Reflections Index

Reflection Questions
Welcome to the Wisdom of the World - Joan Chittister

Chapter 11 – “Where Did I Lose My Idealism?”
Chapter 12 - "Why Do I Feel Stuck?"


Idealism is “the spirit that leads a person to believe that the world can be better, that things can change, that a new time must come.”  (p. 75)

“It is not simply that I want it, but because I go on believing that there is a best in the human condition, even at its worst – the world will change because it must.”  (p. 75)
1.  Am I an idealist?  Why do I say this?  Has my idealism diminished over time?  If so, why am I less idealistic? 

 

“We lose a piece of our idealism every time we choose to follow the rules of society rather than its ideals.  Every time we seek approval rather than understanding, rather than possibility, we close down another part of our souls.  We begin to do what is safe rather than what is holy.  We start to defend what is acceptable rather than insist on what is necessary – for the poor, for the globe (p. 78)

2. Regarding the above quote, how do my choices affect the hopes and desires I have for a better world, my idealism?  How do these choices challenge me as a secular Franciscan?


 We are not meant to get stuck in the dregs of life, wanting to be what we are not, doubting the value of our gifts. 

3. Am I stuck?

 
“But we do have to do something positive with the gifts we do have or risk loss of them entirely” (p. 83). 

4. What gifts do I bring to our Franciscan community? 

5. In what ways do I live these gifts?

6. Do I sometimes hold my gifts back?  Why do I do this?

7. Does the way I live (or not fully live) my gifts affect how idealistic I am?

 


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