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Have you ever paid attention to those outfits that nuns wear? Some describe the way they dress as the “Amish Catholic” style. Their garb is called a “habit.” That, of course, makes sense because they are obviously in the “habit” of wearing the same thing every day. Habit is actually our English word that comes from the Latin word habitare, which means “dwelling place” or “the place where one normally lives.” That’s obviously true for the nuns– they live life in those black and white uniforms. It’s where they dwell– literally.
Now. Enough about nuns. What about you and me? (My apologies to any nuns that might be reading this blog.) Here is a truth: Our character is a composite of our habits. To find out what our true character is, we must look at our habits. A person’s character is NOT what they WANT to be like, but what has been practiced over and over in life. Our character is how we live our lives, and our habits– our daily habits– are the evidence.
Let me come straight to the point. Life is meant to be lived with a vertical gaze. Think about it. It’s true from the time we are born and beyond. Babies first learn to make eye contact looking up. Toddlers learn to walk by looking up toward their destination, almost always with hands raised high. Looking up is how we first learn, and how learning is always done. It is an obvious, inescapable fact.
Paradigm. Why did I choose it as the name of my blog? Because it’s a powerful word. It says more in eight letters than many entire books say from cover to cover. Let’s look at the word itself.
