"Thinking a lot is not the same as praying a lot." ~a. seu

thought one: wiki!

Sic is a Latin word meaning "thus", "so", "as such", or "just as that". In writing, it is placed within square brackets and usually italicized – [sic] – to indicate that an incorrect or unusual spelling, phrase, punctuation, and/or other preceding quoted material has been reproduced verbatim from the quoted original and is not a transcription error.[1]

It is also sometimes used for comic effect:
The Daily Mail was the first newspaper [sic] …

In the Italo-Western Romance languages it was the basis for their word for "yes": sí (Spanish), sim (Portuguese), sì (Italian), si (French for "yes, on the contrary"). Medieval Latin sometimes used sic as "yes", reflecting the Romance usage. In Romanian language, belonging to the Eastern Branch of Latin sic became synonymous with "and" (in Romanian si).

huh... just like the french to use "si" to mean, "yes, on the contrary"

thought two: on our dire need for perspective and pessimism

it's dangerous to ever think we have it bad, let alone worst.
it can always get worse.
just use your imagination a little.

if we are to encounter reality and ever attempt to understand it, we really ought to do it sensibly. i propose thus: cheerfully expect the worst in every situation. procure a right gloomy sense of humor. plan like a realist, with the glimmerings of hope necessary for planning at all, but talk like a pessimist, albeit with wit and a disorienting smile. don't expect much from anyone other than God, and life will become one pleasant surprise after another. in the space between surprises, you can smugly think, "just as i suspected..."

also, broaden your horizons. experience more disasters. rent documentaries if you must. the key is always to be able to shrug, in the face of real life, "i've seen worse."

lest we find ourselves complaining, horrified, "but, but, but... we deserve better than this!" it's hot?! i'm tired?! my boss asks too much?! gas is how much?! ($1.99 here, aleluja. but me thinks the whining was not directly responsible for the falling of prices. post hoc!) he won't do his job?! politicians lie?! there's too much traffic?! somebody just flicked me off?! it's been a long week?! Obama won?! she ignored me?! i have a headache? he was unkind?! nobody asked me?! nobody listens to me?! i married a jerk?! that kid gets on my nerves?! that student is so slow?! nobody appreciates me?!

or, "hmmmm. oh, well; could be worse! at least... [insert a good thing about the universe.]"

thought three: thinking on a cardinal, how it is red not to attract a mate, as popular opinion asserts, but to attract the attention of predators away from his camoflauged mate as she warms their nest. (a fact i believe i learned from dear, dear frederica)

even as the Holy Spirit made and makes order from chaos, a teacher is to bring meaning out of information. the universe is much huge-er than you, it is true, but do not be afraid... because, you see, it means something. a teacher makes data comprehensible but never wastes the wonder. or she shouldn't.