn't only good for your brain, it's good for your body too. Resting helps your muscles relax and repair after a long day. NO this does not mean you can oversleep and become a sloth, this means you sleep the appropriate hours and get back up healthier and in a much better mood. Sleeping in makes you more tired than sleeping less. Remember that.

LASTLY
Stress? What stress? No secret's here, there is stress in everything you do, typing this means I stress my mind and my fingers into taking action, but I can't stress to you enough - see what I did there?- the importance of de-stressing. The easiest way to de-stress is to talk about, and let go of your problems. But beware, the relationships around you shouldn't be a constant cause of stress for you, a friend who puts you down, or makes you feel bad, isn't a friend, they're a foe. Be wise in your decision making and make sure you always keep good, strong and positive people around you at all times.
To be honest, the only full proof form of stress relief I have ever participated in, was prayer and meditation. I think a lot of people have a big problem with accepting that there is a God who is in control of our lives, because we are so caught up in taking control ourselves. I find it rather comforting that the big guy in the sky is looking out for me, plus, I always know I''m not alone!

So to simplify,
FOOD = GOOD FASTFOOD = BAD

EXERCISE = GOOD SMOKING = BAD

SLEEP = GOOD DRAMA =BAD

I hope my guide lines helped, they sure as hell were a great stepping stone for me!

The Forgiven And The Forgiving

Sin. It tears us away from God. What many people don't realize is that God is not the one who moves away from us. We are the ones -- who by committing sin -- separate ourselves from Him. In failing to realize this, we also do not realize, that the only thing keeping us from going back to God, is our guilt - our pride. But the reality of all of this, is that God is always waiting, always wanting to accept us back into His arms.

Does this not then indicate how incomprehensible God's love is to us as mere humans? That He does not give us pre-mature judgement, but rather accepts us, gives us a chance to return to Him, and then upon our return welcomes us back into His loving embrace? Does this not lead us to conclude that OUR God is a God of love and forgiveness.
Does Christ not speak of the good shepherd who after losing one of his one hundred sheep, return in search of the one he has lost, until he finds it?  The truth is there is no love greater than His love. No mercy, greater than His.

How is it then -- While all of us feel grateful for the mercy and forgiveness that we readily receive from our Creator -- that we ourselves struggle greatly in offering forgiveness to those who have offended us?
It is that we are not like God. We are not overflowing with Mercy and Graces. Some of us go a lifetime harboring hatred for those that have mistreated them.

Despite our humanity, God commands us to forgive one another just as He has forgiven us for all our wrong doings. He even goes as far as saying that if we cannot forgive one another, He will deny us forgiveness of our trespasses. God will not fully free us from our inequities unless we too free others of theirs. Ergo, forgiveness is a gift and when we give this gift to others, we also give this gift to ourselves.

Nevertheless forgiveness does not come easy to us. Why? Because it is part of our human nature to protect ourselves. It is a primitive survival reflex to remember what hurt us and never return to it, or to try not to allow ourselves to be hurt by it again.

It is only by the grace of the Holy Spirit that we are able to go against our human instincts and really forgive and let go of all the pain and fear that we feel.
Now, let's say for a minute that you are like me, and that forgiving someone -- despite wanting to -- does not come as easily to you. I have found a way that works for me. That way is to logically forgive a person, on the grounds that I too am human and that I often make mistakes, am imperfect and despite that do not feel a dire need to protect myself from myself.

Why?
Because despite my imperfections, and what I dislike about myself. Despite the stupid things I do and the hatred I might harbor for the actions that I commit against myself, another and God, one thing does not change; Although I don't always like myself; I always love myself.

You see; God doesn't necessarily ask us to like one another, or to like the actions we commit, or the things we say, but He does require us to love one another. It is not enough to tolerate each other, or to turn the other cheek. We must bring ourselves to realize that we love ourselves despite our imperfections, just like God loves us despite our imperfections.

'Everybody thinks forgiveness, is a lovely idea until he has something to forgive' C.S Lewis.

So next time you are wronged by someone, remember a time when you wronged someone else, and put yourself in that person's shoes. God see's everything and he knows what is in each of our hearts, He does own them after all.

An Inconvenient Truth

Something that got my attention recently, is how easy it is for girls to compromise themselves, and their dignity. This isn't meant to come off as judgmental, so please don't take it that way ladies, but really, truly I've started to notice even amongst adult women, females are really compromising everything about themselves. They become disposable objects to men who will have a good time with them, and look for a commitment to someone else, and then these girls make excuses for them like "Oh but his great grandmother passed away three months ago."
Common ladies! Be better than that. You deserve better than that!
I know what I'm about to say may come off as a little bit controversial, but I'm going to say it anyway- Men (or really any human being) will only treat you the way you allow yourself to be treated. It's all about you, and if you let them get away with something once, they will inevitably make an attempt at getting away with it again OR they will take it a step further.
Now, this isn't a rant about girls who degrade themselves, and how over it I am, and how much it angers me - no. This is my message to girls who feel like they may be falling into this kind of lifestyle, or for girls who have a friend who may be, and want to know how to help them. 

I was only young when I heard this at a retreat when I was still in school. I can't remember the speaker's name, but he was absolutely brilliant, here's what he taught me.

Females ask themselves THREE main questions.

1. Am I beautiful?
2. Will anyone ever love me?
3. Will I always be alone?

Which leads me to my point. In asking yourself these questions what you're ultimately doing is looking for the answer. When looking for this answer it's important to remember a few essential things.

✓ Yes, you are beautiful
✓ Yes, someone will love you (people already love you)
✓ No, you are not alone (Face it you pessimists you can't be born without the contribution of two people)

Now I'm not kidding myself by believing that just because I said so, you will all read this and believe it. But here's the catch- It doesn't matter what I think, it matters what YOU think of yourself.

See this is how you land yourself onto the track of compromising yourself or your beliefs or your standards in a relationship girls. You ask yourself these questions, but you're so desperate to confirm that you will find someone who answers and reassures you of the answers to all these questions that you start to accept anything that comes your way, or worse, you start to force yourself into accepting the bare minimum.

My advice? Set your standards.

1. The non-negotiables

Ladies it's not that hard to figure out what you deem to be what you want in a man. So decide on three things that are non-negotiable and simply do not negotiate or compromise them. For example, my man has to be Catholic (enough so that I don't have to drag Him to church or to pray with me), intelligent (enough to hold a conversation with me) and  assertive (aggressive enough to argue with me but passive enough to let me have my own opinions)

2. The preferentials.
These are the things you prefer your man to be,  but you can live with him not being all of them and only some of them, set these too and prioritise them. I'd preffer him to be funny, down to earth, somewhat attractive, fit, and has a degree in a stable job...

3. The deal breakers.
These are the things that you can not, will not and do not accept from a man, ever. They aren't your non negotiables, they're the things you can not accept from any man, even if he meets the non-negotiables and all of your preferentials. No porn or strip clubs, No violence, and he can not be a tight ass.

4. For the Catholic girls; Pray!
I believe you should pray for your future husband, because chances are he already exists in the world. But I also believe that in saying that all the catholic girls would agree that they should start respecting their future husbands now, by respecting themselves. St Joseph is the perfect Saint to pray to, he was the most perfect and chaste spouse!

After you set your standards girls, remind yourselves of them every time you're considering a guy as a potential boyfriend. Ladies this in no way means that you don't date a guy, you date them and figure out wether or not they're real potential or just surface standard. Remember, girls don't necessarily choose the kinds of guys that approach them all the time, so when a good guy does, give him a chance. It shouldn't take more than a couple of dates to figure out you want him as a boyfriend rather than "a guy I'm kind of seeing."

Lastly, for the guys who are potentially reading this, my advice can and will apply for you too! God Bless :)

Serviam OR Non Serviam

"Quis ut Deus? Serviam!" (Who is like God? I will serve!)

When put to the test by God, Lucifer - who wanted to be above God- declared his rebellion in Heaven against Him with the cry, “Non Serviam!” (“I will not serve!”).  The Archangel Michael loyally defended God with his cry of “Serviam” (I will serve) and vanquished Lucifer to Hell with all his demons, today all Catholics pray to St Michael so that he may defend and protect us against the wickedness and snares of the devil.



'SERVIAM' is THE battle-cry which needs to be our daily cry to God, declaring that we will submit ourselves to Him in His divine plan for each of us and for all humanity.
All you need is a sincere heart and good will (Lk 2:14), to unite your will to His and start bringing His reign and heavenly peace into a world that tells us to ignore God and embrace only what feels good. Translation; only want for yourself, what He wants for you!

Embracing the war cry "Serviam" is simple. 

Avoid Cafeteria Catholicism – 

We can’t pick and choose what we believe and still be authentically Catholic.  We need only TRUST that two millennia of Church history and teaching are far superior to what we may come up with on our own.

‎”Be Catholic, really, faithfully, unapollogetically Catholic, and the future will have the kind of articulate and morally mature leaders it needs.” (Archbishop Charles Chaput)

Put your Pride Aside – 

 It takes a pretty big ego to say no to Christ and His Church! What you need is more humility, total surrender and a sincere commitment to put God's will before our own. I know I'm not the only one who can say that doing it my way has never really worked out well for me in the end.

“Few souls understand what God would accomplish in them if they were to abandon themselves unreservedly to Him and if they were to allow His grace to mold them accordingly.”(St. Ignatius of Loyola) 

Practice Personal Holiness – 

I could wax lyrical about this on my own or I could just show you this...

“Since Christians are reclothed in Christ Jesus and refreshed by his Spirit, they are ‘holy’. They therefore have the ability to manifest this holiness and the responsibility to bear witness to it in all that they do."  (Blessed John Paul II,)

It say's it all!!!

Be Joyful – 

It is so easy to let all of our problems take over and cause us so much anxiety and pain which leads us to forget to be HAPPY- it happens to all of us, even the best of us.  But, try not to forget that people in our community are watching us.  They may be seeking Him and looking for someone, anyone, to show them the way to Christ.  For some it's as simple as learning from good examples, or being inspired by joy and being encouraged by other people's faith.
Remember we are called to share the Good News.

Pursue Heaven, Reject the World – 

As Catholics and children of God we should always know that Heaven is our ultimate destination and we are not of the Earth.  Will anything but the Holy Spirit help us get into Heaven?  No without the Holy Spirit we are forced into a secular way of life in a society that only wants us to have little room for God- if any- and where vanity and pride take over all of our thoughts and intentions.  Doing what is right is not always easy, but in the long run it is clearly the most beneficial. Besides...  Why would we not choose Heaven?

There is still another way to be a true Catholic in today’s world that is the way that makes all the others possible:

PRAY FAITHFULLY EVERY DAY.

No one can seriously rebel against the Church if they are faithfully committed to daily prayer. It's really not that hard!

• Start the day with a prayer of thanks to God for the blessings in our lives.  
• Pray for help and courage to face the trials the world will throw at you.  
• Make the sign of the cross and pray over every meal, public or private.  
• Pray a daily Rosary and ask for the help and intercession of our Blessed Mother and pray with our families every night. 

Look, it would be so easy to read this and decide that it doesn't work for you, I'm not judging anyone, I believe everyone is guilty of not being able to do these things constantly and I know I have taken the easy way out in practicing my faith in the past mainly because I haven't been really keen to put in any extra effort.
We all push back against doing what we know is right because it takes a lot more effort, or because we don't want to be judged by others and sometimes even because we have a lack of courage to confront really difficult situations.
But, there's an upside - it's the thing I love most about being a Catholic- No secret it's not easy to be Catholic- the road to hell is EASY, but God know's that, and He knows sometimes we will fall, so He is all merciful and compassionate and gives us ample opportunity to rectify things with Him, while we are of the living, and He never abandons us!
Take it from someone who is incredibly grateful for her faith. I have spent way too much time in a pride-fulled rebellion and it was exhausting.  Surrendering to His will and saying “yes” truly made all the difference in my life.

So, what will it be, Serviam or non serviam?