Living lightly…
”Angels have the ability to fly because they take themselves lightly.”-Unknown
Good morning! As we move through our days, we are often consumed by some issue or crisis and it becomes a weight on our shoulders. What might be a “little thing” becomes a “big thing” because we make it so. Our ability to let go is weak, while our ability to blame ourselves (or someone else) is strong.
A couple of years ago, I was going through a difficult situation with some very negative people. I couldn’t understand why they were doing some of the things they were doing. I found myself “wound tight” about their behavior and analyzing it with others in search of an explanation. I quickly realized that discussing or analyzing their behavior was a drain on my energy and the person I was talking with. The situation was beyond our control, and instead of “letting go” we were “holding on” by feeding it with our time and energy.
Shortly after that, I realized I had two choices: (1) Continue discussing it with others, draining my energy (and theirs!) and losing ground in moving forward with what matters; or (2) Make a conscious decision to “let go” and focus on something positive where I could make a difference.
I chose to let go. It wasn’t easy. Sometimes I found my mind drifting back to the negative situation, or staying awake at night worrying about it. Continually, over an over, I had to remind myself - “LET GO!” The more I reminded myself to let go, the more able I was to do so. I found that the more I let go of the negative, the more space I created for living the positive.
Your Turn:
As you go throughout your day, treat your energy and thoughts like gold. Before you invest time and energy into a situation, ask yourself, “Does this truly matter?” If the answer is no, make the conscious choice to “let go” and focus on something positive in its place.
Today’s Affirmation:
I turn away from the negative and put positive in its place.
November 25th, 2008 at 10:52 am
I think the question for me is - Does this really matter in my life? While problems in my sisters’ or brother’s life are important to them, I have no control over their decisions or actions. What I can do is pray that they make the right decision for their circumstance and let God handle it. I am guilty of worrying about a problem I cannot have any impact on but am working on “letting go”, also. Thanks for the reminder that I cannot be the problem solver for everyone - only for me and hope that my positive attitude will influence others.
Maggie
November 25th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Wow - have you been a fly on my wall? It seems so easy to overlook the fact that there is a choice that we can consciously make about the positive and negative influences in our lives. The negative will likely always exist in one form or another (or else how could we differentiate the positive?). However, it is my choice as to whether I want to hang on to it or not. Thank you for the timely reminder!
November 27th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
Brook:
How many things we have in common. I guess I’m always trying to help people. I seems inconceivable when they are ungreatful, but i am always willing to try again. I can remember 3 such people in my life, even after I became a widow with young children. Somehow, they used me a second and third time. Funny i can take my own situation, weight the pros and cons in a situation; make a decision and move on. Sometimes I have (not proud of this) I said rude things to those that hurt me to show them how badly they took advantage of me. I will also say that I will help the next person that needs it, but I am trying to cut my losses quicker now a days.
I think that telling people straight out that a situation is not pleasing to you, will give you an easy out. I also keep planting the seeds of kindness, and remember that grace is giving without looking for a reward or payment.
Patsy