Bad Attitude
Alright time to check your attitude at the door or you can't come in. You have heard the old saying "a bad attitude is like a flat tire, you can't go anywhere until you change it". If you find yourself stuck with a bad outlook on the day you better go back to home plate and start over because this moment is a terrible thing to waste.
The only person that has control over your attitude is you. It may seem like everyone and their brother is out to get you or pour cold water on your parade but in the end you have the final say. In life we face giver's and taker's. Each person reading this will most likely label themselves as a giver, it is just human nature to think of yourself as such. Is that really the case though.
What do giver's give that make them giver's? Their heart and soul, it is as simple as that. It isn't your treasure that people seek even though at times our envious nature may seem otherwise. It is a warm gentle smile and attentive caring ear that makes that special person someone you migrate towards. The person that whines and gossips is not the person you seek out to bring sunshine to a cloudy day, right. If you go by this simple definition can you honestly describe yourself as a giver? Most of the time life is so busy with schedules packed full of useless junk that we cannot fit giving in and if we do it is at the bottom of the list and done more out of frustration than love.
What about the taker's in life, who are they and am I one of them. To some extent we all fit into the taker category at various stages of life. When you ignore someone, or try to listen to them while texting, or worse answer the cell phone while they are in the midst of a conversation, that would label you as a taker. Why? Because you told that person that they are not important enough to have your attention even for a short amount of time. That takes away a person's warmth and leaves them with emotions that have grown cold due to our actions. It get's worse, trust me, what about when you have this burning desire to share the miss fortune of others which in turn takes away someone else's dignity. Let me say this about a taker and I hope you pay close attention, when you find yourself complaining about more than one person in a short amount of time it is safe to say that your attitude has created the problem. Your complaints are not silent either which means you are probably stealing sunshine and a smile from someone else and yes that would make you a taker.
The climax of this reflection is the this, the person we take from the most is ourselves. Other people can walk in and out of our lives at will but we are stuck with the skin and heart God gave us. It is our responsibility to give life to ourselves and not take it. Jesus says so clearly in the Gospel "love your neighbor as you love yourself". If you spend all of your time taking away and pushing people away you will never be able to build within you the love that God desires. In the end the person you will steal the most from is you. Do not spend your precious time robbing yourself of the riches this life has to offer. Certainly you will face seemingly insurmountable obstacles at times but when faced with a loving attitude they will seem much smaller than when you face them with a sour attitude. I love the hippie phrase "give peace a chance", I want to close by saying this, "Give love a chance". The total and unconditional love of self. When you do you will become a giver and that is when life becomes worth living.
peace to you
Dale
The only person that has control over your attitude is you. It may seem like everyone and their brother is out to get you or pour cold water on your parade but in the end you have the final say. In life we face giver's and taker's. Each person reading this will most likely label themselves as a giver, it is just human nature to think of yourself as such. Is that really the case though.
What do giver's give that make them giver's? Their heart and soul, it is as simple as that. It isn't your treasure that people seek even though at times our envious nature may seem otherwise. It is a warm gentle smile and attentive caring ear that makes that special person someone you migrate towards. The person that whines and gossips is not the person you seek out to bring sunshine to a cloudy day, right. If you go by this simple definition can you honestly describe yourself as a giver? Most of the time life is so busy with schedules packed full of useless junk that we cannot fit giving in and if we do it is at the bottom of the list and done more out of frustration than love.
What about the taker's in life, who are they and am I one of them. To some extent we all fit into the taker category at various stages of life. When you ignore someone, or try to listen to them while texting, or worse answer the cell phone while they are in the midst of a conversation, that would label you as a taker. Why? Because you told that person that they are not important enough to have your attention even for a short amount of time. That takes away a person's warmth and leaves them with emotions that have grown cold due to our actions. It get's worse, trust me, what about when you have this burning desire to share the miss fortune of others which in turn takes away someone else's dignity. Let me say this about a taker and I hope you pay close attention, when you find yourself complaining about more than one person in a short amount of time it is safe to say that your attitude has created the problem. Your complaints are not silent either which means you are probably stealing sunshine and a smile from someone else and yes that would make you a taker.
The climax of this reflection is the this, the person we take from the most is ourselves. Other people can walk in and out of our lives at will but we are stuck with the skin and heart God gave us. It is our responsibility to give life to ourselves and not take it. Jesus says so clearly in the Gospel "love your neighbor as you love yourself". If you spend all of your time taking away and pushing people away you will never be able to build within you the love that God desires. In the end the person you will steal the most from is you. Do not spend your precious time robbing yourself of the riches this life has to offer. Certainly you will face seemingly insurmountable obstacles at times but when faced with a loving attitude they will seem much smaller than when you face them with a sour attitude. I love the hippie phrase "give peace a chance", I want to close by saying this, "Give love a chance". The total and unconditional love of self. When you do you will become a giver and that is when life becomes worth living.
peace to you
Dale
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