“Do you complain a lot?” I remember being asked this question by a former spiritual director.  No, not me, I thought, in shock.  I’m not complaining, I’m just expressing my concerns.  At least that’s what I thought I was doing.

It hurt.  Here, I thought I was doing something good in pointing out everything that was wrong with the situation and wanted sympathy, a solution, or maybe just to vent.  But this person saw me as complaining.  I’m not a complainer.  My concerns are very important.  Well, even so, I’ve learned that there is a fine line between complaining and “expressing our concerns.”  All of us have blind spots and this is a common one.

When I look back on that situation, I still think that my concerns were valid, and I felt helpless to change anything.  I wanted this person, who had more authority than me, to be as outraged as I was. But, I did learn an important lesson in self-examination.  Now, before I share my “concerns,” I ask myself if this might rather be a complaint.  If it a complaint, and if there’s nothing I can do about it, or if I’m not willing to do anything about it, then maybe it would be better to just keep my mouth shut. Ouch, that hurts!

As a Christian Catholic, I take my duty to evangelize very seriously. And by evangelize, I don’t mean proselytize.  Rather, I am talking about what the great St. Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the gospel always, and if necessary, use words.”  I try to do this by leading a life of integrity.  I try to be kind, caring, forgiving, a good listener, and live by the golden rule.  But if someone asks me about my faith, I am willing to discuss it without judgement.  Of course, none of us are perfect, and we all fall short in some way.

However, there have been times in my life when my kindness and goodness have not been well received.  Instead, my good will was met with hostility, suspicion and resentment. Try as I might, I could not connect with the folks in these environments.  I have concluded that there are some people in this world who just don’t like “nice people.” If, after much self examination and consultation with trusted loved ones to determine if I might somehow be the problem, I conclude that I am not, then I dismiss that environment as “rocky ground.”  Then, I move on. Sometimes, it is better to not waste your time and energy where there isn’t good soil for growth.  If you are not welcomed, it is often better to “shake the dust off of your feet” and walk away.  Your departure might be the only possible message to send.

When inspired, I will post my thoughts about the day’s Readings.

Loving tomorrow’s Gospel from Mark 3:20-3:21.  They said, “He is out of his mind.”

Jesus, casting out demons, curing the sick, speaking with authority, subverting the Pharisees is surely out of his mind.  Reading this Gospel, I am in love with Jesus again.  Have you ever done anything that would cause people to think you were out of your mind?  Well, I am contemplating spending money to go back to school to pursue a discipline that will not pay off financially.  Am I out of my mind?  Maybe.  But it feels like a calling and the pay off will be to help people by leading them to hope, peace, and understanding.  The reward will be in heaven and that lasts for eternity.