In Chapter 8, Greg talks about people's differing beliefs regarding the definition of success. Many people measure success with the amount of money a person earns or the possessions he or she accumulates, but Greg insists that successes do not have to be visible, material outcomes nor the results long-term efforts. Instead, Greg says success can be measured in our faith and the little triumphs we experience daily.
My favorite success story was that of Soledad, a mother who experienced the loss of two of her sons. After the death of one of her children, Soledad sunk into a depression and could not muster up the energy to dress herself, wear make-up, do her hair, or face her community. One day, her eldest son suggested that her grieving had lasted long enough. He urged her to go get dressed up and stop her grief because there were people relying on her. That day, she got dressed up and wore some color-- a small success to outsiders, but a huge success for Soledad and her family.
Greg's story about Soledad made me think of what constitutes a success in my eyes. I first thought about the big picture and my overall life goals (graduating from Brown, getting a job, purchasing a house, and raising a family), but shortly after, I remembered why Greg chose to tell Soledad's story and why it was so significant to me. No success is too small. Keeping this in mind, I thought about our initial discussion topic: how can we feel like we are living in faith when there are so many things wrong in the world and only so much we can do? Greg provided the answer to that when he told us Soledad's story: look for all triumphs. Even if it only affects our family, community, or a small group of people, when we are faithful we are successful.
Please share a significant story or lesson from these chapters or the book overall. Also feel free to share your opinion of the book or ask any questions for the group.
One thing I took away from the book was the importance of seeing Christ in everyone we meet, especially those who we might perceive as 'evil' or 'bad people.'
ReplyDeleteThis is well summarized in one of Fr. Boyle's responses in the Q&A (at the end of the book): "Above all, it's about reverence for the complexity of the issue and a singular insistence that human beings are involved. There are no demons here. Just young people, whose burdens are more than they can bear and who are having difficulty imagining a future for themselves."
Too often, it is easy to convince ourselves that there are demons involved; that the person who has horns tattooed on his/her forehead is an evil person, or that the person down the hall who says hateful things is an enemy, not a fellow child of God. There is a tendency to define ourselves by what we are not — we tell ourselves that we are not liars, mean people, or lacking morality...the list goes on and on. But by doing so, it can be easy to forget who we are: brothers and sisters in Christ.