How do you start your day? Do you have a morning routine during which you set aside time just to set the tone or direction of the day for yourself? I will share with you that every morning I wake up and do some reading from the Bible and say some prayers. It is a routine called the “Liturgy of the Hours” and it has been around as a daily practice for a very long time. Practically every morning I am presented with something new that will make the rest of the day different from all others, because I am walking around with an insight or glimpse of greatness that I never had before.

Let’s Talk About Your Mind

Today the Liturgy of the Hours included a reading from Paul’s Letter to the Romans (12:2):

Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may judge what is God’s will, what is good, pleasing and perfect.

I got pretty excited about this one-sentence instruction from Paul. I have always been something of a nonconformist, and that’s not always an easy road for anyone. But there it is! Paul explicitly instructing listeners to get with not conforming to the norms, attitudes, and understandings of our times.

What’s the problem with conformity?

When it comes to seeing how conformity could be a problem for Paul, one guess would be that the norms, attitudes, and understandings of the new religion he was promoting were in conflict with some important prevailing norms of society at the time. Indeed, Paul invests a lot of time in his letters to telling people what their day-to-day moral conduct should be.

That said, another possibility is that Paul saw the social norms of his time as posing mental obstacles to the state of mind that he was trying to lead people to experience. When we see that the rest of the sentence is about the mind and psychology, we should feel more certain that Paul was talking about the distractions, diversions, and destructions of our mind that prevailing social norms, attitudes, and understandings will deposit in our heads as much as we open the mental door to them in. In Paul’s time, people did not live their day-to-day lives in an environment of constant messaging like we do today. If Paul had that to say about his own times, one can only imagine what he would say about our current times.

So, what is the point of nonconformity?

Paul instructs that the point of nonconformity is mental renewal and personal transformation. We can read the implication that conformity to the social norms, attitudes, and understandings burden and wear down our own minds. I would say that people talk it about it all the time, calling it a feeling of being stuck in unfulfilling jobs, routines, and situations that consume our mental energy without giving back a sense of meaning, purpose, or fulfillment to ourselves. `It’s so common that maybe we should even see that feeling of unfulfillment itself as a social norm, attitude, and understanding of our time! The good news is that Paul says that we can and should free and renew our minds in the ways that will essentially transform us.

How can we renew our minds and transform ourselves? Forgiveness!

Luckily, Paul does not leave us hanging without telling us how we can renew our minds and transform ourselves. In the text that follows the sentence we have looked at, Paul basically says that the way to renew our minds and transform ourselves is through forgiveness for each other. Here are a few of the things he says (Romans 12:9-21):

• “Love one another with brotherly affection.”
• “Bless t hose who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.”
• “Live in harmony with one another.”
• “Repay no one evil for evil…”
• “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”
• “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it…”
• “If your enemy is hungry, feed him…”
• “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Do you see any nonconformist norms, attitudes, or understandings in any of that advice?

Do you think living day-to-day life in these ways would give you a new mindset and change you from a person you used to be to a new person?

How can I get started?

One way to get started on renewing your mind and transforming yourself is to learn about forgiveness and work on doing more forgiveness in your life. Scientific research has validated that forgiveness is associated with reduced depression and anxiety, and greater feelings of happiness and personal sense of meaning and purpose. It is a very good and healthy new direction to take in one’s life.

This website includes self-directed workbooks that can help you learn more about forgiveness and have a guided experience of forgiveness for yourself. These self-directed workbooks are available in the Resources section of this website, through the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University.

If you are a member of a small group or community (or can make one happen), another possibility is to arrange a Live and Forgive presentation, group retreat, or small group series with a facilitator trained and certified by the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University — that’s me! Send me an email or message and we can find some time to visit together! It will be its own good experience!

For Today

For today, try to be aware of the times when going with the flow of our society’s norms, attitudes, and understandings is actually wearing you down without giving you a sense of meaning and fulfillment. What are some example moments in your day when you felt that, and what was involved? Ask yourself if you are ready to work on getting free of the trapped thinking, negativity, and letting someone or something else tell you who you are or who you should be just so that they can sell you a product or an idea. If you feel ready for change, just realize that deeply and for real today.

Please share these words with someone who needs them today.

Tom Delaney, O.F.S.

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This article is an original work of the author and was not composed by or with artificial intelligence (AI). The author is solely responsible for the contents of this article and the opinions and perspectives expressed in the article are solely those of the author. © 2026 Thomas Delaney. All rights reserved.

photo: Thomas Delaney O.F.S., 2026 “Even in the toughest and hardest spots, a beautiful flower will always find a way to bloom.”