Thursday; March 10

What are we talking about these days? A few weeks ago, if you told me that COVID would almost disappear from our daily conversation I would have been beaming, but now things like violence, inflation and the Russian/Ukrainian conflict dominate our discussions. It’s almost like we can never get ahead – or could it be that we just like to stay stirred up? We will never be calm because calmness doesn’t sell newspapers or gain followers on social media. We complain about being emotionally drained, but are we doing it to ourselves?

The other day I came across an interesting proverb, “Anxiety wears down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.” (Proverbs 12:25). We say we want to feel better, but is that being evidenced by what we discuss? What would happen if, rather than constantly focusing on what’s going on the world around us, we complimented the people closest to us? How would things change if we told our children how much we loved them or thanked the clerk at the local grocery store for going above and beyond to help us out? What if we sat down and visited with our spouse about how good things have been throughout the years rather than express how worried we are about the next decade? How much more peaceful could we be if we told the server at the restaurant how much we admired her willingness to work rather than fuss about how the prices have been raised while the portions have shrunk?
We may not be able to change the world, but we can adjust our attitude. Are we willing to do it?

Think About It!

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