Each night, there is a point where the day falls to silence, a silence that encloses you in your own thoughts and reflections. For as long as I can remember, my dad always told me "that is when you pray." His words matched the ones of every Sunday school teacher, but their voices faded as my worries grew. It seemed there were some stresses a man on a cross could not eliminate. Bible stories where Jesus cures people from their pain and problems appeared no different from the storybooks I stopped reading years ago, unrealistic and improbable. I vacillated between the faith instilled in me and the plausibility of things occurring by chance, not by Christ. As each day came to a close, I struggled to thank a voiceless God for a day I wasn’t grateful …show more content…
We spend lifetimes attempting to forget the foul parts of life, and I failed to understand a God who deserved unconditional love controlling a world with so much hate. Randomness could account for the periods of good and bad with practicality and without a spiritual dependence. However, without following a spiritual figure, I surrendered my complete self-worth to societal standards. Countless warnings against comparison with others drifted away from me; Compromising confidence seemed better than blindly believing. I still sat through church every Sunday, and I found myself like Edna Pontellier, with an “outward existence which conforms, an inward life which questions” (Chopin 20). My private deviation and questioning separated me from the values my parents had emphasized so heavily for so long. Seymour Krim discusses these kinds of private situations; he claims the privacy of them makes us “ache with hopelessness” (580). The societal standards I held myself to presented this loss of hope, and the ache bogged me down with unhappiness, contrasting it with the hope a belief in a greater power brought
It is not new or unique that an individual is looking for one’s purpose and meaning in life. Nor is it unique that men and women imitate the norms of society. In Kate Chopin’s novella, The Awakening, Edna Pontellier, the antagonist, knocked against the societal norms of the late 1800’s. Houses represent Edna’s search for her inner self. The houses which Chopin uses in The Awakening come in pairs which contrast
Spirituality and religion are often seen as significantly positive resources for individuals dealing with hardship and adversity throughout the life course. Spiritual coping is often effective and most often employed when in unfathomable situations or faced with "problems of human insufficiency" (Pargament, 1998). However, spirituality may also be diminished when it becomes associated with demoralization or negativity, such as when one feels abandoned by faith or condemned by the world (Van Hook, 2013) in their current situation or experience. Higher powers and spiritual connection then begin to appear either irrelevant or beyond reach, and viewpoints become fatalistic as individuals resign to the belief that their faith has not helped them.
Since the beginning of time social constrictions have always retained a firm grasp on the ideas and actions of humanity. While it remains a formidable foe, still some choose to fight back against the norm. This never-ending war is responsible for major advancements in the social order, but not every story is so successful. In Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening”, Edna Pontellier finds herself fighting this very battle that, although begins with a positive outlook, ultimately ends in her demise.
Areena Shrestha English 10C Ms. Hunter December 4, 2015 A man’s relationship with god can be challenged through tough conditions. Depending on the situation, a man’s belief in god can be changed negatively or positively. In the book Night, the author expresses more challenged relationship with god, rather than a calm relationship through a character's perspective. The curiosity of their god’s existence is lacking their thoughts, as they experience tough conditions each time.
Prayer is common in people’s lives. Studies shows 90% of American pray throughout their life (McMinn, 2011, p. 79). Prayers are in the psychological of literature and have conveyed to have mechanical problems. Prayers appears to be common in a Christian counseling. Prayers are used with some with clients but not all due to the client’s diagnosis.
The narrator has yet to indulge in any activities, like a sport or hobby, to give full concentration to, to explore his likes and dislikes. His defenses were possibly taught through the “introjected voice of the Establishment, […] or of tradition,” (Maslow 439) to live a quiet life with a stable job, a woman in his home, and basic necessities. The narrator’s environment enforced these social patterns to maintain
Throughout the life of my person of interest, knowledge of the existence of a creator has had a crippling effect in his struggle to reconcile his perception of life and the great desire for divine approval and acceptance. This is a result of the common belief that moral and spiritual development is attained through the shedding of dogmatic belief structures, resulting in the elimination of God towards the attainment of self-realization.
Darla disclosed that her relationship with God had became stronger the moment her mother was diagnosed with cancer. She relied on her family and friends but only prayer helped her cope with her grief. Prayer had become her medicine before and after her mother’s death because she claimed it released tension and anxiety from her. This was something that was very personal to her and had shown her that despite all the prayers for her mother, it was God’s plan to take her mother away.
In (Matthew 6:6 NIV), Jesus explains the merits of praying to the lord God and the reward of inner peace, “But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret: and your father who sees in secret will reward you.” It is through this conversation with God that Christians pursue peace in their lives. Prayer can either be private or communal, spontaneous prayer is one way that charismatic communities can come closer to God. The act of prayer allows believers to have a personal conversation with God; it alleviates stress attributed to the monotony of everyday life. Besides prayer, meditation is another way of attaining inner peace, it is an ancient practice within the Christian tradition, which has undertaken a recent revival, a global group that reaffirms the concept of praying and meditating for inner peace is Taizé. Not as popular as prayer and meditation, Lectio Divina, generally known as bible studies is a way for Christians to feel connected to God and to finally attain inner peace. The studying of the sacred scriptures on a day to day basis and reflecting on prayers also maintain a continual connection with God. It is vital to maintain equilibrium between prayer and service, whereby an individual fathoms the notion ‘ora et labora’, in order to equally partake in both prayer, and the concept of action whereby ora develops inner peace, which is mirrored through the
Stage 1. One’s understanding of a spiritual being is an ultimate God. God either protects or send something that is hurtful, he can also give one good health or illness, or joy or despair. God is in control of every living and non living being. As such, everyone must adhere to the ultimate God. Not doing so will result in broken relationships. The interactional relationship is one-sided, comparable to a child’s dependence on his parents. Followers of the ultimate God can move from having a hope to downright despair very easily (p. 19).
We are all tired, the music becomes more of a lullaby, floating and curling around our surroundings, peace is almost tangible and sleep is edging the words of our prayer deep in our soul...”You alone O Lord, are holy. Except for Jesus, praying, the words of his prayer climbing upward, like the song of the first bird of summer. Then, suddenly, on the mountain, for just a moment, the music stopped and we are able see beneath Jesus' ordinary humanity and find shining there the very presence, the very holiness, and the very glory of God. It is revelation. It is mystery, which can be neither explained nor discredited. It becomes a song so complete that it can only be sung by
In God’s absence, humanity had began its decline. It all began as “a result of the labors left unfinished,” When humanity realized that God was no longer with them, struggled to find their purpose in life. As lucky had put it,
He looked around. The statues of the saints. The votive candles. The old women praying. They were hardly foreign to him. Everything except prayer, that is. All he knew about prayer was it was for losers. Like asking Santa Claus for stuff. Make-fricking-believe. He sighed and sat back. He blew out a breath. Ah, the more he thought about it, the more he figured prayer might not be bad. It just wasn’t for scumbags like him. He’d forfeited his right to pray a long time ago.
Her hand walloped across my 9-year-old jowl. This only sparked my curiosity even more. I was coached into believing that I was being watched every hour of every day, by a god. This was my parent’s way of cultivating my moral compass. My parents inadvertently taught me, their religion was the only reason they weren’t schmucks, there was no genuine moral in them only the fear of this deity; Instead of trying to ingrain, the importance of being philanthropic without any form of retaliation.
The critique of A Praying Life an interesting question being asked about what good does it do having a praying life when one get into trouble or some pain of discomfort suddenly appear in their life. The question remains about why am I going through such difficult times and struggling with so much misery. The person asking the question wants something done on their behalf and concern in a particular situation. Their action relies heavily on getting the required measure taken care of or the faith and trust in them seem to diminish all at once. They are completely upset about the situation being out of their control with no way to respond for remedy to the matter at hand. This renders them very helpless to acknowledge the fact and accept that in the universe, something are not given to man to have control of or know the meaning to solve in day to day.