{"id":1488,"date":"2021-07-22T11:31:33","date_gmt":"2021-07-22T15:31:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redchairblogs.wpengine.com\/holymoly\/?p=1488"},"modified":"2021-07-22T11:31:33","modified_gmt":"2021-07-22T15:31:33","slug":"contemplate-the-possibilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/2021\/07\/22\/contemplate-the-possibilities\/","title":{"rendered":"Contemplate the Possibilities"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">There\u2019s a buzz on campus again as everyone is gearing up for the start of the semester. There are also a lot more visible smiles around here too, thanks to the vaccines. People are planning and getting ready for the return of a couple of thousand students. Stressful, sure, but incredibly exciting. We all are planning, preparing, dreaming, and anticipating the semester ahead.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I have been thinking about the word \u2018anticipating\u2019 this week. One of its definitions is \u201ccontemplating the possibilities.\u201d I really like that definition and I want to make sure I contemplate the possibilities as I prepare for the fall semester.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The thing is, for me, worrying about the possibilities is a more natural occurrence than contemplating them. Perhaps it is for you, too. There has been plenty for us to worry about during this pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Anticipation, though, brings with it dreams and hopes while worry brings with it fears and trepidation. Anticipation allows for awareness and curiosity while worry brings constriction and mindlessness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">When we worry, we live in a fearful future that has not yet happened, allowing us to easily dwell on troubles that do not yet exist and catastrophize the possibilities. But, when we anticipate and contemplate, we can dream about the hopeful possibilities of the semester.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">So my hope for each of us as we prepare for a semester in person is that we anticipate and dream what could be rather than worry about what might not even happen. Sure, that\u2019s probably easier said than done. However, I do know that dreaming and hoping is better for our hearts and souls than worrying. So may you have a moment today where you choose to contemplate the possibilities and may that bring you peace and hope.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s a buzz on campus again as everyone is gearing up for the start of the semester. There are also a lot more visible smiles around here too, thanks to the vaccines. People are planning and getting ready for the &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/2021\/07\/22\/contemplate-the-possibilities\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Contemplate the Possibilities<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nathan"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1QIf6-o0","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1488\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}