This week I enjoyed learning alongside colleagues at an annual conference of school administrators. Principal El was one of the highlights for me, as he shared many stories and lessons learned from his time as a principal in urban Philadelphia. Following his keynote, he sought me out for a picture because he couldn’t understand how a person with “San Francisco” on his name tag could “get” so many of his Philly references throughout his talk…..the picture made me smile on many fronts, so I need to follow up with that colleague to ask for a digital copy. I invite you to go ahead and check out Principal El when you can.
I am happy to share this brief reflection on “Discernment” as well. I often find myself doing some of my most thorough reflection during this season of Lent, and so I encourage us to take to heart Vinita Hampton Wright’s questions below. Blessings on your week ahead!
| DISCERNMENT Discernment does not seem to come naturally to a lot of people. We make decisions all the time based on the moment’s emotion, sensory overload, pressure from others, whatever seems easiest, and so on. For major decisions, we apply more reason and search the heart a bit more, and probably ask others for advice. Like any other personal quality or virtue, discernment can be developed through intention and practice. A first step is to look at your past decisions and ask a couple of questions: |
| What factors do I rely on most when making a decision—how I feel, what makes the most sense, what is most positive financially?What factors do I tend not to include when I’m in discernment mode—intuition, spiritual aspects of the situation, advice from people I consider wise, my general direction or personal mission? |
| —Excerpted from Small Simple Ways by Vinita Hampton Wright |
Keeping the Faith 