Have you watched the movie SEVEN?
If so you know the line, “What’s in the box… WHAT’S IN THE BOX?”
What an amazing scene. Pitt and Freeman, Freeman and Pitt… brilliant, amazing, believable. They’re top notch actors for real. We tend to reenact that scene every time the AMAZON or UPS dude swings by with a package to deliver! Fun times! 🙂
So Today’s subject is just loosely applying the principles of the SEVEN DEADLY SINS to your daily life and interactions. It’s Sunday maybe I’m a bit inspired… The Seven Deadly sins are also called the cardinal sins, or capital vices. We all have daily vices we are experiencing. It’s all about life choices.
Memory Lane: I went to a Parochial School. Read that as church 2x a week, nuns with rulers, daily religion classes, prayer- lots of prayer, reading from the Bible, going to confession (for what felt like every week), a life filled with the commandment and rules. As a kid that equated to a small bit of fear, but also over time, a huge amount of respect. My moral compass was founded and nurtured through a very religious upbringing. I definitely understand worldly things a lot more now. For that I’m thankful.
SO yeah religion, I’ve been known to dabble in it. Surrounded in it. Growing up I was fascinated with the nuns, and their life. What happened after the kids left the school grounds for the day? What was their weekend filled with? Did they go to the grocery store, watch movies and eat cheese burgers like me? Yeah, the did! They prayed a lot too. Prayer was their life.
Many years ago, on May 9th there was a really bad storm. So bad that a freight boat lost control, hit a bridge and a bus of nuns were forever lost. There was a lot of flooding in the city in general from this freak rain storm. Kids were being early released from school. There I was with my teacher Miss P. She sat with me hoping my parents could find a way to safely retrieve me as I was the last kid at school. My parents weren’t able to get me, because there flooding was really bad between where we lived, where my dad worked, and the school. And so I sat waiting. Most of the school staff had to leave. They stayed as long as they could. And then the nuns, the nuns were there. That day, I got to spend a couple of hours in their personal rectory where they lived. That’s something most kids in Catholic school could only dream of! I got to see it all with my own eyes. I saw behind the curtain, but I was reminded that this was their sacred space and that the other kids didn’t need to know I had been to their space. I think at that point, I had a new understanding of these incredible women, still feared them a bit… I mean they had a direct line to the “sky daddy” and well… I was all about getting into heaven, be a good girl, get to the pearly gates, get into heaven, eternal happiness! So as a kid, I had that fleeting moment of wanting to become a nun. It’s what I knew, what surrounded and filled my days. These incredible women. I remember our priest Father B, went out to get food for us. We dined on burgers together. We then prayed extra prayers for the nuns and people who lost their lives during this terrible storm. We prayed my parents would safely find a way to get to the school. Prayers were answered and about 2 hours later I was picked up, strapped into the back seat of the car headed back to my private sanctuary.
I’m older, and well, not a nun. I’m not as virtuous as they were, but I’m a decent human being. Their life choice wasn’t my path to follow. But still mad respect to those fierce ladies who wore their habits with honor.
So today I’m thinking about the 7 Deadly Sins. How do I understand them as an adult, whose days of private Catholic school have long since passed? No longer do I have bruised knees, from sit, kneel, stand… oh there’s a comic that talked about the Catholic Church workout- it’s funny! REALLY FUNNY and true!
But yeah the 7 deadly sins. Sounds ominous. As an adult who’s experienced and even seen or committed one or 2 trespasses… I have a deeper and different understanding about them now. Personal application, experience, and the free will to intemperate them as I understand – we have free will and the mind is a fascinating and interesting thing.
According to the standard list Pride, Greed, Wrath, Envy, Lust, Gluttony, and Sloth make up the 7 Cardinal Sins or Capital Vices. If you’re a Christian, or know someone who is, chances are they can rattle them off fairly quickly off the top of their head without breaking a mental sweat.
NOTE – there are also 7 Heavenly Virtues : Prudence, Justice, Temperance, Courage, Faith, Hope and Charity. See not all religious stuff is about eternal damnation, and scary stuff like the fiery pits of hell, or the devil.
So these 7 Deadly Sins – How does one look around in the world today, and apply them to ourselves, and those around us. Not to judge anyone per se, but to better understand them and assess if they are the kind of person you would want to be associated with. So I’m going to go down the list and pontificate. This is my blog, and well I sometimes write just for myself. Sometimes I share those pearls of information online… Sometimes I don’t share my wisdom or insight. Unsure if this will be published or not, or if this is just a philosophical entry and a brain dump. We shall see.
PRIDE: Pride usually leads to selfishness and personal corruption. When you’re boastful or proud, you’re elevating yourself above others. Most of the time it could be genuine. Like being proud of working hard and then gaining an accomplishment, that’s good. However, screaming from the roof top, “I’m #1!” Being boastful in your pride… it’s kinda a slippery slope this pride thing, because WHAT you’re proud of could be the catalyst for your pride to be determined as healthy or good, or bad or evil. Pride is what can sometimes fill your heart. The question is, what kind of pride is filling your heart?
GREED: Oh Greed… I don’t know how to see greed as a good thing. Usually greed to me is a tangible thing. Like you want more. You want it all. Get to the top by any means necessary. Using people- Stepping on the backs of others, pushing them down along the way. Greed, tangible greed can be quantified with amassing items, or amassing wealth. That’s right, amassing MONEY! Money doesn’t buy happiness, but it can help one afford a more comfortable lifestyle. Greed can be the catalyst for something larger. Ok so let’s say, you’re gaining wealth, but you’re doing it in a dishonest way. Lying, cheating stealing, misrepresenting yourself… greed is bad. Greedy people are not decent people. So, if greed controls you, then you’re out of control.
WRATH: Memes of “KAREN”pitching a fit comes to mind… “I’d like to speak with your manager!” But sometimes even the manager can’t fix the situation. Extreme anger, the kind that would make you do something to harm another. Wrath can come in all shapes and sizes. Wrath can be a thought or an action. Sure I sometimes get angry, but usually it’s more of a disappointment in how people are. Disappointment in how people conduct themselves, or their business. Doesn’t make me have thoughts of harming anyone, just extreme disappointment. Some people can’t control their anger which leads to wrath. That’s not healthy, nor is it safe for the rest of us sharing space with a wrathful person. If you’re angry about something, find a way to work through that anger, and come out on the better side of it.
ENVY: I think at one time or another we’ve all be envious of someone. I’m not gonna say it’s the human condition. Nor will I blame it on capitalism. I think we all want. Just want. And sometimes we see what someone else has, and we’d like it for ourselves. We want it for ourselves. There in lies your envy. Now, I can see an item or thing someone has and think, “It would be nice to have that too.” But I don’t obsess about how to take it away from them. I don’t begrudge another just because they have something I’d also like to have. There’s admiration, and there’s envy. Envy takes up a lot of your energy. I don’t have time for that these days.
LUST– Hey freaks, this one’s for you. Lust, impure thoughts… OK so lust can drive some people to do some inappropriate things. That’s definitely not my wheel house. Lust can hold hands with love. As long as the love is pure and comes from a mutual place and is reciprocated, then that’s love not lust. Lust can be something that’s totally immoral… like people who have impure thoughts about children. That’s just plain sick and gross. Don’t do that. There’s a special place in hell for those kind of people. I don’t even want to get any further into this, it’s just not good. IF you have to be lustful, lust after the person you pledge your life too, the person you’re married to, or just don’t lust at all. Lust tends to get one into sticky situations. BLEH!
GLUTTONY – This I am definitely an offender. TACO TUESDAY = TACO COMA… Oh yeah! Gluttony or overindulgence, that can be bad. Too much of a good thing can also be bad. I mean, I do love tacos. even before moving to Texas, taco Tuesday was a thing. We experienced taco Sabado, taco Domingo… I mean any day is a good day to eat tacos. am I right? But yeah- overindulging. Another example is getting drunk all the time, or being a weekend warrior – you know those people that say, “I don’t drink during the week, but I let loose on the weekend!” Those people…. that’s gluttonous. Moderation is the key, even when it comes to tacos! Gluttony leads you into the act of going overboard.
SLOTH: No, moving slow isn’t a cardinal sin, unless you’re walking slowly in front of a New Yorker on the street, LOL. Sloth in the sense of general laziness. Sloth also means doing things without care. So it’s not sloth in the sense of laying around wanting to binge Netflix or play video games, or sleeping the day away and shrugging off your daily life duties. It means having a lack of general care towards the things that you do. It loosely translates to doing stuff half-assed on purpose. Not caring about what you’re doing can lead to sloth. Your act of sloth, could affect others.
OK – so yeah, just thinking about morals, making good decisions. Weighing out the pros and the cons. Assessing people, companies, places, and things. Some decisions are bigger than others. Some decisions come at a higher price. Compare how you feel about things when you have to make a big decision. What does it cost you? Does the decision add value to your personal worth? Do you feel good about the things you do, or do they give you a sense of pause or unease?
How you judge yourself is more important than how people see you. I think you have to be good with who you are, not care about what everyone else thinks. They’ll make up their own mind about that.