7QT: The Late Edition

So it's Saturday in India, and actually... Saturday in the US too! So the only reason I'm doing Seven Quick Takes Friday even though I don't really have the time is because I. Need. To. Blog. But that's why they call it quick, right? Right. Okay, here goes.

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Funny search terms by which people weirdos have found my blog:

the world's hottest girlfriend 7qt

Yeah, that's me... although the best description of my relationship is this:

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do indians hug

The answer is No. Never. We only transmit loving thoughts through our folded hands. That's also how we make babies.

Okay, sorry, that actually was not a bad question.

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awkward hug niece

Now if it were just awkward hugs you were asking about, I am the Queen of those. But awkward hug NIECE??? What is that about? Or do I not want to know?

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extremly hot urban indian girl

Well, of course this would be the first blog you would find. If by extremly (sic) hot you meant wearing these

most days, assuming make-up refers to the occasional use of eyeliner, and the preferred hairstyle of choice being a bun with a few tic tac pins stuck in.

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17 inconveniences of indian girls

I don't even know if I can analyze that. Wait, let me try. First of all, it doesn't really make sense in English, so let's assume a non-English speaking Indian typed it in. Maybe a guy, because girls don't ask questions about girls... they just make judgments. Now what could this guy mean by 'inconveniences'? And why 17? 17 ways Indian girls make life inconvenient for their boyfriends? Or maybe it's a girl looking for empathy... 17 ways life is so hard and inconvenient for Indian girls? You pick. Maybe it's the name of a book.

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There were some other funny ones, but for some reason Blogger doesn't let me see the complete history of all the keywords used to find my blog. So I'm starting a StatCounter account.

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And lastly, I leave you with some FUN reading material: Real life Love Stories! My favourite! I know, I know, all I need is a cat and some chocolate and I will be the pathetic old forever single spinster and sitting in front of my laptop screen gobbling up other people's love stories, but whatever, don't judge me. To be honest, I just enjoy the stories, and don't spend the whole time wailing "If only it were meeee!!!"

Grace from Camp Patton put up her own 'How We Met' story, and then invited all her readers to do the same... aaahhh! So exciting! (And it says a lot about how much stuff I have going on that I haven't actually read any of them yet except hers... saving them for a peaceful, non-stressed day off!)

Okay, goodbye. Back to the to-do list.

More Interesting Introvert Facts

I miss blogging so much! So much so that a couple of days ago, I was stuck on the side of the road waiting for my dad to get out of the pork shop (where they apparently kill the pig, skin it, clean it and cut it, while the patient customer waits), and I started writing a blog post in the drafts of my ancient cell phone. Yes, my cell phone that does not have a camera, music-playing abilities, or any print on the keypad so I have to pretty much make wild guesses when I'm putting in numbers or sending texts. But the decrepitude of my cell phone doesn't matter because I hate using it anyway. (P.S. Don't call me!) Anyhow...

So one of my most popular posts ever was all about introverts which is my favorite topic to pontificate about, so here you go... another glimpse into the mind of the introvert!

Online Shopping

One of the most exciting inventions to an introvert is Online Shopping. Oh. My. Gosh. When I left India a few years ago, it had not yet taken off. A lot of people used the Internet, but hadn't connected it with shopping. So I was in the US, and got an Amazon account...oh the sweet excitement of the first book I ever ordered. No sales people! No social interaction whatsoever! No need to leave my home!

For anyone trying to sell things to introverts, here's a tip: The fastest way to chase an introvert out of your store is hover around her, saying "Can I help you? Could I make a suggestion, madam? That blue will suit you! What exactly are you looking for?" AAAAHHHH!!! Read my tense body language- leave me alone!

Networking

Networking is an introvert's nightmare come true. Seriously. Some people thrive on it, some people spend the whole time screaming silently inside their heads. Making small talk, being thrust into multiple social situations with people you don't know well, reading and responding to unspoken social cues, going through the exhausting introductory stage with too many people.... this could be good material for a horror movie for introverts.

I have however started working on doing it whether or not I like it. This is one of the few occasions where 'fake it till you make it' works. Some day I'll write a post about how to survive as introvert in an extrovert's world.

Solitude

Loneliness is not a familiar concept for introverts. Okay, I realize that this is over-generalizing, but anyway. Where extroverts feel lonely, introverts say "Wheeee! Solitude!" Solitary confinement or 'sending someone to Coventry' (that has to be the British influence) doesn't work as a punishment for us. There is little I find as exciting as hearing that I will be left completely alone in my home with nothing but my books and the TV to keep me company. Okay introverts need people too, and I'm sure being alone too much is bad for us too, but on the whole solitude is a much-awaited treat in my life.

Any other introvert facts you'd like to add? ( I know you introverts are the ones reading my blogs!)

P.S. It's Independence Day today, and I suppose I should write something about that, but I don't really have anything interesting to say (what!!), except that I'm happy to be Indian. And also I'm reading 'Midnight's Children' by Salman Rushdie and getting a new glimpse into pre- and post-Independence India, which is fascinating. Even though Salman Rushdie is kinda weird.

7QT: The Pretty Quick Edition

Linking to Jen...

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So Jen in her last 'Undiscovered Gems' post sent all her readers to this fantastic blog- Mama Knows, Honeychild. I (and everyone else) took one look, read one and a half post, and added her to my blog reading list with the triumphant whoop that only avid blog readers know about. It's similar to the sound you make while reading a new book that you love, and finding out that the author has written dozens of books and is going to write dozens more. The sketches and the humor are a winning combination.

I wonder what Mama H feels like. She's become a celebrity overnight with all of Jen's thousands (?) of readers heading over to her blog, after the glowing recommendation by the most popular Catholic blogger (ever?). Like Marc Barnes once phrased it, she was 'Jenmentioned'! I suppose it's like your book getting on a bestsellers' list, except that almost all your readers are Catholic, and you're probably not going to make any money out of it. Still, it probably feels pretty good. Well, the flip side is now she's going to struggle with humility. I have very cunningly avoided the need for that with the un-awesomeness of my own blog.

Anyway, my point is, go read her blog if you haven't, because it's awesome!

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Yesterday I mentioned that the Latin Mass had recently been celebrated in my parish (which is exciting and awesome, even though I missed it). Here's a funny extract from a brief report about it. The last paragraph read: '... the traditional Latin Liturgy possesses "much restraint and austerity, an impressive beauty and a generous melody."'

The paragraph JUST before that read 'The mass ended with the Recessional Hymn: 'He's Got the Whole World in His Hands' followed by a thundering round of applause.'

!!!!!!!!!!!!

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This is a recent scary/awesome piece of news from my life: I have recently take over the running of an after school teaching programme in the slums (an outreach of our parish) after the teacher in charge needed to retire because of health problems.

I know nothing about how exactly it's supposed to run, as mentioned before, my Hindi is pathetic, and I have a feeling that a large number of the 30 plus students (see I don't even know how many kids are enrolled) know that I don't know what I'm doing. I know this because some of the ninth graders tried to convince me that I should give them a holiday one day for some obscure festival, and when  I seemed unsure and said I'd ask someone, told me that I was in charge so I could do it. I'm not THAT gullible, kids! Anyway, fear not, there are four other experienced teachers still working there, and plus 'God doesn't call the equipped, but equips the called', right? Right?

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I do enjoy the teaching part of it. I'm fine with English, History, Geography, and lower levels of Science. But yesterday one of the ninth graders showed me an Algebra problem... and I had to admit I had no idea whatsoever about how to go about solving it.

Yay humility!

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A couple of days ago my sister posted this article about extroverts (yes, she's extroverted, and I'm introverted.) I found it interesting, but I thought they got the non-stop talking part totally wrong... I don't think that's specifically an extrovert thing. What do you think? Are you an introvert who can't seem to shut up once she starts talking (like me)?

25 Frustrating Things About Being an Extrovert

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Strangely enough for an introvert, I AM No. 6 from the article... yup, the crazy person below.

Maybe not always, but a lot of people who know me (read: my siblings) , have been embarrassed by me in social settings. But after I make a crazy fool of myself, I get tired of all the peoples, and have to to go hang out with me for a while.

P.S. This is the first time I've ever posted a gif... Oh the wonders of the Internets.

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Okay guys, seriously, 7 takes is too much when you have things to get done. Go have an awesome weekend.

The Happy Medium

For some reason, every time I think the words 'happy medium', I picture a spiritualist sitting in front of a crystal ball and chortling to herself. But yeah, that's not what I'm talking about.

I'm talking about one of my pet peeves: the opposite of a happy medium, viz. the tendency to go to one extreme or other, (often of a good thing), and thus totally losing the point, or your audience. Or the tendency to be so fond of one viewpoint that you cannot even see the flaws in it, and anyone who does not espouse it is The Enemy. Or being so invested in an viewpoint that you CANNOT see any good reasons why anyone would believe anything else.* Like it is impossible to say, "I see your point, although I don't fully agree with it."

At this point you're wondering "What the heck is she talking about?"

My answer is 'EVERYTHING!'. Well, everything you can have an opinion about.

Like, drunkenness vs being a teetotaller. Or Novus Ordo vs the Latin Rite. Or doing social work vs being an evangelist. Or being a health freak vs being a glutton. Or being judgmental vs. being a moral coward. Or being critical vs. being gullible. Or being organized vs. being spontaneous. Or Mary vs. Martha. Or spontaneous prayer vs. formulaic prayer. Or charismatic vocal prayer meetings vs contemplative Adoration in a chapel. Or the Bible vs the Rosary. Or Pope Benedict fans vs Pope Francis fans. Or parents who spank their kids vs. parents who don't believe in ever saying 'No'. Or staying in and being a moody introvert vs. going out and being a social butterfly. Or looking for a fight vs. refusing to defend the weak. Or being a self-centred jerk vs. being a people-pleaser. Or radical feminism vs. chauvinism. Or having serious conversations about Real Things vs having ridiculous giggly conversations about irrelevant flights of fancy.

Now that I write my list, I realize that they do not all fit into the same category. There are some which seem like they are opposing each other, but both of which you can actually accept and embrace (charismatic and contemplative prayer). And there are some which are both wrong in the extreme, and for which only the happy medium can be right (judgmental vs. moral coward). And there are some which are just preferences or personality types (organized vs. spontaneous)- you don't have to embrace the other extreme, but can appreciate the good in it.

Here's an example:

A few weeks ago, my parish celebrated it's first Latin Mass, probably in decades. I was horribly disappointed to miss it because I was out of town. When I got back, an older Catholic gentleman mentioned it to me. "They had the Mass in Latin! I told the Bishop 'You'll empty the churches if you have Latin Masses!'" When I tried to explain why people like the Latin Mass, he told me "No no, maybe some old people. But the young people will not like it!"

He just couldn't wrap his mind around the possibility that they may be some value in the Latin Mass. I've met other people with set in stone opinions about various issues. Heck, I used to be one of them. Not the issues that the Church has definitely guided us on, just the in between ones. Harry Potter, for example. Or Santa Claus.

Okay, enough rambling for today. Go forth and find a happy medium.

Here's a good article which is kinda related:

When Catholics Play Tug-of-War, the Church Loses

*Of course you're thinking- you're a Catholic. You're a fine one to talk about being extreme. The distinction I make here is being extreme about issues that are not absolute moral truths. They're not so much about right or wrong, but about preferences or opinions... that we redefine as right or wrong.

7QT: It's Been Too Long

(Sooo... I started writing these quick takes last Friday, after three weeks away. But then I got busy, and I thought, I'll just write them on Saturday morning, taking advantage of the fact that it would still be Friday in the Texas, where Jennifer hosts Seven Quick Takes. And then... The. Internet. Died. For a week. Some kind of Internet service provider turf wars, according to my dad. It only came back last night. (Cue shocked, but happy tears) So anyway... it's been more than a month since my poor blog got any attention. Anyway, to jump back on the blogging bandwagon, pumparumparum- seven quick takes!)

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Wow, three weeks without blogging is too long. I found myself writing blog posts in my head at random moments... like when I was about to fall asleep after a looong tiring day, or at Adoration, or during my personal prayer time. I guess it has become my way of processing my thoughts. But when blogging replaces prayer, we know we have a problem. Like when instead of going "Lord, here's what happened... what are You saying?", I'm sitting apparently deep in prayer, going 'Blog post title... Why Adoration is Awesome...'

I promise, I'm working on it. Anyway, my life had gotten so busy that I'm not going to have the time to blog as much as I used to, so problem solved. Kind of.

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So last night I dreamed I was at WYD, hanging out in an apartment with Pope Benedict (Pope Francis hadn't happened in my dream) with a bunch of specially chosen youth. I gave him some Indian food to try, and we chatted a good bit. He was very casual and happy to hang out with us. Just at the end of our day with him, I was all like "We need a picture or no one will believe it happened!" but by then he had to be escorted out by his security people, and the moment had passed. Sigh.

In the absence of a photo of me hanging out with Papa Beni, I guess you'll have to make do with this:

Yup, me hanging out with Mother Teresa (well, at her tomb, anyway).

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Speaking of Popes, someone mailed me this awesome quote that Pope Francis said at WYD:

"We need saints without cassocks, without veils.
We need saints with jeans and tennis shoes.
We need saints that go to the movies, that listen to music, that hang out with friends.
We need saints who put God in first place, ahead of succeeding in any career.

We need saints who look for time to pray every day and who know how to be in love with purity, chastity, and all good things.
We need saints, Saints of the 21st century with a spirituality appropriate to our new time.
We need saints that have a commitment to helping the poor and to make the needed social change.
We need saints to live in the world, to sanctify the world and to not be afraid of living in the world by their presence in it.

We need saints that drink Coca-Cola, that eat hot dogs, that surf the internet and that listen to their iPods. 
We need saints that love the Eucharist, that are not afraid or embarrassed to eat a pizza or drink a beer with their friends.
We need saints who love the movies, dance, sports, theater.
We need saints that are open, sociable, normal, happy companions.
We need saints who are in this world and who know how to enjoy the best in this world without being callous or mundane.
We need saints."
–Pope Francis, World Youth Day 2013, Rio

I was so excited to read this very easily relatable and yet ringing with truth quote, that I immediately emailed it to a bunch of friends. I then liked a friend's status that had the same quote, and hit 'Share'... when suddenly I heard the voice of reason shout in my ear: "ALWAYS CHECK YOUR SOURCES!"

So I did. And found this- Did the Pope Really Say That?

In short, Pope Francis didn't say it. He may have quoted it, but it was a poem either attributed to or inspired by Pope John Paul II. I was disappointed. Not because it wasn't an awesome quote. It was a great quote. It made sense, and brought out an important truth- that lay people are called to be saints, that it is possible to be a saint wherever you are, whatever your state of life, and that being a saint can look pretty different from the way most people expect it to look.

But here’s the thing, because it was misattributed to Pope Francis, as soon as you find out that it was not in fact said by him, you start questioning the whole thing. ‘Maybe that’s not how the Church feels. Maybe everything about Pope Francis is a great publicity stunt.’ A little lie can poison the whole truth. Okay, I know I’m making a big deal out of nothing.

Bottom line: As the great Padre Pio said “Check your sources, or risk causing greater harm than good by the quotes you post on the Internet.”

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Okay, that was far from a quick take. Whatever, I've got a month’s worth of blog material bubbling inside me. And not enough time to write a blog a day. Did you hear about Jen's 7 for 7 challenge? I was soo sad that she did it during one of my busiest ever weeks. That sounds exactly like something I would want to be a part of, because a) I love writing, and an excuse to write every day and b) I’m competitive, and only get things done if there’s a little competition or rivalry involved. Someday, though, I will do it.

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Funny Indian news article: The local government’s method of getting tax defaulters to pay their dues? They send a brass band to play outside their home. I’m not even kidding. Apparently either the shame or the noise works.

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I was sosososoexcited to read ‘Style, Sex and Substance: 10 Catholic Women Consider the Things that Really Matter’. All my favourite bloggers wrote different chapters for this book, and it was on my wishlist for a while. Then a dear friend from the US sent it to me a few weeks ago! I read it on the long train journey going to Kolkata, and I loved it! (I did get a few strange glances from fellow-passengers who saw the word ‘Sex’ in the title.) As soon as I finished reading it, my sister, J and my friend, R read it too. Yes, it was a long train journey. I really want to write a review/all my thoughts about it, but I may have to wait for a lull in my life to re-read it, underline things, and write the blog post. Let it suffice to say that I have been making a long list of lucky women who I’m planning to lend it to. And they don’t even know it yet.

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And what do you know? The Internet died again. Well, obviously by the time you read this, it will have returned. But as I write this, I have no idea when that will be. I’m done.

How was the last month, regular readers?

7QT Vol 12: Linkses and Other Things

So I am in the midst of a busy time, and therefore my beloved blog takes a backseat. In fact I won't be posting for the next three weeks, so this all you're getting till the end of July. Enjoy!

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I love me some Jackie and Bobby! Who the heck are Jackie and Bobby, you ask. Jackie is a Catholic speaker and singer-songwriter, and Bobby is her fiance, and I found them through the Lifeteen blog. They have a wedding blog, where they wrote about their love story, and chastity and relationships and waiting and pornography all that good stuff. There's just something about them that I love... maybe because they remind me of me, maybe because I hope to have a romance as sweet as theirs, maybe because they speak my language- faith + intelligence + humour, maybe because we're kind of in the same business. Whatever it is, I'm excited each time they update their blog (which is very rarely).

The Love Story

Jackie and Bobby (the blog)

How to Know You've Found Your True Love (NCR article)

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Everyone seems to have read/heard of Ann Voskamp except me. I have however heard of Katie Davis, and even read the book she wrote- 'Kisses From Katie'. Anyway Ann visited Katie in Uganda, and wrote this beautiful post.

When You’re Done with Pundits, Soul Wrestling & Looking at the Sky: {25 Things I learned from staying with Katie Davis}

These words are ones I'm pondering, and will be for a long time:

"Our actual theology is best expressed in our actual hospitality. And I don’t mean that hospitality is one quaint ministry for those good in the kitchen and keeping their house picked up. Hospitality isn't for the good housekeepers — it’s the grid of life for anyone keeping company with Christ. Hospitality is meant to shape our churches and politics, our work and our schools, our homes and our faith and our schedules and our meals and our lives...

The radical practice of hospitality begins with each child, each knock, each phone call: Every interruption of the day is a manifestation of Christ.

There are no interruptions in a day. There are only manifestations of Christ."

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Do you struggle with being critical about everything? It's not all bad, there IS a silver lining.

The Blessing and Curse of a Critical Mind (ssp*)

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Oh my gosh, I need to go do things! And I have no more links. So last three random quick takes. (Yes, this counts as one.)

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Something I'm thinking about: I believe that joy is supposed to be a normal part of the Christian life. Then why am I so often not joyful? I have a very blessed life, and no real reason to be down about anything- work that I love, people that I love, a home, a sufficiently comfortable life, dreams that I'm working toward... and yet I so often am tense and anxious. I think for me there are two main reasons: negativity (the downside of the aforementioned critical mind) and very connected, fear (how can I be happy when they are so many possibly scary things that could happen at any moment?). Something to bring to the Lord.

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In the Ann Voskamp article I linked to above, she says "The answer to everything is relationship." I believe her. That's it. Love = Relationship, and only love matters. Yet, every now and again, I long for a relationship-free life, where I sit with my laptop, writing, editing newsletters, and reading blogs, and never leaving the house. The introvert rears her head. But I KNOW in the long run, no matter how much I long for that right now, a relationship-free life would not satisfy me, nor make me the person I believe I was called to be. Still, I'm grateful for the times when people ask me to serve BY sitting in front of a laptop creating newsletters.

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The reason I'm not going to be online for the next few weeks is because I'm going on a trip to volunteer with the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata (my second time). Super long train journey ahead- perfect opportunity to catch up on reading! See you on the other side!

Go to Jen's for quick takes from other bloggers.

*Shameless self-promotion

The Blessing and Curse of a Critical Mind

Image from stock.xchng

When we were kids, my siblings and I were the ones who would ALWAYS and IMMEDIATELY pick out the flaw in any movie we were watching, argument that anyone was proposing, or lecture that a teacher was giving. We were the annoying kids who always could play devil's advocate, or say 'But what about...?' Everyone knows someone like that, and boy, are they annoying.

When I was about 14, some of my friends decided to 'break up' with me because they found my over critical attitude unbearable (among other reasons, and yes, I'm over it, 13 years later). I would criticize everything and everybody.

As I have grow older, I've definitely grown in empathy, and have taken a good look at myself through others' eyes, and toned down the critical attitude quite a bit. But I haven't let it go completely. I was thinking about it yesterday (yes, I was critically thinking about thinking critically) and decided that it both a gift and a curse. (Yay, numbered lists ahoy!)

1. It is a curse because I cannot do ANYTHING without analyzing and carrying out debates in my head on every conceivable topic. It's like there's this person in my head, pointing out flaws, and I have to defend and explain my actions or a particular philosophy to them. That means I can rarely just sit down and enjoy anything. I can't switch it off. I am ALWAYS thinking "This would work better if..." or "That acting is so overdone!" or "If only the priest would read the mass announcements like he's really talking to people", etc. Or I'm wincing at shallow and jumpy mass 'hymns'... directly after receiving Communion.

2. I often see the flaw more clearly than I see the whole. Like noticing the black spot on the white sheet. I don't say 'Oh, what a wonderfully white sheet.' I say 'Ooh, black spot.' And of course that carries into relationships. Instead of thinking, "Well, that was a nice young man I just met", I'm thinking "Well, he was nice, but maybe he's a little too... predictable." So what if he is? Does that take away from his niceness? Is it important that I evaluate his personality, and pronounce a judgement on it?

3. It is so tiring to be around me! My poor friends and family have had to bear the brunt of my issues. Because all this stuff is going on in my head, it often comes out to the people I spend the most time with... and it drives them nuts. I have to 'talk it out'. If I heard a talk, or was in a situation that made me a little uncomfortable, I have to minutely examine what exactly about it was troubling me. After I'm done, I feel better, but maybe my poor audience is thinking about things that had never crossed their mind before.

4. It is too easy to be cynical about everything, to take off the rose-tinted glasses, and replace them with dark glasses, where the glass always seems half-empty. (Yay, mixing metaphors again!) And cynicism saps the joy out of everything. Seeing the worst possible motive for everything is draining. You can't move forward, because you're trying so hard to not slide backwards (with all those other fools).

5. Over critical people are often overly critical of themselves too. Even in the midst of doing something good, they can't feel good about it because they KNOW that there are some impure motives mixed in there. They often can't be wholly happily themselves, because they are critiquing themselves too, just as they critique the world around them.

6. It's pretty easy to go from criticizing, to judging, to writing people off, or labeling them. 

So you are saying at this point "Why the HECK haven't you let it go completely, Sue???"

Okay, this is where the blessing comes in.

I can't let it go, because I don't believe I was made to be a gullible naive idiot. God gave me the power of critical thinking for a reason.

1. I value truth. That means I won't say something is good unless I really thought it was good. I won't be a Christian unless I'm pretty sure that Christianity is true. I actually believe that there IS objective truth, so just seeing the good in everything isn't satisfying intellectually. Is anything better than anything else? If so, why? I'm willing to think. I'm willing to seek. If people will not seek, how will they find? If one is not willing to examine the truth or falsity of a particular assumption, how they know they are not living their lives based on a lie?

2. I'm not super-easy to fool. It's easier to see past the fakeness, the appearances, the lies that sometimes people even believe themselves. I'm not satisfied with easy answers. I had the doubtful triumph of having my suspicions about some con artist who recently came into my family's life proved true. I was the only one saying "Really? You believe all that? How do we know any of it is true?" My brother called me a suspicious conspiracy nut. All I can say is "I informed you thusly, P."

3. It's easier for me to explain my faith to others. I often give talks starting with the obvious questions and doubts that people have... because I've had the same questions and doubts. I'm not just forwarding a cliched 'Jesus loves you. Click Like if you believe' picture. I'm sharing my own intellectual faith journey, with all the questions that were answered... by asking hard questions. (I have not had all my questions answered, but enough to move forward.)

4. I not only see flaws, but I see how they can be fixed, or improved, or changed. Refusing to see a problem might be easier and more pleasant and annoy less people at the time, but in the long run, the problem is only going to get worse, and will most probably blow up in your face. Not looking at a problem does not mean the problem stops existing. It's a gift to not only see a problem, but to trace the problem to its roots, and propose a cure. Sometime I wish people would pay me to tell them what's wrong with them, and what they can do to improve. (Isn't that a consultant?) (I sometimes offer to go to Confession with my siblings, in case they forget their sins :-D)

5. The world needs prophets. Someone has to be the little boy shouting 'The Emperor's got no clothes on!' even when it makes everyone intensely uncomfortable, so they all try to shush you. The trick of course is when and how and to whom you mention that the Emperor is as naked as a wee babby. (Yes, Brave reference.) There are just too many lies floating around the world today, especially about the important stuff, especially in the morals and messages that Hollywood packages so nicely and sells us. (I like Fr. Robert Barron for some plain-speaking prophetic video commentaries about everything.)

6. It's more interesting to be around me, because I'm less likely to use tired cliches, or say what everyone expects me to say. It also increases the value of my praise a hundredfold. You know how little you value a compliment if it comes from someone who always says nice things to everyone as a matter of course. It's nice of them, of course, but it says more about them, than the person being complimented. If you want an honest evaluation, come to me.

So yes, I've decided not to completely switch off my critical thinking. It is a weapon that needs to be wielded very, very carefully though. But that's another blog post now, isn't it?