A woman celebrating her 104th birthday was being interviewed by a reporter. “What’s the best thing about being 104?” the reporter asked. “For one thing there’s very little peer pressure!” the woman replied. ~From The Capuchin

We’re all aware of peer pressure. It’s a force that can be subtle to very powerful. With young people there is pressure to be ‘cool’ but it’s not just confined to young people. We all are under its influence. Subtle advertising and glossy magazines put us under pressure to buy stuff we don’t want. This is at its strongest coming up to Christmas. On a spiritual level we can safely say that peer pressure is a much lesser force than it was in the past. For many years there was a pressure and an expectation to go with the flow when it came to all things spiritual. If you didn’t go with this expectation you were made feel guilty. Today there is great freedom in choosing a spirituality that works for us. We can also choose from a wealth of tradition that has been handed on to us. The menu is wide and most importantly there is no peer pressure. We are lucky and privileged to know that God’s menu is inclusive, free and abundantly generous with all sorts of blessings.