How do we maintain the purity of good deeds?

Maintaining the purity of our good deeds is tricky. For the faithful, we aim to pursue salvation. In general, we want to feel rewarded.

However, isn’t it that the moment we let ourselves focus on the rewards, the more we dilute the purity of our good deeds?

If we are supposed to embrace unconditional love, then we should strive to act out of compassion rather than for personal gain or recognition. Doing good deeds solely for the ego boost may be satisfying at the moment, but it can ultimately lead to feelings of guilt and regret.

Perhaps there is a lesson to be learned from the concept of flow. Imagine: what if doing good deeds can feel like being in the zone while playing sports? Grooving while playing in a band?

Maybe good deeds are purest when doing it feels like a reward in itself.

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Mark 1:40-45. “See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 2023-012: JANUARY 12, 2023]

The truth itself is powerful

The truth itself is a powerful thing. We often think of it as something that should be sought after and protected. But in a world where fake news and social media are increasingly being used to advance propaganda, it can be hard to separate the truth from fiction.

We’re surrounded by information that is not always reliable, half-truths, or completely false. It’s easy for us to be misled by the deluge of information we receive every day since it is inconvenient or downright difficult to always verify the accuracy of information we receive.

Despite this challenging landscape, truth in itself is still powerful. As long as we embrace humanity’s innate predisposition to be curious, we can cut through the noise and reveal what is real and genuine. If the gospel for today holds some form of solace, even the unclean spirits submit to the power of the Truth.

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Mark 1:21-28. “What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.”

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 2023-010: JANUARY 10, 2023]

Facilitating epiphanies

One fascinating assertion of Lonergan about the insight experience is that it is more about one’s internal conditions and less about external stimuli. This is akin to detective stories where the clues are right there in front of us but we do not acquire an insight about the dilemma.

Epiphanies do seem like elusive graces, but it does not mean we stop from inquiring or seeking answers.

The calm and the mundane after a seemingly fruitless inquiry may be the time when we are letting our inside conditions incubate ideas and facilitate insights.

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Matthew 2:1-12. The epiphany

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 2023-008: JANUARY 8, 2023]

To let others flourish is to flourish with them

By letting others flourish, we also create the conditions for our own flourishing as well.

For every lesson that our mentees learn, we become more knowledgeable.

For every opportunities we share with our loved ones, we become wiser.

Recognizing the potential in others is a step closer to realizing our own potential.

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Mark 1:7-11. “One mightier than I is coming after me.”

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 2023-006: JANUARY 6, 2023]

What do you seek?

Oftentimes, when I talk with my students, especially those just starting their careers, their response to this question is a combination of compensation, growth opportunities, and a novel experience.

But what is striking is that the well-being pattern of these same people is that their satisfaction is most correlated with their sense of spiritual development.

At the very least, a sense of transcendent meaning and purpose.

The tricky thing with meaning is that it is highly subjective yet cannot be forced nor conjured out of thin air; one must undergo their journey to decipher how one can create and co-create meaning in a world that sometimes feels absurd.

I’ve asked this question to myself many times in the previous months. Maybe the most concise answer I can give is that I seek an integrally developed life, a context filled with infinite opportunities to flourish with like-minded and like-hearted people.

And a sign could be a sense of peace which is different from a sense of complacency.

Complacency feels like being stuck on shallow waters, but peace feels like a voyage on a grand ocean with comrades and loved ones.

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John 1:35-42. “What do you seek?”

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 2023-004: JANUARY 4, 2023]