We will not think or will our way out of difficulties. We will, however, pray and play our way though the challenges of our times. Lighten up! We are too serious, too rigid and certain. Let us be more supple more like a willow tree than a pine. It is not how strong we are but how resilient, how quickly can we recover our balance and continue to exhibit the fruit of the spirit.

· love;

· joy;

· peace;

· patience;

· kindness;

· goodness;

· faithfulness;

· gentleness;

· self-control.

“against such things there is no law” — Here the apostle Paul speaks  a  profound truth desperately needed in our time, namely that there are character traits that grow from life in Christ.  

Our time is marked by willfulness — people anxiously willing people to be different than they are! Polarities — black and white — seem to be the only options. Reactivity produces more anxious reactivity. The cycles is automatic and continuous UNLESS we begin to think and repond in a thoughtful less anxious way. 

The fruit of the Spirit come from a non-anxious and calm cultivation. Contemplative prayer, yoga and other techniques that promote quiet self-awareness are essential in these times.