Hi Catherine

Here is a recent photo taken on Monday 26th January (2009) while myself and Sr Melanie were viewing a partial eclipse of the sun over the Southern Hemisphere.  It was awesome.

Also -latest newsletter below.

Bernadette

Volume 5 : Edition 1 January 2009

Dear Education For Life Friends

“A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009

MAY THE DREAMS YOU DREAM BECOME REALITY”

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,

talented, fabulous?’

Actually, who are you not to be?

We were born to make manifest the glory of God

that is within us.

And as we let our own light shine

We unconsciously give other

people permission to do the same.

(Akellah and the Bee Movie)

The one quality that all champions have in common is that they have a clear and exciting vision for the future - a vision of future possibilities, of what can be, that arouses emotion and motivates them to give their best. They’ve taken the time to create a clear blueprint for themselves and their future.

The first lesson towards championship building is to determine your direction. Knowing where you are going is important before you set out. An incident in Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll illustrates this point. Alice is walking without being sure of the way she should take. She meets a cat and asks, “Which way should I take?” The cat in return asks, “Which way would you like to go?” Alice says, “I don’t care where.” The cat replies, “Then it doesn’t matter which way you walk.”

Everything we do should have a purpose.

Why do we get up in the morning? Why do we eat? Why do we take the taxi? Why do we make friends? Why do we have a hobby? There’s an answer to each question – we must know what we’re about!

It would be a rather strange game with players, referee and a ball on a well-marked pitch but no goal! Surely the goal makes the game. There must be a purpose, meaning and reason – a goal at which all our lives are aimed.

Now, as we begin a New Year many roads may open before us. Which of them will I walk? Walking one road means saying no to journeying down other roads. Which road will I take?

Robert Frost the famous American poet (1916) wrote a poem, entitled, The Road Not Taken…. It says:

Two roads diverged in a wood,

I took the less travelled by,

And that has made all the difference!

The image of a traveller confronted with a choice of two paths at a fork in the road, is a powerful one.

I recall when I was a young person the words of this poem impacted upon me when I read them on a vocation brochure. Funny, I still possess the brochure till today. As I said earlier saying yes to one road will mean saying no to another!!! In other words making well informed and consciously sound CHOICES in 2009 may make the difference for the rest of your life!

The different paths are ‘just as fair’ as are those open to us in our lives. Marriage, consecrated life and priesthood are all life-giving choices, each with thier joys and struggles. But when presented with two choices, often we cannot travel both. In a world where material success and power are so often pursued, consecrated life and priesthood are very much the roads less traveled. Nor are the full consequences of the choice visible from the place of discernment. For however long we stand at a fork, looking down the paths, we can only see as far as the bend in the undergrowth. To know what lies further on that path, the choice has to be made.

Do you wish to be a champion? Then start setting your goals. Have a clear and exciting goal for your future.

What is a goal? A goal can be defined as a target, a vision, a life direction. A dream in action with a purpose. Dreams with a deadline and an action plan. According to Merilyn Jemimah, ‘On the journey to success, the goal you set becomes the roadmap.’

Who is drawing your map?

Read the full poem text (on the next page) to yourself slowly. Imagine yourself to be in this yellow wood and at the crossroads. Think about he opportunities and possible paths you could take in life. Making yourself open to God’s power in your life can take you down unexpected paths. Being open to His will may make ‘all the difference’.

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

1. What are my goals, dreams, visions for 2009?

2. What options lie ahead of me this year in school, work, relationships, etc?

3. What plans have I put in place to achieve my goals, dreams and visions?

4. Who will help me attain my goals, dreams and visions?

5. Share your plans with your support group.

Sr Bernadette Duffy

SACBC/EFL National Coordinator