On following through
I have a problem. Currently, I have nine blog posts sitting in my draft box, begging to be written. I get ideas in the shower, during breakfast, on the way to work, at Mass, while I’m praying, when I’m working, as I read. I think of what I want to write as I go to sleep. I wake up in the middle of the night with ideas. Each morning, my alarm doesn’t just start my day, but my constant stream of thought. Strings of words and sentences to be crafted toss about in that cluttered mind of mine.
My problem? I don’t follow through. The oldest draft gathering (e-)dust right now I began over three months ago. How I desire to bring these thoughts to life, to share them, to set them free! But today, I celebrate a small victory. It’s been just another Monday, like many Mondays before it. But I awoke with a seed of purpose planted in my mind: Today, I will write a blog post, I told myself. And here I am.
It is a small victory, to be sure. I could liken it to a mustard seed. But you know what they say about mustard seeds… (You do, don’t you?) I can’t say this will mean the beginning of a nine-day posting streak, all my ideas unearthed and presented in rapid fire. In fact, I can just about guarantee that that won’t be the case. But today, I celebrate. I made a resolution, and I followed through.
It’s quite remarkable how much following through can contribute to the pursuit of abundant life. It’s all about virtue, really. And I don’t mean those virtues infused into the soul, but the ones we work for. The “firm attitudes, stable dispositions, habitual perfections of intellect and will that govern our actions, order our passions, and guide our conduct according to reason and faith.” The ones that “make possible ease, self-mastery, and joy in leading a morally good life.” The habit of which yields one “who freely practices the good.” (Thank you, Catechism.) Well, shoot. I want my actions, passions, and conduct to be governed, ordered and guided in accord with reason and faith! I want to live a morally good life with ease, self-mastery, and joy! I want to freely practice the good. Really, I do.
Maybe it’s silly to be talking about this in the context of a blog post, comprised only of quiet reflections that few will read. But it matters to me. So, if you are reading, thanks. I’d love to share in my little victory with you, and maybe even challenge you to plant your own mustard seed. Just you wait. One day, the birds of the sky will come dwell in its branches.
