Anderson Capstone Integration Anderson 1 Annalise Anderson Dr. Chan Moreau FYE 4/29/21 Capstone Integration: Vita Bene Vixit Below is my mission statement: I wish to pursue my calling; whatever that may be. I believe that suffering and failure are inevitable and yet overcomable and redeemable. I will spend my life researching this subject. I wish to ponder it intellectually and spiritually so that I can help others face it in reality. I believe that success and perfection are not as worthy a goal as virtue and character formation. I believe that true education should enrich your mind and heart. Thus, I will seize any opportunity I can to relish in the wisdom and experience of others. I will not be reduced to a GPA. I believe that humans are complex and that generalizations undermine the depth and dignity of each individual. I will seek to understand the story of each person I meet. I will pray for strangers as they pass by acknowledging that they are a complex individual whom Christ died for. I pursue quality over quantity when it comes to relationships. I believe that fulfilling relationships are based on mutual respect and investment and focused around depth. A true friend should be able to help you find either the meaning of life or your car keys depending on the situation. I wish to both seek and be this friend. Anderson 2 I believe that self-reflection and knowledge are key to personal growth. In fact, self-knowledge is foundational for a meaningful life. I will dedicate my life to growing in self-reflection and helping others do the same. I value inner passion coupled with meaningful work, quality relationships, and self-respect. I wish for wisdom to permeate all aspects of my life. I desire to be a lifelong learner and teacher. Whenever I help guide someone else I feel a sense of joy and peace. I hope to be a wife and mother someday. Regardless, I wish to live out God’s plan for my life. I hope that I can influence both myself and others to focus on the important, deep, and meaningful things in life, big or small, and not get distracted by the trivial, petty, and ultimately inconsequential. (Moreau FYE Week 13) I will now explore how my mission statement relates to course content and how I can apply it to my life. A key part of my mission statement is contemplating suffering. I believe that suffering and failure are inevitable, yet nonetheless overcomable and redeemable. One quote that really resonated with me was as follows: “The purpose of my life is not simply about overcoming suffering; suffering is part of our lives; it is always there. It is about how to respond to suffering with God. And that's the reason I was able to go through this and trust in God and live with joy and gratitude” (“5 Minutes” by Aria Swarr, Grotto - Moreau FYE Week Six). Every single person experiences suffering. However, this does not mean that we must be miserable. Suffering is overcomable. The most important thing is how we respond to suffering and allow it to affect us - do we let it make us miserable and bitter or do we let it help us become closer to God? I https://grottonetwork.com/make-an-impact/transform/why-does-god-allow-suffering/?utm_source=moreau&utm_medium=class&utm_campaign=spring_2022 Anderson 3 believe that suffering can always be united to Christ and it can forge us into better people. Thinking about death is also beneficial. In the wise words of Sister Aletheia, “Remembering death keeps us awake, focused, and ready for whatever might happen — both the excruciatingly difficult and the breathtakingly beautiful” (Sister Aletheia - Moreau FYE Week Three). I believe that we should contemplate our final end to give purpose to our present reality. No one is meant to stay on earth. Our true home is in heaven. Furthemore, I believe thinking about the universality of suffering can help us cope with it by turning our attention to others: “Look beyond your immediate concerns; show compassion and accompany one another” (Teaching Accompaniment: A Learning Journey Together by Steve Reifenberg Moreau FYE Week Nine) I believe that compassion is very important. As the article says, it comes from the latin words for “suffer” and “with”. It makes you look beyond your own needs and focus on another. Interestingly enough, I find that this actually helps me calm down. If I am very stressed or anxious it usually helps me to talk to someone else about their problems because then I feel better about my own situation. Especially if I try to help that person, it draws my mind to other things and I find that this perspective is beneficial to me. Thus, accompanying another person through their pain can ultimately feed your own soul as it prompts you to look beyond yourself which can often bring interior peace. This fits with my mission statement as well. I also believe self-reflection is vital to a meaningful life. One of my favorite stories from the Moreasu readings was as follows: “One day Mahatma Gandhi was said to have woken up and told those around him, “This is going to be a very busy day. I won’t be able to meditate for an hour.” His friends were taken aback at this rare break from his discipline. “I’ll have to meditate for two,” he spelled out (“Why we need to slow down our lives" by Pico Iyer, TED - Moreau FYE Week One). I believe that self-reflection and knowledge are key to personal growth. Also, it https://ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-a-secular-sabbath/ Anderson 4 is interesting that when we are busy the first thing we give up is this time for reflection which comes in various forms (spiritual reading, deep conversations with a friend, mass, quiet time alone etc) but usually is what we need to find peace in life. Through self-reflection in this class, I have solidified that I value depth. When completing the “Meaningful Conversation Discernment Activity” (Moreau FYE Week Five) and asking the question “Can you reflect on a specific episode when you saw me “in the zone,” when I was at my very best? What was I doing? How/Why does this episode demonstrate my best self?” I realized that I was immediately drawn to the later half of the question and interpreted this to be my virtue and character. However, my conversation partner focused on my harp-playing skills and I was immediately dissatisfied. Thus, I learned that I believe that being your best self is more than just when you are “in the zone”. It is more than material accomplishments. It is rooted in interior life and the expression of that interior life through relationships. Perhaps this is why I am more drawn to “eulogy” virtues over “resume” virtues. This also connects to why I love learning for the sake of learning and not for a grade. I desire to be a lifelong learner and teacher. I have had a hard time picking a major, but I appreciate this quote I found in an article from the Notre Dame Center for Career Development which said, “We view studying what you love as highly practical. If you are in a major you enjoy, you will be more motivated to go to class, get better grades, and overall be happier - all of that leads to better post-graduate outcomes. That sounds pretty good, right? I’m sure you’ve all done things that you really haven’t enjoyed - maybe it was something a friend or family member wanted you to do or a required course in high school. It’s really hard to motivate yourself to do well if you’re just not interested in that subject matter or activity, or maybe your skill is lacking so it gets frustrating quickly. Now imagine focusing primarily on that activity for four years. Anderson 5 Does that seem appealing?”(CCD - Moreau FYE Week Four). This does appeal to me. A true education should enrich your mind and heart. I do not think material success is as worthy a goal as virtue, wisdom, and character formation. I believe that you should have a passion for what you do. I love “leisurely learning” (conferences and lectures, readings, etc) and believe that true education is a deeper endeavor than just “schooling”. One of my passions is literature. Specifically, the psychology and philosophy of story. I believe that the perspective literature gives the reader allows them to awaken their conscience, deepen their empathy, and gain wisdom about human nature. Tattoos on the Heart was a book that I found to be very powerful. It is a collection of stories by a priest describing his experience in running a gang intervention program in the ghettos of LA. In one excerpt, he describes a common situation where a boy from one gang would join the program and see a boy from a rival gang as follows: “He thinks a bit and invariably will say; “I'll work with him, but I’m not gonna talk to him”. In the early days, this would unsettle me. Until I discovered that it always becomes impossible to demonize someone you know”(Tattoos on the Heart. Pg 142 - Moreau FYE Week Seven). I agree that it is easy to demonize someone when they are reduced to nothing but an impersonal being or statistic in your mind. You can blame them for your problems, villainize them, judge them to your heart’s content. This “depersonalization” allows you to be cruel and unfeeling to them. However, as soon as you begin to learn about them, know their story, and interact with them as a person you begin to empathize with them. You see their humanity and are not as unfeeling towards them. When you get to know a person and their story you see their depth and humanity and are not as likely to take the simple route and “demonize” them. You see their complexity and depth. For example, the previously mentioned boy who at first wouldn’t talk with the other boy was willing to donate his blood to save his life after he had been beaten by gang members. He learned Anderson 6 through personal interaction that the other person was not a villain but another human being made in the image and likeness of God. I found this story inspiring and I hope to foster similar stories of redemption. I believe that humans are complex and that generalizations undermine the depth and dignity of each individual. This segues to another part of my mission statement: maintaining deep and meaningful relationships that are rooted in making each other better people. Scripture reveals how this is done by compassion but also dedication to the truth: “Scriptural accounts of Jesus provide a constant witness of this inclusiveness. Jesus sought out and welcomed all people into the Kingdom of God — the gentile as well as the Jew, women as well as men, the poor as well as the wealthy, the slave as well as the free, the infirm as well as the healthy” (“The Spirit of Inclusion at Notre Dame” Moreau FYE week 10). Jesus sought out all people and spread the Gospel to them. But, I would go one step further. He did not just welcome them, he called them. He called them to live a new life and they were transformed by him. They did not just stay the same. They were redeemed. He reaffirmed their dignity. He loved them despite their imperfections, but he also communicated to them the standards of perfection and taught them the way to become saints. We are all called to the constant ever-changing path of holiness. We may fall but He will help us get back up.We are called to love our neighbor but we are also called to spread the Gospel and bring them to the truth. Indeed, one of the best ways we can show our love for another is by helping them stay on the path of holiness even if they initially do not understand or appreciate this. Leading others to God is one of the best ways to affirm human dignity. This reminds me of a quote by Fr. Hesburgh which says, “The most loyal thing one can do is be honest” (Fr. Hesburgh - Moreau FYE Week Two). We have a duty to help our friends back on the right path if they have fallen astray. Anderson 7 I want this dedication to wisdom and truth to apply to all of my relationships- both friend and stranger. I think that you should be able to have a respectful conversation with any person. One unit of ours said ,“Echo chambers are more dangerous than bubbles partly because of their ability to lock us into certain worldviews” (“How to avoid an Echo Chamber”. Blaschko, Think ND Moreau FYE Week 11). This article raises interesting questions about diversity of thought versus commitment to the truth and whether or not these terms are related. This particular quote I believe raises the following questions: what is fundamentally “wrong” or “dangerous” about being solidified into a worldview if you believe that view to be right? What if your loyalty is towards a worldview that is the truth? Or does this disposition not account for the fact that some worldviews may be wrong and others may be right. It seems to me that in this discussion “diversity of thought” is being hallowed as the culmination of wisdom or the greatest good to seek. However, I think by its nature diversity of thought is subservient to the good of objective truth. Diversity of thought can help us reach Truth by exposing us to a number of questions and answers thus helping us to evaluate how our original belief compares to others (does it stand or does it fall?). However, I do not believe that “diversity of thought” is the final end of wisdom. I think it is a means to an end. Truth should be the ultimate end, not simply “diversity of thought”. You should not let differences of opinions prevent you from experiencing relationships but you can also believe that there is objective Truth and even that you wish to bring someone else to your point of view, whether they be a close friend or a stranger. I long for wisdom to permeate all aspects of my life, but I want this to be divine Wisdom that brings myself and others closer to God. The final part of my mission statement focuses on fulfilling my vocation, whatever that may be. The last unit of Moreau also focused on this and describes how this action takes Anderson 8 courage: “Our mission is the Lord’s and so is the strength for it. We turn to Him in prayer that He will clasp us more firmly to Himself and use our hands and wits to do the work that only He can do. Then our work itself becomes a prayer: a service that speaks to the Lord who works through us” (Holy Cross Mission Statement). This quote illuminates that faith is an act of courage. You pray and trust in God despite the chaos around you. This prayer and faith grants a peace that allows you to fulfill God’s mission despite obstacles or potential suffering. The quote says that their mission is God’s mission and that God also provides the strength they need to complete their mission. Thus, they are saying that God provides the strength necessary to complete His will no matter how difficult it is. This quote also mentions the sanctification of work in a beautiful way. It has a tone of hope. This is also an example of courage. To maintain one’s faith and inner peace in the face of trial and uncertainty is an act of courage. I desire the courage to enact my mission statement and revise it if need be.