December Commonplace
Book Reports
BOOK: One Good Thing by Georgia Hunter Georgia Hunter wrote one of my favorite WWII novels, “We Were the Lucky Ones,” so I knew I’d love this story too. It follows an Italian Jewish woman who survives the Nazi occupation of Italy while also protecting her best friend’s child. I loved it, and I hope the author keeps writing in this time period.
BOOK: Boleyn Traitor by Philippa Gregory I am still swimming down the rabbit hole of Henry VIII and the Tudor court. There was no way I was going to pass up a new book on the subject from Philippa Gregory. In this book, she completely changes my perspective on Jane Boleyn (in light of new documentary evidence and common-sense theories). It’s a long one, but I loved every word.
Commonplace
“No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good.” — C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity
“I am rooted, but I flow.” — Virginia Woolf
“Whatever you’re doing, do it well. If you’re writing a thank-you note, take an extra minute to mention something beyond the typical thank-you. If you’re exercising, do each set as well as you can. If you’re in conversation, really listen and don’t just wait for your turn to talk. Having high standards adds up. You can nearly always find an extra minute to do it better. And most important, you prove to yourself that you’re the type of person who does things well.” — James Clear
“In the long-run (and often in the short-run), your willpower will never beat your environment. The more disciplined your environment is, the less disciplined you need to be. Don’t swim upstream." — James Clear
“Habits are either the best or the worst things in the world; they either carry us to heaven or hurl us to hell. Form only those that will prove an honor to you.” — Philip Dormer Stanhope, the 4th Earl of Chesterfield
“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.” German poet, Rainier Maria Rilke, in ‘Letters to a Young Poet.’
“God is always trying to give us good things, but our hands are too full to receive them.” — St. Augustine
“For Christ plays in ten thousand places / Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his / To the Father through the feature of men’s faces.” — Gerard Manley Hopkins, Jesuit Poet
“Well begun is half done.” — Horace, Roman Poet
**Parrhesia ** - (παρρησία) is an ancient Greek concept meaning “free and fearless speech," or “speaking truth to power," involving frank, open, and courageous speech, often at personal risk, for the common good, rather than using flattery or manipulation. — Online Dictionary
Parrhesia - straightforward simplicity, filial trust, joyous assurance, humble boldness, the certainty of being loved. — Catechism of the Catholic Church # 2778
“Your making-memories days is about behind you, son. And trust me, living off memories ain’t no living at all. You got to make them while you can.” TL to Tommy - Landman, S2 E6 - Dark Night of the Soul
“To learn, wander. To achieve, focus.” — James Clear
“Because he doesn’t compare himself with others, no one can compare with him.” — Lao Tzu
“Pray as if everything depended on God and work as if everything depended on you.” — St. Ignatius of Loyola
