7QT: Virtue Signaling My Happiness Edition

Last updated on: April 22, 2016 at 7:27 am by Anne Kennedy

7QT: Virtue Signaling My Happiness Edition 2016-04-22T07:27:22-04:00 Anne Kennedy

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

One
On Friday mornings the boys and Matt go to men’s bible study, leaving me with a jealous and needy Kylo Ren–jealous of the iPad, needy for constant affirmation about who he is, even though who he is is really really irritating at 6:30 in the morning. “He has a broken look in his eyes,” I said to Matt.

“Broken? He doesn’t look broken. He looks evil.”
“That’s what I mean,” I said, “you look in his eyes and there’s something essential missing, like sanity. He’s not Jesus on the cross dying for our sins broken, he’s Hitler lacking empathy and compassion for man kind broken.”
“Yes,” said Matt. What more is there to say.
Two
I’m pretty charmed about Harriet Tubman being on the twenty dollar bill. I particularly love all the memes flying around of her giving the stink eye to the One Who Would Spend Money. I think I probably will be a better and holier person in the store, having to look at her hallowed face. Even better, the government unfolded this very sensible scheme right at the moment when the children and I have been working through a biography of her life. For Once! Reality has been a help to me.
Three
And apparently also, today is earth day. Facebook instructed me to rejoice as soon as my eyes blinked open. I clicked “I don’t want to see this” which probably means I’m going to go on a special list where Kylo Ren will be allowed to lick and bite my fingers as a form of aggravating torture. I do like the earth an awful lot, and am grateful about it, but my vast list of work doesn’t include me virtue signaling about my energy use. I only have one drop of virtue signaling available to me a day and I’ve just used it up on Harriet Tubman.
Four
Speaking of being a good person, I’ve had this article open in my browser all week thinking that I’d say something about it. Any time I see the word Happiness I always click, expecting to be made easily happy with little to no work. The number and weight of things I would have to do to be happy, however, in this Listicle, makes me unhappy to think about. In fact, I would say this article entirely misses the boat. The best way that I know of to be happy is to stop thinking about myself all. the. time. If you cast your gaze outward toward, say, toward another person, and stop worrying about yourself, you might wake up for a minute to be happy. Whereas this long long long list is really just a hundred ways to think more about yourself. I read it and wanted to cry.
Five
It’s coming close to the end of my school year and my fingers are twitching to write, in the spirit of that Huffpo article, a comprehensive list of all the things that went well for me this year that surely you should take and make into a law for yourself. That’s what I always do, at the beginning and end of every school year. I read a lot of blogs of people who homeschool like Jesus himself would homeschool, I measure them up against my own homeschool, I make a messy and incalculable list of things I should do differently to be perfect, and then I spend the rest of the year feeling bad because I don’t end up doing it that way at all. So! Keep your eyes peeled for the Definitive Guide to Anne’s Overwrought and Guilt Laden Homeschool. It’s going to be YUGE.
Six
Still eating the bread. OMW. It’s so magic and awesome. This week I found that, along with losing ounces of weight, I found my temper on a much more even keel. I’m not swinging back and forth between meat laden emotional deprivation and guilty bagel soaked blood sugar highs and lows. I just kind of, you know, eat food. And I’m not thinking about how I feel every moment of every hour. Which is surely a recipe for happiness if ever there was one. I’m telling you, this flour is magic.
Seven
I’ve survived two Solemn Communion classes and I’m really impressed and happy with my group of kids and how well the discussions have gone. Sofia Cavalletti talks about Sensitive Periods–moments when the child is obsessively working on something essential, like door opening, or paper cutting, or sorting out the universe. When you hit one of those moments it feels like the striking of a tuning fork on a longed for frequency. You see the child resonate with their whole person. That’s what these two classes have felt like. I’m so charmed that God cleared the way for the class to be right at this moment, before we all scatter for the summer. It is, dare I say it, a perfectly happy way to conclude the scholastic year.

Now go check out better takes and get out there and feel guilty for earth day. Post about it on Facebook. Or something.

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd

Previous Post

April 21, 2016

Married Sex: It Can Save Your Life

Next Post

April 23, 2016 Saturday on the Princely Links

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category books Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Children in Conversation culture watch Daily Devotions Demotivations with Anne faith alone for the grandparents GAFCON In conversation with children In the News Kitchen Notes Lambeth Learning Notes Life Going On Men are Human Notes from Home Pictures Reading the Bible Saturday Links Sermons Signs of the Apocalypse The Bad Word Association The Prayer of Jonah Travel Notes Uncategorized Witless Wednesdays Work and the Christian

Select a Month June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 July 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was the last judge of Israel and also a prophet?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Samuel Nathan Saul Eli

Books by This Author Books by Anne Kennedy

See All Titles »