What does it mean to be true to yourself? Dr. Sri unpacks Adele’s new hit song, Easy On Me, and explains how this popular song expresses an inverted definition of personal happiness. Although we are all tempted to find happiness within our own feelings, Dr. Sri reminds us that true happiness is found when we live for God and for others.

Snippet from the Show

“We find our identity and purpose not in an inward quest of our own feelings, but rather, in an outward quest that leads us to love God and those he has placed right in front of us.”

Shownotes

Go Easy On Me? Reflecting on Adele’s Quest for Happiness:

“I just felt like I wanted to explain to him, through this record, when he’s in his 20s or 30s, who I am and why I voluntarily chose to dismantle his entire life in the pursuit of my own happiness.”- Adele ( British Vogue)

• The therapeutic gospel message about being true to one-self and following our own feelings is a popular theme in today’s secular music, movies, and overarching culture.
• The emphasis on the inward quest into our own feelings can often lead us to neglect our responsibilities to people around us.
• The deepest desires that God places on our hearts are the desires that lead us to others.
• God calls us to an outward quest, to find our identity and purpose in our family, neighborhood, our community.
• We find true happiness when we live our lives for God and for others. Fulfilling our committments to those around us shapes us into better and truly happier individuals, friends, spouses, and parents.
• While it’s important to listen to the desires of our hearts, we also have to learn to discern whether our desires are truly good and inline with God’s plan for our lives. Catholic anthropology teaches us that our feelings and desires are not always stable and ordered. We all have a clouded intellect, a weakened will, and disordered passions.
• We have to remember that other people depend on us so the choices we make truly matter.
• When we lay down our lives for others and follow through with our commitments to others, we are fully alive.

Practical Takeaways

• Learn to take responsibilities for your actions. Don’t make excuses.
• Be aware of your brokenness.
• Remember that we find out identity not in the inward quest of our own feelings,but in the outward quest of serving God and others.
• We find true authentic happiness in our relationship with God and our relationship with others.
  
  

Resources

• Visit Dr. Sri’s website at www.edwardsri.com and to book online events with Dr. Sri email events.edwardsri@gmail.com
• The Art of Living: The Cardinal Virtues and the Freedom to Love
• Find more of Dr. Sri’s episodes at www.ascensionpress.com/allthingscatholic 
• Ascension is pleased to offer our new and improved online bible study programs and sacramental preparation programs digitally to help you minister with flexibility. Go to www.ascensionpress.com to view all our offerings
  
  

Dr. Edward Sri is a theologian, well-known Catholic speaker, and author of several best-selling books. His work with Ascension includes study programs such as A Biblical Walk Through the Mass, No Greater Love: A Biblical Walk Through Christ’s Passion and Mary: A Biblical Walk with the Blessed Mother. Several of Dr. Sri’s programs were filmed on-site in the Holy Land, and feature immersive video explorations of the sacred sites where Jesus, Mary, and the Apostles lived and died.

Dr. Sri is the host of the acclaimed Ascension podcast All Things Catholic with Dr. Edward Sri.  Together with Curtis Martin, Dr. Sri is a founding leader of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), of which he serves as senior vice president of Apostolic Outreach.

Dr. Sri lives with his wife Beth and their children in Colorado.