Part 24 (2/2)

”My mission is to create the purest foods I can, to help people's bodies not get in the way of their spiritual growth.”

”My mission is to make the finest harps I can so that people can hear the voice of G.o.d in the wind.”

”My mission is to make people laugh, so that the travail of this earthly life doesn't seem quite so hard to them.”

”My mission is to help people know the truth, in love, about what is happening out in the world, so that there will be more honesty in the world.”

”My mission is to weep with those who weep, so that in my arms they may feel themselves in the arms of that Eternal Love that sent me and that created them.”

”My mission is to create beautiful gardens, so that in the lilies of the field people may behold the Beauty of G.o.d and be reminded of the Beauty of Holiness.”

Comment 6:

Life as Long as Your Mission Requires

Knowing that you came to Earth for a reason, and knowing what that Mission is, throws an entirely different light upon your life from now on. You are, generally speaking, delivered from any further fear about how long you have to live. You may settle it in your heart that you are here until G.o.d chooses to think that you have accomplished your Mission, or until G.o.d has a greater Mission for you in another Realm. You need to be a good steward of what He has given you, while you are here; but you do not need to be an anxious steward or stewardess.

You need to attend to your health, but you do not need to constantly worry about it. You need to meditate on your death, but you do not need to be constantly preoccupied with it. To paraphrase the glorious words of G. K. Chesterton: ”We now have a strong desire for living combined with a strange carelessness about dying. We desire life like water and yet are ready to drink death like wine.” We know that we are here to do what we came to do, and we need not worry about anything else.

Comment 7:

Using Internet Resources

There is a website that deals with news, etc., about all faiths, which you may want to look at: .

Then there is a Jesuit site that leads you in a daily meditation for ten or more minutes (in more than twenty languages with a visual, but otherwise no sound or distraction): sacreds.p.a.ce.ie.

There is also a site that gives you a daily podcast of church bells, music, Scripture reading, and meditations or homily, with no visuals, but with sound, and an audio MP3 file that can be sent to your phone, computer, PDA, etc.: /communities.

Lastly, there is a site dedicated to helping you find a spiritual counselor (or ”spiritual director”), as well as retreat centers, in the Christian, Islamic, Buddhist, Jewish, or Interfaith faiths: /aljh4ze.

Appendix B

A Guide to Dealing with Your Feelings While Out of Work

Introduction.

Unemployment can take a terrible toll upon the human spirit. In a recent study of over 6,000 job-hunters, interviewed every week for up to twenty-four weeks, it was discovered that many workers become discouraged the longer they are un-employed. In particular, the unemployed express feeling more sad the longer they are unemployed, and sadness rises more quickly with unemployment duration during episodes of job search. In addition, reported life satisfaction is lower for the same individual following days in which comparatively more time was devoted to job search.... These findings suggest that the psychological cost of job search rises the longer someone is unemployed.... One reason why job search a.s.sistance may have been found to consistently speed individuals' return to work in past studies is that it may help the unemployed to overcome feelings of anxiety and sadness that are a.s.sociated with job search.1 I know the truth of this from my own experience. I have been fired twice in my life. I remember how it felt each time I got the lousy news. I walked out of the building dazed, as though I had just emerged from a really bad train wreck. The sun was s.h.i.+ning brightly, not a cloud in the sky; and, since it was lunch hour, as it happened, the streets were filled with laughing happy people, who apparently had not a care in the world.

I remember thinking, ”The world has just caved-my world at least. How can all these people act as though nothing has happened?”

And I remember the feelings. The overwhelming feelings, that only intensified in the weeks after that. Describe my state however you want-feeling sad, being in a funk, feeling despair, feeling hopeless, feeling like things ”will always be this way,” or feeling depressed-it doesn't matter. I was terribly unhappy. Unemployment was rocking my soul to its foundations. I needed to know what to do about my feelings.

I have since learned that my experience was not the least unusual. Many of us, if not most of us, when we are out of work for a long time feel weary and depressed.2 Our greatest desire is to get rid of these depressed feelings. After talking to thousands of job-hunters, I think there are:

Ten Things We Can Do to Deal with Our Feelings, When We Are Unemployed

<script>