Shlomo and the Vocal Orchestra

From Father Brian D’Arcy, a Catholic Passionist priest:

 “The time is always right to do the right thing” is a mantra which helps keep me focussed on those busy days when I slip into my comfort zone. That’s when I have a little chat with myself. “Remember boy”, I say, “Your comfort zone is your greatest enemy.” And so it is. How can I ever achieve anything worthwhile if I wallow in my pain-free bubble.

No one looks forward to pain, insecurity or possible failure. Comfort zones seem soothing because they’re familiar. It’s where we feel safe. It’s also where we remain small and languish in mediocrity.

 A wise old Saint, Iranaeus, in the 3rd century quoting St John’s Gospel said, “The glory of God is a human being fully alive. Life is full of possibilities, if we’re willing to risk the pain. The secret is to turn pain into power.

I spend evenings working as a chaplain for young athletes. Through the winter they’ve trained for two hours, a couple of nights a week, in frost, snow, biting winds and endless rain. It’s tough but they know that unless they break their personal pain barriers they’ll achieve nothing. They have discovered the marvellous truth that when you face pain it diminishes, but when you run from pain it becomes a monster.

For example, at my age I need physical exercise. I walk in the fresh air and I do as much as I can in the gym. I don’t look forward to it yet if I don’t do it, I’ll become a sad old couch potato. So I don’t think about it, I just do it. And it’s amazing how good I feel when it’s over.

It’s exactly the same with everything else in life. If there’s a consoling phone-call to make, lift the phone and make it; if there’s someone in need, help them today. Face it, do it and turn pain into power.

As Adlai Stevenson used to preach, “It’s not the years in your life that counts but the life in your years."