Friday; August 25

Unfortunately, I live vicariously through my sports teams. If my favorite baseball team is doing well, “we” are on a hot streak and life is good. If my beloved college football team is in a slump, “we” are having a down year and I am a bit gloomier than normal. Now the interesting thing about this observation is the presence of the word “we”. I have absolutely nothing to do with their ability on the ball field, but somehow I connect my contentment to their success or failure. It just doesn’t make sense! It’s okay to be an interested bystander as long as I realize that’s all I am!

Now, the reason I share this is because the same thing can be said about our relationship with much of what goes on in our community – and even in our nation. There are times when things are going well and we can enjoy life, but there are also times when things are going poorly and they adversely affect our emotions. When we see people all around the country doing bad things, it can tend to make us feel bad even though we have nothing to do with what they are doing. We could be living good moral lives and doing what we are supposed to be doing, but when people we don’t even know make bad decisions, it can get us down. Rather than allowing the bad choices of random strangers ruin our mood, why not stay focused on what we can do, do it well and find contentment in doing the best we can. It can be natural to feel sad for people when they experience hardships, but let’s not take it more personally than we should.

Is it time to give up living vicariously through our sports teams? Maybe a more important question, is it time to give up accepting the emotional responsibility of the evil choices of people we don’t even know?

Think About It!

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