Substitute

My second morning home---and my first feeling entirely well. (Sunday I was hung over from drinking too much wine at the wedding.)

I'm done cat sitting, and neighbor-cat Pixie cat has moved, but I am not quite cat-free.
Who is this, coming in the back door?
I've seen this cat around, but don't know his name...

I went to mass at the church two blocks away this morning--a good way to anchor myself again.

The renovations after the church fire are complete, so Mass is back upstairs in the main church.
I kinda miss the grungy old church basement, but I do like how the morning sun lights up the stained glass. A close up from a side-altar:

Shame vs. Substitution

The priest compared the way Paul and Jesus talk to people.
Paul shames people he disagrees with.
Jesus, on the other hand, illuminates people by telling stories introducing a new consciousness.

I learned that as an editor--if I wanted a writer to see or say something differently, it worked best if I supplied a substitute phrase or sentence.
"How 'bout if you wrote/thought about it this way?"

Same with food. Instead of saying I will NOT eat something, I do better with myself if I substitute another food.
I can eat this candy bar, but first I'm going to eat an orange.
(Heh. Not that I do that all that often, but when I do, it's nice for me.)