Great stories and timeless wisdom. That’s how I would describe The Christophers’ annual “Three Minutes a Day” book, which is filled with stories and reflections for each day of the year. Volume 61 is our latest, and it is a “Best of” edition, which features some of our favorite entries from years past. Consider this reflection:
“Is anything sweeter than the inward joy that comes from thinking well of others?” That quote comes from St. Thérèse of Lisieux, who focused on people’s positive qualities, even people who aggravated her. It’s an attitude that resonated with Marc Foley, O.C.D., author of “The Love That Keeps Us Sane.”
He wrote, “What has dwelling on your neighbor’s faults ever brought into your life? Did it bring peace…beauty…or joy? Didn’t it rather…poison your capacity to see goodness and beauty in life? And when we deprive ourselves of seeing goodness and beauty, do we not deprive ourselves of two of the wellsprings of joy?…Thérèse knew that when we are critical of others and don’t make the effort to see others in the light of charity, we deprive ourselves of happiness…Love helps keep us sane because it discloses the beauty and goodness of God that permeates this world.”
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Here is an example of finding God in an unexpected way: When photographer Chris Arnade started taking pictures of homeless drug addicts in New York’s South Bronx, he expected to find a group of people who, like himself, were atheists. After all, how could individuals living desperate lives on the streets believe there was a loving God who cares for everyone? Arnade was shocked that the exact opposite view prevailed.
Michael, a crack addict, always carried a rosary with him. Takeesha, a prostitute, described herself as “a child of God.” Arnade’s hard shell of disbelief cracked. He wrote in The Guardian, “In Biblical terms, we are all sinners. On the streets the addicts, with their daily battles and proximity to death, have come to understand this viscerally. Many successful people don’t. Their sense of entitlement and emotional distance has numbed their understanding of our fallibility.” Arnade came to see his own fallibility and admire the addicts whose faith offered them a source of hope.
Unexpected acts of kindness can also offer us hope. For instance, when Justin Horner’s tire blew out on a remote road in Oregon, he discovered he had a spare tire but no jack. For three hours, cars and trucks just passed him by. Finally, a van pulled over, Horner recalled in The New York Times Magazine. The Good Samaritan driver spoke no English, but his daughter did. He indicated he could help. When Horner’s tire iron broke, the van driver’s wife drove to the nearest town, bought a new one, returned within 15 minutes, and the job was soon done.
Inquiring about the family, Horner was amazed to find out they live in Mexico; they were in Oregon to earn money picking cherries. He wrote, “This family, undoubtedly poorer than just about everyone else on that highway, took a couple of hours out of their day to help a strange guy on the side of the road.” When Horner tried giving his helper $20 for his trouble, the Good Samaritan smiled, shook his head, and said in broken English, “Today you, tomorrow me.”
If you’d like to buy copies of “Three Minutes a Day: Volume 61” to guide you or others throughout the coming year, call 1-212-759-4050, ext. 241—or visit us online at www.christophers.org.
