Novice Life Practices
ACTIVITY FOCUS: How to stop grumbling right when it starts
Are you a grumbler? Do you murmur about this or that? How do you feel when you grumble?
Would you like to change all that?
Read on to learn of a practice to put a lid on grumbling and have a happier more peaceful life.
Hey there! Welcome to this Novice Activity. Resident Novice Michael James here with my canine friend, Peanut.
One day while having lunch together at the Mew and Bark Diner we talked all about grumbling. We came up with a way to stop grumbling right when it begins – “PUP!”
Would you like to read about why and how we came up with “PUP,” the Novice Activity to curb grumbling? We had a good time mewing and barking about it all.
To read the article, tap here.
Prayer opens the heart to understanding
Understanding opens the door to patience
Patience helps nip grumbling in the bud
The Activity
Stopping grumbling is important work. Grumbling threatens relationships, community, and our relationship with God. While murmuring may feel satisfying at the time, that satisfaction is short-lived. Being a murmurer doesn’t make for a happy or joyful life. Peanut and I agreed that grumbling drains us.
Want to make a change? When you catch yourself starting to grumble, nip it in the bud with “PUP.”
P – Prayer
U – Understanding
P – Patience
Prayer helps us turn from our own grumbly thoughts to God. You can pray for God’s help, for yourself, for the person or situation. Prayer will stop “grumbling train” as it starts to move out of the station and before it picks up speed. We become available to God’s grace and guidance through prayer even if it is short.
Understanding helps us open our hearts to the individual or situation. We can respect the individual by accepting that there may be more than our way of doing things. We can, as Benedict does, be charitable with the frailty and weaknesses of feline, canine, and human natures.
Patience helps us move through the challenge, accepting God’s timing and presence in the person or situation. We trust in God’s presence and relax into this. We cut some slack for persons and situations. We take deep breaths and let go of what pushes us…US!
Give PUP a try. Peanut and I pray that this activity will help you towards a more peaceful and caring life.
“Do not grumble or speak ill of others.” RB 4.39-40
© January 2024 Novice Michael James (and Jane Tomaine)
Accessing More Instruction on The Rule of St. Benedict
Be sure to check out the articles written by Feline Cloister members in Mewsings on the Rule of St. Benedict. Tap here.
This Novice Activity and the related Novice Instruction were written in January 2024 for the Worldwide Novices. They have been made available for all visitors.
Other Novice Instruction, Novice Activities and the links below are password protected and available only to Worldwide Novices and Friends of the Feline Cloister through the Worldwide Novice Corner.
To access these, you are invited to join the Feline Cloister as a Worldwide Novice (felines) or as a Friend of the Feline Cloister (all other animals, birds, reptiles, etc.)