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Resisting Temptation
950 Plays8 months ago
Lent is the perfect time to tackle this topic! The reality of temptation in our lives is guaranteed and hard to ignore. Whether it’s avoiding sin, or sticking to a new routine or good habit, the temptation to take the easy road sometimes seems to be omnipresent. But by seeking to understand why we are tempted and how we can overcome it, we believe that we can, indeed, face it with hope!
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Transcript
Origins of 'An Idle Mind is the Devil's Workshop'
00:00:00
Speaker
You know that saying, an idle mind is the devil's playground? Yep. Yes, I think it's really... Is it that one? Or is it idle hands? Am I mixing? Is it idle? Oh no, is this the Michelle... I think it is. No, I think you're right. No, I think you're right. I'll go. I think you're right. Okay. An idle mind is the devil's workshop.
00:00:29
Speaker
It's in proverbs, but now I'm just like idle hands. I mean, oh no, wait. So this, um, cause then it says we all know the saying. So you know, like when you, when they have it summarized on Google, but it's not
00:00:44
Speaker
They might have put two things together. Like me. It also says, idle hands are the devil's workshop. It's probably Shakespeare too, right? It's always like the Bible or Shakespeare. It's from Hamlet. Okay. Wow. All right. Where was I? So you know that saying?
Introduction to Modern Lady Podcast Episode 150
00:01:18
Speaker
Welcome back to the Modern Lady podcast. You're listening to episode 150. Hi, I'm Michelle. And I'm Lindsay, and today we are talking about resisting temptation. Author C.S. Lewis once said, quote, only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is, end quote.
00:01:37
Speaker
Exercising our willpower and choosing to do the right thing in all circumstances is not a challenge for the weak of heart. And yet we all encounter temptation in our lives. That's the bad news. The good news is that beneath the surface, there is redemption to be found, strength to be acquired, and glory to be won when it comes to our battles against temptation. And victory can belong to us all.
Support and Interaction Invitation
00:02:02
Speaker
But first, the best way that you can support The Modern Lady is by subscribing to our podcast on whatever app you use to listen to podcasts and by sharing us with your friends. We also welcome you to join us over at Patreon, where for just $5 a month, you will get exclusive and extra content.
00:02:19
Speaker
We want to remind our listeners that we have now activated a free trial option on Patreon. So while you can just follow the page for free, if you actually sign up for the free trial, you will have access to all of our extra content for 7 days, and then you can decide if you'd like to join us as a paid member. Find us at patreon.com forward slash the modern lady podcast.
00:02:42
Speaker
And if you can join us on Patreon at this time, a free way to support our show is by leaving out a five-star rating and review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. It's a chance to tell us what you love about the show and it helps others discover it too. And if you would like to leave us a comment or message us about today's episode, the best way to get in touch with us is on Instagram at the Modern Lady podcast.
00:03:07
Speaker
But be sure to stay tuned to the end of the episode for other ways to connect because we would love to hear from you.
Dog Ownership Etiquette Discussion
00:03:17
Speaker
But before we get into today's chat, Lindsay has our Modern Lady Tip of the Week.
00:03:23
Speaker
So let me first say that I am a dog person and I grew up with a lab retriever that we still talk about on a weekly basis. He was the goodest boy ever. Now this tip of the week popped into my head because I am seeing so many conversations about dog owners on local Facebook groups. So I thought that maybe it's spring coming, which brings more people and lots of children outside in the public spaces. It's a good time to review some dog ownership etiquette. And I got this information from the American Kennel Club.
00:03:53
Speaker
So we live in a typical cookie cutter suburban neighborhood that is bursting with young families, and many families have a dog. We also back onto a large public recreational space that has three soccer fields, two baseball diamonds, tennis courts, and a playground. So we see a lot of dogs getting their exercise in that field. And happy dog owners having a great time with their beloved furry family member. But we also see some things that go against dog owner etiquette. And when some of these, quote, rules are broken,
00:04:22
Speaker
You get people who become more and more, well, irritated by dogs and children who can become fearful of dogs. So what rules does the American Kennel Club suggest that dog owners follow? First, some tips for when people visit your home. Teach your dog not to jump on visitors. And if your visitor is nervous around your dog, they recommend putting your dog into its crate or into a separate room while you have your human friend visiting. If the dog is out, train them not to beg for food because even a dog loving guest could get a little bothered by the begging.
00:04:51
Speaker
Secondly, prevent excessive barking. Train your dog to respond to something called a quiet cue so that they don't bark when people go past your house and you can train them to get a little more comfortable when people approach your house so that they are alert and watchful without barking too much. Oftentimes, dogs are left outside alone for too long and this can lead to something called boredom barking. Next, and these are the two most contentious issues on any community social media page, is to pick up after your dog when they poop.
00:05:21
Speaker
And the second one is letting your dog walk off leash. There are countless stories of dogs rushing at kids and older people and jumping on them and scaring the poop out of them. I should have put a poop warning on this tip. And I was even jumped on twice while jogging and it completely caught me off guard and it did shake me up.
00:05:38
Speaker
And finally, take your dog out for a long walk before having company over or before taking him with you on an errand or into a pet store. A well-exercised dog is more relaxed and better behaved. I think everyone can agree that our pets deserve good owners who are thoughtful and caring, not only of their special furry friends, but also the community at large, because pet ownership is a huge responsibility that shouldn't be taken lightly. And like with all other aspects of our lives, there are etiquette rules that should be followed.
00:06:07
Speaker
Be a good boy and love your doggo enough to help others love him too. Oh, yes. I'm like on board with that. I don't own a dog, but I'm on board with that. And do you know what, as you were talking about those etiquette tips, I loved that you made that point that this is consideration for the dogs too. It is. Like it makes them happier to, for example, you said to make sure they're well exercised.
00:06:37
Speaker
because they feel calmer. They bark a lot when they're outside for too long because they're bored, you know, like good dog etiquette seems to be just real, real love and consideration for your dog. And then it kind of translated and ripples out from there into the community members too. And I know what you're talking about with kids being a little nervous around dogs because mine up until very recently,
00:07:06
Speaker
We're very hesitant. So we always appreciated owners who were very conscientious of that and really took their time, had a good handle on their dog. I think it's those owners that our family has to thank for my kids becoming comfortable around dogs. So I'm always very grateful for good doggy etiquette.
00:07:30
Speaker
And what that does is that creates potential good dog owners in your children one day, right? When they know how to also respect an animal and a pet and treat it with love and compassion and are taught how to do that, then they might become great pet owners. On our walk home today, there was a giant Burmese Mountain dog. Absolutely gorgeous. My favorite breed.
00:07:52
Speaker
And his mama, she had him on that leash and she had him sitting down any other time. I've never seen him at the school before, so I don't know if she's trying to get him used to all the kids because he's two. But you know, there's like hundreds of kids that file out of the school and she had him kept back and sitting down every time the kids walked by. And then of course my kids wanted to see the dog.
00:08:12
Speaker
And as a non-dog owner who loves dogs, I wanna make sure I'm also respecting your dog, right? Like as a dog owner. So I'm trying to also follow etiquette of not just letting my kids run over and like come at your dog trying to pet it. So I'm very cautious when I like seek the permission of the owner to send my kids over. And I'm like, is it okay if my kids say hi? What would you like them to do? And so it's that great communication and that etiquette on both sides. And what we're doing then, yeah, is fostering a great
00:08:40
Speaker
love of our beautiful pets. I just, I'm a huge pet lover, but I'm just, every time I log into Facebook, it's like somebody selling a winter jacket, some boots, and then complaining about dog poop. It's like every third post. So when I was like, what is the etiquette tip for this week? I'm like, well, it's time to look to our furry little friends.
Resisting Temptation and Personal Growth
00:09:04
Speaker
The reality of temptation in our lives is guaranteed and hard to ignore. Whether it's avoiding sin or sticking to a new routine or trying to get into the practice of a good habit, the temptation to take the easy road sometimes seems to be omnipresent. But by seeking to understand why we are tempted and how we can overcome it, we believe that we can indeed face it with hope, right Lindsay?
00:09:29
Speaker
That's right. And it's the perfect time to talk about this, right? Because the Gospel reading at Mass last weekend was about temptation, and I'm sure we heard a lot about it in our homilies. And so when I was at Mass, I was listening to that, and it was the Gospel reading that's the shortest version of Jesus being tempted in the desert, right? It's the one by Mark. It's like, was it a few sentences? And I'm like, oh, it's already done.
00:09:54
Speaker
So there was actually not a lot of detail of the temptation of Jesus in the desert. I read about at Mass, but I know our priest did a great homily on it and it really stood out to me. And the one thing he said that really got my gears churning in my head about a podcast idea is that he said, you know,
00:10:13
Speaker
and this seems obvious on the surface, but stick with me, is he said, temptation isn't meant to make us fall into sin, right? Like I always feel like it's like the negative, but he said it's actually, it's about having the opportunity to overcome it. It's actually a positive in that sense, because I'm sure
00:10:29
Speaker
I like many of you, I'm always so like scared of temptation, right? Like it's like a cliff edge and that it's always lurking in that it's just, it's been set up to like lead us astray. But when you flip it around and be like, you know, when God allows some things to tempt us, that it's actually a great opportunity, a hard one, albeit hard.
00:10:49
Speaker
But it's a great opportunity to grow in virtue and to draw closer to him and to rely on him and all these things that we're going to talk about during this episode. But when the priest said that and he kind of flipped it in my head from being a negative to a positive, I was like, Oh, I see. I see.
00:11:05
Speaker
Yes, that's true. When I read that in your notes, it made me think of the scripture verse from Romans chapter eight, that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him. Right? So it can be true even when we're tempted. And you see that connection that it does have the potential to not be something completely negative meant to make us fall into sin. We see that with the examples of the lives of the saints.
00:11:35
Speaker
many of whom faced great temptations through their whole lives, that it's not a mark of holiness or lack thereof, I should say, if you are facing temptations. And so there is something more, there is something deeper than just the surface explanation of temptation, which we're all more maybe familiar with,
00:11:57
Speaker
which is the negative kind of avoid at all costs and don't even really talk about it, like almost taboo aspect of what this is.
00:12:10
Speaker
Yes, absolutely. So I guess we should talk about it, right? Let's define it. The first thing that popped into my head is that image, the angel and the devil on your shoulders, right? And I was like, hey, where did that come from? And so believe it or not, there's actually a Wikipedia page called Shoulder Angels. What? Okay, I thought it originated with the Emperor's new groove.
00:12:34
Speaker
Oh, it is. That is referenced. Good. My favorite depiction. In my favorite depiction, the character Kronk, if you haven't seen this movie, and I don't know what's stopping you.
00:12:51
Speaker
one of my favorite animated movies ever. But Kronk is kind of like a dim-witted sidekick to the villain, right? And he's always plagued with these moral decisions. And he has the shoulder angels, or the
00:13:08
Speaker
Yeah, the shoulder angel and then the shoulder demon on the other side. That's technically what they're called. Yeah, according to Wikipedia, shoulder angels, yeah. Oh, okay, yep. And they have this like go between, but between the two of them, they argue with each other and he's just in the middle, like listening to the two of them and then he makes his decision and they're often humorous. That's, I know that's probably not the origin, but that's where my mind immediately went. So please continue.
00:13:34
Speaker
Where did this come from? It does go a little bit further back than the Emperor's new group. Is that what it's called? Yes. Which I have not seen, but wow, what a glowing recommendation. I will add it to my must-watch list. I believe you showed my kids that movie, right? I think so. I think you saw them one night. Okay. I tried. I did. You brought it into my home.
00:13:55
Speaker
I did. It lingers in the atmosphere, so you're already halfway there. Well, that was awesome. Well, one of the earlier cartoon representations, and it's one of the most popular ones that really kind of started this imagery, is when Fred Flintstone has them pop up on his shoulders, and it's during the episode called The Sweepstakes Ticket.
00:14:17
Speaker
but it goes back further than the Flintstones. It was first mentioned in an early Christian text called the Shepherd of Hermas, which dates from 140 to 150 AD. So according to ucatholic.com, the text states
00:14:32
Speaker
There are two angels with a man, one of righteousness and the other of iniquity. And then it says, these angels aren't nearly passive observers. They actively influence our choices, appealing to our virtues or vices. And it continues, Hermas, the protagonist, is advised to differentiate the two by their nature and actions. The angel of righteousness encourages righteousness, purity, chastity, while the angel of iniquity brings forth emotions like anger, greed, and pride.
00:15:01
Speaker
So, whether you're religious or not, whether you just see this as a plot device in a cartoon or a show or not, it is extremely effective at representing the internal struggle that everyone goes through at different times in their life. Yeah, that's true. That even culturally,
00:15:21
Speaker
We have this undercurrent of awareness, I guess, of the presence of temptation in everyone's lives. Even to be able to use it as a plot device, we're all so familiar that it's relatable to everybody. It's just part of the human condition.
00:15:40
Speaker
It's funny because on the walk home from school, I was walking the neighbor kids home and the little nine-year-old girl across the street, she's like, what's your episode about today? And I'm like resisting temptation. And she's like, what? And I'm like, do you ever feel like there's an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other? She goes, yes, when there are donuts in the fridge and it's not supper time yet. And the devil's telling me to eat them, but then the angel's like, just wait for dinner and then you can have one after. I'm like, boom, I said, you've got it. She gets it. That's today's episode.
00:16:09
Speaker
So before we get into the meat of temptation, we should probably define it, right? We usually start these episodes with a definition as a point of reference.
00:16:22
Speaker
This definition comes from Catholic answers, and it says that temptation is taken to be an incitement to sin, whether by persuasion or by the offer of some good or pleasure. It may be merely external, as it was in the case of Christ's encounter in the desert after the 40 days fast,
00:16:44
Speaker
or it may be internal as well in as much as there is a real assault upon a person's willpower. So there, that is temptation. And I think that yeah, the key point there is that it can be external, right? Somebody else attempting us to do something or yes, that struggle within ourselves, the angel and demon or whatever on our shoulders.
00:17:05
Speaker
Um, but I think a key point to really make abundantly clear is that temptation itself is not sin. It is not a sin to be tempted. Consent of the will is needed. You have to willingly understand that what you're doing is a sin and then you have to consent to doing it. Okay. So everyone is going to get tempted. I mean, we can't open this without talking about Jesus, like Jesus himself being tempted and not understand that all of us are going to be tempted.
00:17:35
Speaker
That is not sinful. You're right. Consent is, it really is the important key word in the whole thing about temptation, right? Because you're right. In your example, Jesus was tempted, but he was without sin. So the temptation cannot be sin, right? And to consent is, you know, to give permission. And I'm just struck by the fact that it's this act, like it's a verb. You have to make the decision.
00:18:04
Speaker
to do it right to give your consent and it makes it even more clear that this initial troublesome thought that is temptation is not the crux of the matter it's not the sin itself yes consent your permission for it to continue like for it to become a source of
00:18:22
Speaker
pleasure that you then act upon, that's where it becomes a problem. And so yeah, to always remember that we have that power to choose, that free will to choose, we're not bound or destined to fail with every thought that pops into our head.
00:18:37
Speaker
you know, we're presented with good or bad, but ultimately it does rest with us to decide. So there are lots of things that can help in making that choice, but it's still our choice. We still have to give it permission before it becomes anything more than a thought.
00:18:58
Speaker
So I found an article called Lent and Temptation in the National Catholic Register, and it defines three different types of temptation. And those are lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life. Okay, so when I first read that, I actually had this moment where I thought, oh, does the church perhaps mean the word lust as meaning something like other than carnal? Like does it have another?
00:19:19
Speaker
But no, I is very clear from the Vatican in 1992 that that word only means carnal. I won't get into anything more. We are a family podcast.
00:19:29
Speaker
So then I stepped back and I looked at those three things again, lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life, and I'm like, oh yeah, those are really summed up, but those could cover so many different temptations, right? So even if you took the word lust out, it's flesh, so it's like what our bodies desire, whether that's food or other desires, what we're seeing, so our senses, and then pride, which is the root of all of it. So it does make sense.
00:19:56
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, and I was looking up the definition to onDictionary.com. And there too, it's also very clearly. That's what it means. But there was actually an extra note that I thought was very telling and it
00:20:15
Speaker
went on past the first definition of the word and added that it's a very strong word that means a hunger for anything, anything, right? And you don't lust after something that you don't really care about. And that's why it's so strong within us. And I thought that was something neat to consider because if we're struggling with overcoming,
00:20:42
Speaker
any sort of hunger for something in particular, why not strip it all back to the simple question of, you know, then what is it that I'm actually looking for? Maybe it's a legit human or spiritual need like love that can be satisfied in proper ways, but we're being tempted to settle.
00:21:01
Speaker
for like lower hanging fruit so to speak because it's easier or we're in need of healing or something like that just you know asking ourselves when it comes to temptation what is it that we really care about when it comes to this temptation and that powerful question can reveal a lot
00:21:21
Speaker
And speaking of lower hanging fruit, you just told me something really interesting about Eve and the apple. Do you mind sharing that with our listeners? Yes. So I was reading that when it comes to these three types of temptation, they correspond with the temptations of Eve in the Garden of Eden. And those were like the first instances, all three types of temptation were kind of covered.
00:21:45
Speaker
in that first temptation in the Garden of Eden. So the lust of the flesh was when Eve saw the forbidden fruit and she saw that it was quote, good for food. It says that in Genesis and that kind of takes care of those
00:22:00
Speaker
physical kind of temptations, right? And then lust of the eyes, the Bible says that the fruit was quote, pleasing to the eye. So she liked what she saw, she desired it. And then the pride of life, it says in scripture that the fruit was quote, desirable for gaining wisdom.
00:22:19
Speaker
And I just thought that was so fascinating. I never honestly considered different kinds of temptation. Like, well, if an apple is that tempting, which we know, but it's like if an apple is that tempting, oh boy. I've never been particularly tempted by apples. So powerfully. So very interesting. But yeah, to me, temptation was always just kind of this like overarching, vague thing that I just needed to avoid at all costs.
00:22:48
Speaker
That's right. Yeah. Deliver us from temptation. Like we say it all the time, like, okay, temptation, please. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. No, thank you. But in that sense, though, it is a big thing and it can be vague. And when we take big things like this apart and we analyze it, the more that we seek to understand it, the more equipped I sometimes feel to confront it. So even just reading
00:23:16
Speaker
about the breakdown of temptation made it seem less vague and ambiguous and really puts it more into sharp focus, I can better analyze myself and be a little bit more self-reflecting when it comes to this topic.
00:23:32
Speaker
And one of the things I'm just even realizing now as we're talking about it is that when I would step back and look at temptation, I would think of like little things, right? Like wanting to have something sweet after dinner to like big things. And I forget about the entire middle ground of temptation. Right.
00:23:48
Speaker
little or big and I think that what I'm hearing here and that what I think is going to be so useful for me as we discuss different ways to overcome it is just really looking at that entire middle ground that which is where I think we have kind of buried our heads and we might not notice as temptation because it's not the little thing that's calling into us and it's not the very big thing.
00:24:07
Speaker
And with different levels, right? And actually to kind of go back to consent for a second too, I was reading an article about temptation on the website, mycatholiclife.com. And just like there are three kinds of temptation, I was reading here that there are almost like three levels that define the kind of consent you're giving to the temptation. And it goes along with what we're saying about
00:24:34
Speaker
how temptation can be internal or external and the different degrees, I guess we'll call them, that temptation could be. So temptation could be either purely external and that is when the evil one proposes some lie but the person refuses right on the outset and the temptation remains
00:24:54
Speaker
purely on the outside of the person, external. Then there's partially internal consent and that's when something is proposed to us. Some lie or some temptation and the person partially entertains the suggestion. They take some sort of pleasure from the idea but they don't follow through.
00:25:14
Speaker
So even that could be like a middle area where we don't fully realize, right? And then the fully internalized is the third one when a lie is proposed to us and the person completely consents. And that's what makes it fully integrated to us. And like we were saying, that's kind of where you get into trouble.
00:25:36
Speaker
And Jesus, who is our model, experienced that first kind, that purely external kind, right? And it teaches us a valuable, albeit extremely difficult lesson that when it comes to temptation, the ideal is to try to work our way up to the point where we can reject things right away on the outside.
00:25:56
Speaker
The first step to that, I think, is what you're saying is to be really cognizant of what exactly those things are so that we can register our responses to be so quick and immediate like that to the small things, the big things, but also all the things in between. In the middle. Oh my goodness. Yes.
00:26:15
Speaker
And then I just think finally for this first section, and this is something I'm going to talk about more as the episode progresses, because I think this article that I'm going to share now makes more sense later on. But there's an article on EpicPew.com about the benefits of being tempted.
00:26:31
Speaker
And this one point she makes is better at defining kind of what temptation is. So she wrote, temptations reveal the interior of our heart and tear away all of our disguises. And I was like, whoa, OK, they reveal our temptations. What tempts us reveals the interior of our heart and it tears away all of our disguises.
00:26:52
Speaker
you know, we think we've got ourselves all figured out until something comes along and really tempts us. And we have to face the things that we thought we had overcome, right? Or the things that we've maybe long buried in our hearts and kind of hoped we'd forgotten about. The author wrote, quote, the subtle poison of pride, false security in the interior of the heart, and disguises that are put on to hide weaknesses,
00:27:15
Speaker
are all exposed. And then she goes on to say that when then they're destroyed when temptation is recognized and conquered. But again, we'll talk about that more as the episode progresses. Yeah, that relates to what you were saying right at the beginning of the episode, right? That temptation isn't
00:27:33
Speaker
always meant to make us fall into sin. That's right. Sometimes it serves as a reminder of honestly where we're at in the spiritual life when maybe we're fooling ourselves and we need a little kick in the pants to get back on the right track.
Strategies for Overcoming Temptation
00:27:51
Speaker
Okay, so now we are going to talk about how to overcome temptation and we wanted to look at definitely some great secular sources and you know So just looking at regular temptations, right? And then of course we'll talk about some that are a little bit more spiritual But I found some great ones on a website called thrive works calm and the first thing that they recommend is Avoidance right avoid it avoid temptation. I kind of built on that by a
00:28:17
Speaker
adding some of the language that we would be more familiar with, like choosing to miss out on occasions for sin or removing yourself from the situation. So being self-aware and knowing what your triggers are and doing your best to remove them ahead of time is very helpful. And this is kind of unrelated, but it popped into my head. This is what I used to do when my kids, when I saw something that could make them have like a little tantrum as a toddler.
00:28:44
Speaker
My kids rarely had tantrums. They rarely did, but that's because I was scanning the room constantly and watching the situation and thinking, what can I head off right now before it turns into a tantrum, right? Do I remove one of the kids from the room? Do I turn the channel? Do I get one a snack? Do I get another toy for the other one because I see them eyeing something that the other kid's going for?
00:29:05
Speaker
That was kind of my role as the mom at that time, is how can I prevent this from happening? And I'm like, okay, now I have to do that for myself. Know myself, what's going to trigger me, and remove myself from the situation and get myself a snack. Right? That's what I hear too.
00:29:24
Speaker
Maybe you're eyeing up someone else's snack. You need your own snack. But that kind of reminds me of the line in the Our Father, actually. When we ask God to lead us not into temptation, He never leads us into temptation. God is pure goodness. But it's an ask, I think, for help to avoid those places in our lives. And sometimes,
00:29:51
Speaker
your young children you're talking about can't always see what or why they're reacting to. And it was your job as their parent to help remove them from that situation and avoid it. I think we ask God as our Father to do the same for us when we pray that line in the Our Father. Like, I can't always see what's triggering me in terms of temptation. So lead me away from there, Lord.
00:30:18
Speaker
Oh, it's so beautiful. Yes. And the next thing from the Thrive Works list is distraction. And then I just added it in my own notes and or delay. So for me, I googled how long it takes for craving to disappear and it's around 10 to 15 minutes. And again, we're not talking like serious things like this is just your average temptation or something that you're craving.
00:30:43
Speaker
And I have found that when I'm being pretty strict with what I'm eating and trying to eat really well, the amount of time it takes to make a cup of tea, which is about I feel like 10 minutes if it's really brewing and you get the milk in and you go sit down with it, that's about that amount of time. So if I'm craving something else, I found out if I can make myself either a fresh pot of coffee or a cup of tea, the thing I was craving doesn't have that magnetic pull over me anymore.
00:31:09
Speaker
Yeah, I would say out of that list on thrive.com, distraction really resonated with me most too. Which is kind of funny because I've been seeing so many posts about the downsides of distraction lately. When it comes to things like
00:31:26
Speaker
And this makes sense, like living in the present moment and being productive. You don't want distractions. And that's totally true. But in this case, I think this is the one I go to most when I'm faced with a particular temptation is just having something on the go that you look forward to getting back to, right? Is especially helpful, like a project or a TV show that you're loving or a podcast book, et cetera. Um, you know, that's saying an idle mind is the devil's playground.
00:31:56
Speaker
Yep. Yeah. I think it's really true. I think we can just let our listeners know that we just went down a five minute rabbit hole of trying to make sure we knew what we were because, you know, when you say the saying and you think is this correct, right? So, yes. Yes. Yep. That's correct. We did check that. Yes.
00:32:14
Speaker
We fact-checked that extensively. Yes. Okay. P.S., I was gonna, I am gonna use that for the outtake, I'm pretty sure. Okay, yeah. So they'll all be in there. But I think it's really true, actually. The days that I'm busy with the kids, with errands, or homeschooling, I'm way less likely to be tempted by things that are not good for me. But the slower days where there's not much going on, that's when
00:32:42
Speaker
ideas start popping into my head. And so it can be really helpful to have distractions at the ready, right? Or a toolbox of things that are good and that you're excited about that you can use as a distraction and pull out whenever you need it.
00:32:58
Speaker
Now the next one, I actually really like this one. Okay, so it's visualize yourself overcoming the temptation. I at first might have written that off as like hokey new age nonsense, but it turns out according to Forbes, which is pretty reputable, Forbes.com.
00:33:15
Speaker
that athletes and their trainers have been using visualization techniques to improve athletic skills for a very long time now and have found great success for it. And then, so I have a business coach right now, as you know, Michelle, and she had me make a vision board and I literally almost spit out my water and laughed so hard when she told me I needed to make a vision board.
00:33:35
Speaker
I'm sorry for people who love them. You'll hear my tune has changed, but at first I thought these are the cheesiest, lamest things ever, but it turns out business coach friend who happens to be one of the top business women in Canada actually knows what she's talking about because
00:33:49
Speaker
as I was using like some dried up glue stick to apply my roughly cut out things from the LCBO Liquor Store magazine onto a Bristol board from Dollarama. When I was finished I stepped back and looked at it and something stirred in my heart and like a light switch went on in my brain and I textured her right away and I'm like you were right, you were right.
00:34:11
Speaker
There's something about seeing your goals right in front of you that is pretty darn effective. And she had explained to me that people respond better to seeing things visually. And so that exercise of practicing yourself, overcoming it. So again, I'll go back to food because this is something I've struggled with my whole life. If I work on visualizing myself not having that treat because it's not a good time for me to have it.
00:34:34
Speaker
And then I picture myself going into our garage gym and working out. I picture myself lifting the weights and how much better that would feel, right? Like this little bit of a mind exercise. I find it incredibly effective. Well, that's true because I guess if I think about it, I use visualization in some way to motivate myself to do things too that I don't want to do, but I should. So kind of going the opposite way of temptation, even like cleaning.
00:35:04
Speaker
If I need to clean, but I don't feel like it, I will go watch one of those clean along videos on YouTube. Like someone else has done the vision board for me, but I'm still garnering the effects of it. But it is powerful. And even my kids, if we watch a hammy mommy video,
00:35:22
Speaker
they all want to clean. So the visual aspect, yes, it really does make it click in your head. So to use it as a tool to overcome temptation, that's really smart. And then the final one that I came across now, this one's from a website called socialchange.co.uk. They recommended something called temptation bundling. And I was like, what? Putting all the temptations together. Sounds like a terrible idea. Sounds like a recipe for disaster. That's what it sounds like.
00:35:51
Speaker
But they're like, you're supposed to take the thing that is the better choice for you, right? And bundle it with other things to make the other things seem better. And I'm like, Oh, that's like what my friend Heather and I used to go to the gym, but we would then walk next door to Red Lobster after working out we would split the fisherman's platter. He's like, I
00:36:10
Speaker
I would get to the gym if I could eat at Red Lobster. But it's the same thing as like cleaning and listening to a podcast, right? I don't want to have to do a cleaning. I'm tempted to sit on my bum and watch YouTube videos, but I'll do the cleaning and then I bundle it with the podcast.
00:36:26
Speaker
Yes. Yeah. That's so smart. I have a similar experience when I was, um, when I was a young adult, I guess I would meet a friend to go swimming, to go to lane swim in the evening. Um, but only because we would go to symposium afterwards and order their East needs West waffle special. Whereas like a massive waffle, like the size of my face and one side is vanilla and one side is chocolate. Um, and that's.
00:36:56
Speaker
how I also, what is it called? Temptation fact? Yeah, that's how I hacked Temptation that way. It works, is what I'm trying to say. Okay, so speaking of hacking, is there like, what is the science behind Temptation? Yes. Okay, so as I was doing my research, I was immediately intrigued by an article from medium.com that popped up.
00:37:23
Speaker
Um, and it's called you were born to resist temptation. Here's how. And I'm like, what? Um, tell me more because this is a really scientific physiological look at how we can overcome temptation. We are such holistic beings, right? And sometimes we focus so much on one area of our whole person that we forget that other parts of our heart, mind, and body are being effective or can be effective as well.
00:37:53
Speaker
So there is a lot of science. I'm not going to try to pretend like I'm an expert here. I'm going to try to summarize it, but I suppose this is time for my usual disclaimer that I'm not a psychologist or a scientist.
00:38:08
Speaker
But basically I was learning about something called HRV, heart rate variability, right? And this is the time in between each of our heartbeats. And the time between our heartbeats is varied. It's not like a metronome where it's even tick, tick, tick, tick.
00:38:28
Speaker
And here is where the trick lies because when we are in a state of fight or flight, our heart rate goes up, but that HRV, the time between each heartbeat, it goes down. So it's very short. That's when your heart feels like it's pounding and racing, right?
00:38:46
Speaker
When you practice like self-control or say you resist temptation, something like that, your heart rate slows down, but your HRV goes up. The time between your heart beats increases. So what that state is called is the parasympathetic state. It's that rest and digest state that everyone looks for when they want to be calm.
00:39:11
Speaker
And when you're in that state, you are relaxed and therefore better able to make good choices, including whether or not you should engage in temptation or resist it. You're not reacting to something, you're able to consider it.
00:39:26
Speaker
and this is when it kind of goes into the whole brain science and neuroscience because the fight or flight is basically it's bypassing the whole information coming to your brain through your eyes and then it goes through all the different parts of your brain that translate it into the language of your brain and then it analyzes it and everything but if you're faced with something like danger
00:39:50
Speaker
it has to bypass that and go straight to your emotional response center, right?
Spiritual and Personal Fulfillment Through Resisting Temptation
00:39:58
Speaker
And you're not processing, you're not thinking about your long-term goals or plans when it's going directly to that. And apparently dopamine reacts the same way. So when you see something really desirable to you, the information goes two ways in your brain.
00:40:15
Speaker
in one sense, it goes through the longer processing part of your brain where you remember like, I shouldn't do this though, because I have a goal that this would negatively impact so I should abstain from it. But then you have another part of your brain where it's going immediately to the response center. And that internal conflict is the shoulder angels to bring it back. Or shouldn't I? So to put this together with the HRV,
00:40:42
Speaker
The heart rate variability. Apparently that space in between your heart rates is such a good indicator of willpower in a person that there are studies done like in the Sage journal that's linked in the article that show that you can predict who's going to resist temptation and who will likely succumb to it.
00:41:02
Speaker
Based on your heart rate. That is so cool. Yes, and it shows that people who have a higher HRV, which again means that there's more time between your heartbeats, so you have a lower beat, basically, slower beat, they're better at delaying gratification, at ignoring distractions, and with dealing stress.
00:41:25
Speaker
This is how then it ties into our spiritual life too, because the way that scientists and psychologists recommend that we improve the HRV to help with this response is by slowing way down, slowing our breathing.
00:41:42
Speaker
So when you face temptation, they suggest slowing your breathing to as little as four to six breaths per minute. It equals about 10 to 15 seconds per breath and repeat it for two to three minutes. It activates your prefrontal cortex, which is also called the seat of willpower. Love it. I know. And it increases your
00:42:06
Speaker
your HRV. And it's just shown to be so effective that there are training programs for increasing your HRV for police officers, stock traders, customer service operators. And it corresponds to how we know God made us intentionally heart, mind and body, right? That He would create us with this ability to physically strengthen our resolve against temptation.
00:42:33
Speaker
And that the Bible tells us, this is what I was thinking about too, it tells us to pray without ceasing. And prayer, particularly that meditative contemplative prayer that we're encouraged to really practice, it slows us intuitively.
00:42:50
Speaker
Yeah. Right? So that we're in that parasympathetic state and the Bible says, pray without ceasing. Could this be one of the reasons why? That it has an impact on our physiology and God knows that when we're mostly living in a parasympathetic state, we will be stronger in the fight against temptation. That is my dissertation. That was amazing. Feel free to fact check everything. But that's how I understood it.
00:43:18
Speaker
Delete everything else from the episode just for you sharing that because that was so good and so many things are popping into my mind Okay So like the first thing is because we were gonna get into just a few like religious right ways of dealing with things We were doing more like non-religious ones and so prayer obviously prayers at like the top of my list And so there's two things that popped into my mind. This is why the rosary is a unique part
00:43:41
Speaker
prayer. I remember Fulton Sheen talking about the men coming back from World War I were taught to knit, to crochet, to slow their hands down, to focus on their hands that would calm them down as they were having their panic attacks. And he said, the rosary does the same thing. Because oftentimes, because we prayed it for so many years in my house, sometimes we don't even find a rosary, we just do it using our fingers, which is kind of the same thing.
00:44:06
Speaker
But there's something about holding the beads and sliding over each bead, right? It's body and mind. There is a very important connection by doing that physical action when you're praying the rosary. And then secondly, I was listening to an interview, I believe it was with Mother Natalia on Pints of the Aquinas, and they were talking about, is it the Jesus Prayer, the Lord Jesus Christ Prayer? Yes. Okay.
00:44:29
Speaker
So that is my go-to when I'm tempted, when my mind goes back to a memory from my sinful past, and I think that sounded fun, like I kind of want to do that again. I instantly pray this prayer, but what is different, and this is what connects back to what you just said, is she prays it in two breaths. I don't know if you know this way. So she intakes and goes, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, as she's breathing in, and then slowly breathes out, have mercy on me, a sinner.
00:44:56
Speaker
so it's actually broken into the you're taking in god and you're breathing out what you want to get rid of and so if you think about doing that slowly maybe you would get that down to those four to six breaths within that minute period oh my gosh that's so interesting because that sounds like without the prayer without the words there is i came across a five minute um
00:45:21
Speaker
like meditation to improve your HRV. Yeah. On the Andrew Huberman podcast. Yes. Is it an on sleep, like deep relax thing? No, it's different. It was like specifically for this HRV thing. And the thing is, it's not a meditation. It's breathing along to the sound of chimes, like that I imagine are timed for those things.
00:45:47
Speaker
So there is, I think, a recognition that slow breathing and putting yourself, trying to get yourself into that state is going to help you. But it takes it deeper into the truth of what that is doing when we put the words of the prayer to it. Like that is like the heart of what maybe even in secular culture, we are trying to grasp that. Yeah. Yep. Wow.
00:46:16
Speaker
Wow. Okay. And then another suggestion that works on overcoming temptation is confession, is regular confession. And we receive graces every time we receive the sacraments, confession being one of them, all of our sacraments are sacraments of healing. They heal past wounds and past times where we've given into temptation. But it's not just the act of going to confession, it's the examination of conscience beforehand.
00:46:43
Speaker
where you review right since your last confession the times you have succumbed to temptation that's ultimately what you're reviewing the times that you need to to talk to Jesus about and to receive forgiveness for and so I want to touch again on examination of conscience it's something we've talked about so many times and I just feel like we need to do a whole episode on it because I think it is the greatest
00:47:05
Speaker
It is one of the greatest tools that I have learned that I have in my toolbox since I became a serious Catholic that I think that the rest of the world could benefit from just doing a general examination of conscience. But that is the general one. That's the one that we do in the church that kind of you stack up what you have done and you measure it against God's commandments. That's the general examination of conscience.
00:47:30
Speaker
There is something called the Particular Examination of Conscience. This is one that you usually do guided with the spiritual director. And this is the special type that focuses on our growth in one specific virtue, or the process of work having one particular vice. And so you either want to grow in one thing, right, and this is all tied into temptation, or you want to get rid of a vice in your life.
00:47:53
Speaker
um in its most basic form you through peripheral contemplation and discernment figure out what specific virtue you are lacking in or what vice you want to conquer and then you jot down some quick notes tracking the amount of times that you've been tempted um and that you've either made a progress or declined in your efforts and you make you you review that at noon
00:48:15
Speaker
and again at bedtime and you have literal like numbers in front of how many times you were tempted and that you dealt with it. It's a very focused effort that takes a lot of mental strength. Saint Josemaria Escriba wrote, the general examination is a weapon of defense. The particular is of attack.
00:48:34
Speaker
Oh, that's good. He goes on to say, the first is the shield, the second, the sword. And so again, this is just so deep. I'm like, oh my goodness, there's so much I want to talk about with an examination of conscience. But it is, if you really want to make progress and overcoming temptation in your life, whether it's just whatever you've given up for Lent, right? We're right in the middle of it. If you've decided to give something up, you are going to be so tempted to give up on that promise during Lent.
00:49:03
Speaker
So noon and at bedtime you actually review how many times you were tempted and if you overcame it or not That is a particular examination of conscience Wow that that makes me think of You know, like when you name something You have power over it. Yes. Yeah, right And so that may be one reason why an examination of conscience is so effective in the fight against temptation Is that as long as it's able to lurk?
00:49:33
Speaker
kind of unknowingly in the shadows, I guess, of your soul. You don't really know quite what it is or what's causing it or like, you know, what causes you to fall back into a same temptation over and over again. But if you're pointing it out, if you're shedding light on it and calling it by its name so often, being very honest and open about it, you kind of take back some of its holds that it has on you.
00:50:00
Speaker
Yeah, there's great power in an examination of conscience. That's a great point. Oh, what you just said is perfect because that leads us into the final section where we think, okay, so what happens when we learn to win that battle against temptation? And you're talking about when you name it, when you call it out, when you work on conquering it, you take back the power from it, right? And that is definitely one of the great benefits of overcoming temptation.
00:50:23
Speaker
So there's an article in the National Catholic Register called, is there glory in overcoming temptation? And it says, there is a chasm between temptation and sin, a divide that cannot be bridged without the will. And though man might experience an almost gravitational pull towards the sinful side of that chasm, he can be aided by prayer and assisted by grace to stand his ground.
00:50:48
Speaker
And so the benefits of this, you opened this episode with C.S. Lewis, and I'm going to go back to C.S. Lewis because he had a great quote and he said, overcoming temptation through prayer imitates Christ and implores his grace.
00:51:02
Speaker
Yeah, I loved this perspective from this article from the National Catholic Register about what overcoming temptation really is. Because you're right, this topic can be so somber, we said that at the beginning, often in the negative sense. And it is grave and serious for us as Christians to be mindful of temptation.
00:51:25
Speaker
There is always the split side when it comes to God who is goodness and love, that it doesn't end with the bad news, right? That we can be aided by prayer, that we can be assisted by grace and we
00:51:41
Speaker
do this, we try to overcome temptation because it imitates Christ. And it implores this grace. And further on in the article, I really loved the last paragraph where it calls us to remember this glory that we can offer back to God by asking Him to help us overcome.
00:52:02
Speaker
Through prayers, he was saying, like, Jesus, I trust in you by picturing his passion, by thanking Jesus for loving us so much, basically by responding to temptation, by deepening and seeking all the more that beautiful relationship and friendship with God.
00:52:19
Speaker
And this results in his delight, in God's delight and in our ultimate happiness. And so all of that leads it to the last lines of this article that just reminds us of the call of Romans chapter 12, which says, do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Hosts' Personal Recommendations
00:52:40
Speaker
And I just thought that's the best news there is out there about temptation and that is
00:52:45
Speaker
such a huge benefit when we strive to overcome temptation is that we are in effect giving glory to God by our efforts, that we're imploring His grace, that we're giving Him glory, and that ultimately we are ironically satisfying our deepest needs by resisting the temporal ones.
00:53:07
Speaker
Absolutely. And so this section, we're going to talk about like those satisfying our temporal needs. And it kind of goes a little long term, sometimes like when you think about how we're talking about the somber tone of this, that, okay, we're just white knuckling it our way through resisting a temptation, right? And you might feel okay at the end of it, you've turned down the thing, you might mourn it a little bit, okay, you might ultimately go, I'll feel better in the long run, whatever it was.
00:53:32
Speaker
But there's actually some things, some benefits that go beyond what we might expect that were really surprising to me. And so it's not just white knuckling it, right? And then of course, yeah, there's the eternal glory and that stuff. But there's a bunch of great things that happen in the middle there too. And so I was really pleased to read this. So one of the things, and these ones are from medium.com, from an article called Three Benefits of Resisting Temptation.
00:53:56
Speaker
But the first one is you'll start to appreciate what you currently have. And I think this is so true. Again, there's the spectrum of temptation, right? So like there might be a temptation to buy more things for your house because you're looking at houses on Instagram and you want your house to look better. So you are tempted to buy more and put it on your credit card. You don't have the money for it.
00:54:17
Speaker
maybe it goes all the way to looking outside of your marriage to satisfy lust. Because temptation is always whispering to you that there is something better out there. But we all know that almost every single time this is a lie. And so every time you resist it, you get better at seeing clearly what you already have.
00:54:36
Speaker
And kind of building off that is that in another way it makes you feel kind of better right now is that when you fight against temptation, you learn to reduce discomfort, you learn to sit in it, feel it and move past it. And ultimately you do feel better in the long run. Again, this is kind of like if I take it back to food, you think about fasting, right? And if you are fasting during lunch or if you fast as part of your prayer life regularly, um,
00:55:00
Speaker
delayed gratification of eating and the more you practice that the less discomfort you feel you don't you don't feel hungry all the time anymore you realize you can actually sit in that and it doesn't feel as bad and this is the same as like working out or getting up and going to church when you don't want to or
00:55:17
Speaker
not hitting the snooze button on your alarm clock and so the more you practice this the more you kind of can reduce that discomfort and picture you know things a long one and then the last one from the article from medium.com about the benefits of resisting temptation says that it helps to change your mindset and so this is just like the whole appreciating what you already have you know the more you resist temptation the more you're mastering self-control the more self-aware you become
00:55:45
Speaker
You become more aware of how things are operating around you. And when you've developed in these ways, you can see how your old mindset wasn't working for you. And you can start to perhaps make a bigger overhaul of your life and your ways of thinking in your daily routines. And then maybe you won't succumb the next time the double pops up on your shoulder. This is actually sounding a lot like our be betterer.
00:56:08
Speaker
episode. Continuing on in our theme, yep. Yes, yes, exactly. It's still New Year's to us. It may be the middle of February, but we're still there at be better. You're just constantly trying to to grow. It's a real growth mindset if you think about it that way, right? And that temptation has those two aspects to it. It does have the somber, serious side that we need to be aware of the gravity of, but it also
00:56:38
Speaker
is like this tool that is used to help us grow and to grow in what? And to grow in our virtue, to grow in our self-control, which is only going to benefit us both in our spiritual life and in our temporal life.
00:56:53
Speaker
Yes, and then so we'll finish it up with the spiritual life. So I'm going to go back to that article that I mentioned at the beginning from epicpew.com. And it is actually called 10 Surprisingly Good Effects of Temptations. And it was written by name that sounded familiar. And I and I actually went because I don't usually go back up and read the name, but I'm like, this one sounds so Catholic. And I didn't know if Epic Pew was Catholic or not. And sure enough, it was written by fellow Catholic podcaster and Letters to Woman author Chloe Langer.
00:57:21
Speaker
Oh my gosh. Yes. Okay. Oh, hi Chloe. We love your article. Yes. And you know, she hasn't been on social media for a long time. So I don't even know if she'll hear this, but I just, I didn't, I read that first one and I'm like, whoever wrote this is Catholic.
00:57:36
Speaker
Yeah, sure enough. She is. Yes. So she shares a quote from James chapter one verses two through four and it says, esteem it my brethren, all joy when you fall into diverse temptations, knowing that the trying of your faith worketh patience and patience worketh perfection.
00:57:56
Speaker
Now, this means that it is a joyful thing to overcome temptations because we practice patience as we work towards perfection in Christ. And yeah, it's a joyful thing. And I loved that. And she goes on to talk about how temptations are a great way to to grow in humility. Right.
00:58:13
Speaker
We talked about this a little bit earlier, but we kind of get into the groove. We think we've got everything under control, whether it's our new healthy eating plan or fitness schedule or our daily prayer life. And we're just chugging along, feeling pretty darn proud of ourselves and boom, temptation. And it's a great way to lessen the hole that pride, sneaky pride has over us.
00:58:37
Speaker
I really liked that she had a couple of points on her list where she talks about how temptations allow us to not be able to fool ourselves. Like what we were saying about like that, you know, thinking that we're doing better than
00:58:51
Speaker
We are, but also in the way that it reveals like what our weaknesses are, it reveals the interior of our hearts, it tears away all of our disguises, she says in the list, which I thought was great because we all I think
00:59:07
Speaker
It's like the Garden of Eden again, where they covered themselves because they were ashamed. And I think sometimes even before the sin happens, even our temptations can cause us to be embarrassed or ashamed, and we can try to put on masks.
00:59:23
Speaker
to kid ourselves, to kid other people even about really what's going on inside. And nothing gets fixed that way if we keep putting up these masks. And so one thing the temptations do is it keeps reminding us about the particular things that really do get to us that get under our skin. And so hopefully that inspires us to be honest about what our weaknesses are so that we can address them.
00:59:51
Speaker
Oh, you're so right. It is. It's a very private battle, isn't it? Because if you're not consenting to it, so no one's actually seeing what you're doing and you're just struggling with it internally and it is bringing up these things, right? Yeah, you might have tried to hide from that for a long time, but it keeps coming up. Whatever is tempting you, whatever is a monkey on your back. And if you're, yeah, if you're not obviously giving into it, so people aren't seeing what you're doing, it is this really private battle that you're going through.
01:00:19
Speaker
And it is a battle in all areas, right? It's a battle within ourselves. And her article reminds us that it is a supernatural battle, that there is a battle going on for our souls as well. And it reminds us, her article reminds us that it's a wake up call that we need to totally rely on God and totally rely on Him for His strength when we are tempted.
01:00:42
Speaker
and that when we give it back to God, He always will reveal to us again and again and again what is true and good and beautiful, but that He's just waiting for us to turn to Him. So it is a battle, and I think that we don't need to minimize that. I'd say nine times out of ten,
01:00:59
Speaker
we don't reveal to the people in our lives what we are being tempted with, right? It's sometimes a very dark place in our hearts. But yeah, God is just waiting for us to turn to Him and lean on Him and use His strength to fight this, what we're being tempted to. And one final thing from Chloe's great article is she mentions a quote from 2 Timothy and it says, God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
01:01:28
Speaker
And I think we can rejoice in the fact that we can use this gift from God. It takes this power from God and His love and our own sound minds and our own acts of the will, which is willpower, to overcome temptations big and small. But really, what are 15 miserable minutes fighting against something compared to an eternity spent in glory?
01:02:03
Speaker
Okay, it's time for our What We're Loving This Week segment of the show. So Lindsay, what have you been loving this week? Michelle, I have been waiting since November to share this because it took me four long months to read the 1,274 pages of this epic novel. You know what I'm talking about.
01:02:21
Speaker
But as an aside, I just wanted to say that I think that it is in line with my reading speed. So I've read a bunch of novels that are around the 1200 page mark, you know, during my challenge. And so just FYI, for people who are interested in like diving deep into these longer novels, it does take about four months for me to read 1200 pages at approximately 20 minutes every day. So it is what it is, but it did take me four months. So what did I read? I read Don Quixote, right?
01:02:48
Speaker
Ah, yes. I've been trying to update my family who doesn't care what I'm reading every day. I'm like, I'm almost done, Don Quixote. Anyone? Anyone? No one wants to talk about it? Because I'm so proud of myself because I don't know if you remember, but I attempted it a few years ago when I was at the beginning of the challenge and I just read another epic and I couldn't do it. But I'm part of that classical literature group on Facebook that I think I added you into. I don't know if you've noticed it yet.
01:03:18
Speaker
but I had to sneakily into the group. No, but I have to go find it now. Okay. Because everyone talks about this book and I'm like, okay, I've got to do it. Okay. So it was written in two parts. The first one in 1605 and the second one in 1615. It is old. And it was written by Miguel de Cervantes and he's considered the greatest Spanish author of all time and the father of the modern novel. Don Quixote is the first modern novel.
01:03:45
Speaker
Many people think they know what it's about, a middle-aged man who has read too many stories about the medieval knights and he dons some cobbled together, what's it called, armour, and he sets off in his horse with his squire Sancho and they get into battles with imaginary foes like famous windmill scene
01:04:05
Speaker
which in which he wrote, you know, mistakes, the windmills for giants. And basically that's correct. That is what it's about. Um, but the thing that caught me off guard is it is so laugh out loud, funny. Like I was thinking of telling you at the beginning, if you can go back to November, there's a vomiting scene and it had me howling. Like I'm still laughing if I think about the vomiting scene. Okay. I'm like, this is written in 1605. I was absolutely.
01:04:33
Speaker
caught off guard And then on the surface, you know Don Quixote and Sancho are totally fools and you get frustrated with them because they keep making the same mistakes over and over again But you absolutely fall in love with them And then the second thing I want to address is that in part two, it's very different I feel like Cervantes breaks the fourth wall. He does something really interesting in which the characters learned that a book had been written about them the first part. Yes
01:05:04
Speaker
What? That's fascinating. It's so fascinating. And so people keep coming up and telling them about the book that's been written. And then I guess Cervantes had made a few inconsistencies and errors in the first copy. So the characters kind of are mad at the author for the errors he has made and they try to clear them up.
01:05:22
Speaker
And it's just, I'm like, this is 1615, like the second part. This is so ahead of its time. And then Sancho, his squire, Sancho Panza, he comes into his own in the second half and he only speaks in Proverbs basically, which you will get a kick out of. I will. Does he get them right? No, they're all over the place. They're all over the place. They're all over the place. You're going to love it.
01:05:45
Speaker
So you know how you and I always talk about like, okay, well, when should I read this book? Like we're talking about in a crime. This is the perfect summer read. Right. Settle in, go on the adventure through Spain with Don Quixote and Sancho and get try to get a really good translation of it if you're going to read it. But yeah, it's just a book that's so often referenced in pop culture. And I feel like most people actually haven't read it because the windmill thing happens in the first like
01:06:11
Speaker
very beginning of the book and I feel like people just stop there. So obviously I highly recommend it. Okay, that's fantastic. I am going to say that for my summer read because I did get that vibe for whatever reason that it was more of a summery thing. Maybe it takes place more in summer or it's hot. It's in Spain so it's hot.
01:06:37
Speaker
Well, that's what I'm currently reading, and it's winter, and I saved it for this. But actually, we were talking about it being referenced so much in pop culture, and my only current
01:06:52
Speaker
knowledge of Don Quixote and the story is from the I think it's Canadian children's television show from the 90s Wishbone. Okay, do you recall that TV show? No. Okay, so Wishbone is like a little dog and he loves literature and he always has like real life scenarios with his owners that remind him of a great classic in literature and then he stars in his daydreams of the classics.
01:07:19
Speaker
That's how I know most classics is from Wishbone. And then classical music is Looney Tunes. So that's my cultural formation growing up. But he did Don Quixote. So I like knew the basics and the windmills and everything which you were talking about. But yeah, definitely inspired by your recommendation to go deeper and actually read the thing.
01:07:41
Speaker
this summer, I will do that. And I will reread it when I'm done the challenge, but yes, please do. So somebody will finally speak with me about it because no one has taken, has jumped in and had the conversations. Oh, I have one more piece of trivia. Yes. Did you know that Cervantes was on one of the boats in the Battle of Lepanto? I think I had heard that, but I had forgotten that's huge. Because what he was writing, wasn't he writing during the battle?
01:08:10
Speaker
There's something. I don't know. I always put down the rabbit holes when I'm reading something and I'm Googling. I try not to read too much about the author before I read the book because I don't want to imprint who I think the author is into the text.
Podcast Conclusion and Listener Engagement
01:08:25
Speaker
And then as soon as it's done, like we've talked about this before, then you Google all the things. Then you deep dive it. I know, dangerous to Google anything about books before you're done.
01:08:35
Speaker
And I'm like, this is the one thing where I'm like, where is the Netflix series? Because it's so funny. And there have been a few kind of movie nothing's been done that's been done well. And I'm like, this is just primed and waiting for an absolutely top notch comedy version. Like, yeah, it would be awesome. Mm hmm. Okay, we'll start thinking about directors. We want to tackle that. And so Michelle, what have you been loving this week?
01:09:01
Speaker
Okay, well, I also have been reading or I guess listening to a book, an audiobook. It's a little bit of a different genre, bit of a different tone. This will come as no surprise. I often do this. So what I'm loving is the latest audiobook that Phil and I have been listening to together on our car trips.
01:09:23
Speaker
Cute. And it is called Outdoor Kids in an Inside World, written by Steve Ranella, who is also known as Meat Eater. He has a TV show called Meat Eater. It's an, I think, it's 11th season or something. What? It's a lot of seasons. Oh my God. Is it on, like, real TV, like cable? Or is it on a channel?
01:09:43
Speaker
I've never heard of it. I don't know. I think it's on Netflix, but I don't know if it's on cable. But yeah, he's like big into hunting, but I think he started out as a writer. So it's kind of come full circle for him to be able to be writing. He writes cookbooks about cooking on open fires. He hunts. He writes about those experiences. And in this book, he writes about getting
01:10:06
Speaker
his kids outside to enjoy all the things that he loves so much about being outdoors, right? And so similarly, Phil and I also enjoy getting outside as often as we can. Definitely not at Steve Ranella's level. We enjoy doing the outdoorsy things with our kids. Like we try to go hiking or we go fishing or we go camping, cross country skiing in the winter, sledding, you name it.
01:10:33
Speaker
But as the kids get older, it is true that the lure of screens and technology become ever more attractive. So we just wanted some extra encouragement to keep at it and to maintaining that balance between engaging in nature, learning how to enjoy it, and other hobbies like video games.
01:10:54
Speaker
So this book is set up in chapters that focus on one outdoor activity at a time and through a mixture of storytelling and fact sharing. Renella talks about how each of these outdoor endeavors teaches our kids way more about life than we may realize on the surface and how they go beyond the activity themselves in terms of enjoyment and education. So there's chapters on like camping,
01:11:18
Speaker
hunting, fishing, gardening, to name a few, and we've enjoyed his writing so much on these topics. And Phil and I laugh because every time we finish listening to one of those chapters, we're like, so we're turning our entire backyard into a garden?
01:11:34
Speaker
right? Or we're like, okay, great, I guess we're ice fishers now, because it's winter, but we just listened to the fishing chapter. It's head to Canadian Tire, we got to buy the stuff. Yeah, that's right. They're like, you're listening to that book, aren't you three o'clock Canadian Tire.
01:11:52
Speaker
So yes, so if you are also in the market for some encouragement to get outside or why it's good for us and all of our kids to persevere in appreciation for nature and how some of these bigger outdoor hobbies can really facilitate that, then I really recommend reading or listening to outdoor kids in an inside world.
01:12:18
Speaker
Okay, that's going to do it for us this week. If you want to get in touch and chat with us about our topic today, you can find us on our website, www.themodernlady1950.wordpress.com, or leave us a comment on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube at The Modern Lady Podcast. I'm Michelle Sacks, and you can find me on Instagram at mmsacks. And I'm Lindsay Murray, and you can find me on Instagram at Lindsay Homemaker.
01:12:46
Speaker
Thank you so much for listening. Have a great week and we will see you next time.