Methods to Wisdom

In my classes we've been talking about how to prevent burn out. You really have to learn to take care of yourself in order to be a resource to others!

As an assignment, we had to make a plan for what we were going to do prevent burn out and to relieve the pressure in our lives as grad school is a bit intense. I looked at running but realized that it's not stress relieving for me, just something I'm trying to do to take care of myself. I looked at reading, while I love it I tend to get so involved in what I'm reading that I take it with me and sometimes I get a little lost in it (and don't get other things done). I looked at yoga, meditation, taking a nap, getting a pet (just kidding they're not allowed at our place :/ ), but none of them really satisfied what I was hoping to feel when looking for a stress reliever.

And then I really had to be honest with myself and think about what makes me feel uplifted. I am really inspired by people, I love watching them, and let's be honest, studying them. I love watching people prove that they are good even when the news would have us believe the world has an ovverwhelming number of bad people in it.

I also love God. I believe that He's really made Himself an unstoppable force in my life, filled it with love, people/things to admire, and healing during heart ache.

So I thought, "I can study people to relieve stress"... but as a social worker that's what I am doing all day at school, work, and with my internship... the things are are currently creating the stress. So I thought about a Confucius quote about how to gain wisdom.

To apply that I decided to take what I love and to focus it in a way that I knew would add value to my life. I decided to study people and how they express their respect for God! I'm going to take one religion a month and study it, attend meetings, get to know people of that faith, and take the goodness I find to apply it to my own life.

September = Baha'i 

October = Buddhism  

Novemeber = Confucianism

December = Hinduism 

January = Islam

February = Jainism

March = Judaism 

April = Shinto 

May = Sikhism 

June = Taoism

July = Zoroastrianism

August = Atheism

You may notice that Christianity isn't in there. I thought I'd save it for next year and do a different form of Christianity every month! For now the focus is the Baha'i faith! We'll see what happens!