Back from holidays, when the nightmare of the morning alarm clock was banished, we returned to the normal rhythm of the days. We are once again faced with predictable routines and unforeseen hustles and bustles.
Theoretically we tell ourselves that faith never takes a holiday, but experience shows us that in summer and on holidays the slump, caused by apathy and listlessness, sets in. How can we overcome it and get back on track? Five brief guidelines can help us to overcome it with common sense and Christian style.
- Don’t make problems for ourselves. Let’s not pay too much attention to the slump. Let us accept our human condition. Sometimes that lack of effort has a chemical cause and not necessarily a spiritual cause. Let us realise that there is no problem to solve, but only a moment to go through.
- Consequently, what we must ask ourselves during the slump is not whether I am right or wrong, but whether I am doing right or wrong. Continually examining the thermometer of feelings is not healthy, nor does it give reliable information. “Life goes on the same”, the song says. And so it is: in downturns everything stays the same except my mood, which is a bad guide and a lousy counsellor.
- Try not to declare ourselves in a state of depression. We can deceive ourselves and take refuge in our low mood so as not to react as we should. Just as we hang up a sign in a workshop saying “Closed due to vacations”, it is tempting to hang up a sign in our hearts saying “Closed due to depression”, and in the meantime give ourselves over to whimsy and self-pity. This is not the way to build anything.
- Let us be aware that we are all affected by the law of the boomerang. A boomerang is an object that comes back to us after we throw it away. So when we throw our heart to love, every now and then it comes back to focus on ourselves and our comforts. And we stop loving. So when it returns, we must throw it away again immediately. With sportsmanship. Let us not waste time. Let us let ourselves be loved and give ourselves to others. Whether we want to or not, but let’s put love into circulation quickly.
- Let us understand that it is a matter of maturity to be affected by the ups and downs of our moods. Maturity is shown in the speed and skill with which we overcome our lows. They give us the opportunity to purify our motivations.
Jesus Christ himself, as well as Mary, because of their human and bodily condition, were also subject to these ups and downs of mood.
JuanCarlos cmf
(PHOTO: Arash Payam)
