There's no good way to say Pusey

I've been doing a study on Melissa Kruger's book The Envy of Eve (I've mentioned it before), and I recently came across some words by E.B. Pusey (1800-1882). Yes, there is no good way to say his last name. I've racked my brain for all sorts of different pronunciations, but my hope is that it was pronounced with a French accent for his sake.

No matter how you say his last name, he had this challenging list of rules for growing contentment. You've got to get beyond the thou's and the thyself's, but the list is incredible and tells a lot about the state of my discontent heart. Here is the list with my own commentary added:

1. Allow thyself to complain of nothing, not even the weather.

Let me just say that I can complain about any weather situation. It's either too hot or too cold. The wind is just too much, the humidity, the drought, the excessive rain, etc. And the weather is just the tip of the iceberg.

2. Never picture thyself to thyself under any circumstances in which thou are not.

At first I didn't get this one, but it's a knife in the chest. It's so easy to over-exaggerate about my circumstances and wallow in my own self-pity or despair. I don't even have to have other people tell me how sorry they are for me. If I convince myself a situation is worse than it really is, then I've lost more than half of the battle right there.

3. Never compare thine own lot with that of another.

Well, this one about says it all. Do not compare yourself to others. Yes, we've all heard this since we were children, but it's just as true for adults. Actually, adults probably compare themselves with each other more than children. Only teenage girls rival adults in comparison, and I can say that because I was a teenage girl and I still have my memory.

4. Never allow thyself to dwell on the wish that this or that had been, or were, otherwise than it was, or is. God Almighty loves thee better and more wisely than though doest thyself.

While this language is particularly confusing, I think it brings me back to what my friend, Jenna, brought up in our recent discussion. She reminded me of this amazing series I read as a teenager (not the most quality literature but good for teen girls) called the Christy Miller Series. In that series, Christy talks about living in the land of "if only." This is detrimental to our current happiness in that we fantasize about all the things that could have happened, or should have happened, or we wish had happened instead of focusing on reality and what actually did happen. I find myself there a lot these days. 

5. Never dwell on the morrow. Remember that it is God's, not thine. The heaviest part of sorrow often is to look forward to it. The Lord will provide.

I don't know about you, but I never, and I mean rarely ever, never, not many times ever, look forward to sorrow. I don't celebrate because my heart is torn in two. I basically do the opposite of 1-4 in situations where I am out of control and don't have things going my way. 

I'd say these 5 guidelines get successively harder. But I'm tired of discontentment (here I am complaining about discontentment, breaking number 1). I'm ready to move forward and enjoy what I have been given like being chilled to the bone (we live in NC, so it's not that cold), and I'm ready to spread joy and happiness in my conversations with others.

I'm going to make these muffins for E this weekend.

New favorite blazer in Rust!