<div dir="ltr"><div>From Pope Francis: 10 tips for peace and happiness
Pope offers advice in his latest magazine interview
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the pope listed his Top 10 tips for bringing greater joy to one's
life:
<br><br>1. "Live and let live." Everyone should be guided by this principle, he
said, which has a similar expression in Rome with the saying, "Move
forward and let others do the same."
<br><br>2. "Be giving of yourself to others." People need to be open and
generous toward others, he said, because "if you withdraw into yourself,
you run the risk of becoming egocentric. And stagnant water becomes
putrid."
<br><br>3. "Proceed calmly" in life. The pope, who used to teach high school
literature, used an image from an Argentine novel by Ricardo Guiraldes,
in which the protagonist -- gaucho Don Segundo Sombra -- looks back on
how he lived his life.
"He says that in his youth he was a stream full of rocks that he carried
with him; as an adult, a rushing river; and in old age, he was still
moving, but slowly, like a pool" of water, the pope said. He said he
likes this latter image of a pool of water -- to have "the ability to
move with kindness and humility, a calmness in life."
<br><br>4. "A healthy sense of leisure." The pleasures of art, literature and
playing together with children have been lost, he said.
"Consumerism has brought us anxiety" and stress, causing people to lose a
"healthy culture of leisure." Their time is "swallowed up" so people
can't share it with anyone.
Even though many parents work long hours, they must set aside time to
play with their children; work schedules make it "complicated, but you
must do it," he said.
Families must also turn off the TV when they sit down to eat because,
even though television is useful for keeping up with the news, having it
on during mealtime "doesn't let you communicate" with each other, the
pope said.
<br><br>5. Sundays should be holidays. Workers should have Sundays off because
"Sunday is for family," he said.
<br><br>6. Find innovative ways to create dignified jobs for young people. "We
need to be creative with young people. If they have no opportunities
they will get into drugs" and be more vulnerable to suicide, he said.
"It's not enough to give them food," he said. "Dignity is given to you
when you can bring food home" from one's own labor.
<br><br>7. Respect and take care of nature. Environmental degradation "is one of
the biggest challenges we have," he said. "I think a question that
we're not asking ourselves is: 'Isn't humanity committing suicide with
this indiscriminate and tyrannical use of nature?'"
<br><br>8. Stop being negative. "Needing to talk badly about others indicates
low self-esteem. That means, 'I feel so low that instead of picking
myself up I have to cut others down,'" the pope said. "Letting go of
negative things quickly is healthy."
<br><br>9. Don't proselytize; respect others' beliefs. "We can inspire others
through witness so that one grows together in communicating. But the
worst thing of all is religious proselytism, which paralyzes: 'I am
talking with you in order to persuade you,' No. Each person dialogues,
starting with his and her own identity. The church grows by attraction,
not proselytizing," the pope said.
<br><br>10. Work for peace. "We are living in a time of many wars," he said, and
"the call for peace must be shouted. Peace sometimes gives the
impression of being quiet, but it is never quiet, peace is always
proactive" and dynamic.
<br><br>Full Story: In latest interview, Pope Francis reveals top 10 secrets to
happiness
Source: Catholic News Service<br><br>Read more at: <a href="http://www.ucanews.com/news/from-pope-francis-10-tips-for-peace-and-happiness/71539">http://www.ucanews.com/news/from-pope-francis-10-tips-for-peace-and-happiness/71539</a><br>
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