Be Still
“Watch out for the joy-stealers: gossip, criticism, complaining, faultfinding, and a negative, judgmental attitude.” – Joyce Meyer
It seems innocent enough. A little complaining, talking about someone else, thinking everyone has it better than us – they’re “lucky.” Feeling justified, we think that letting it out again and again somehow will make it better. And it doesn’t, it makes it worse. What we focus on is what we become, who we are. These seemingly little things chip away at our capacity for joy. These joy-stealers are contagious if we don’t keep our guard up. Complaining is one of my triggers. I’ve been hearing a lot of it lately and instead of letting others chirp and let it go, I complain about their complaining. I fall into these traps when I’m tired, working too many hours and when I don’t get to run outside due to the “polar vortex” winter with 20 below temps.
We need to be still and look for the good in others without question or delay. Naïve? Maybe, but what and who will we miss by jumping to conclusions, judgments and criticism? Are we willing to risk joy and delight in exchange for “being right” in our own mind, whether we are or not. And we not only need to remove the joy-stealers, we need to replace them with gratitude, appreciation and awe for the many blessings to be found when we take off our blinders and filters. The light shines in replacing the dark. Be still and cast light.
“So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.” – T. S. Eliot
So very true and we’ll stated. Sometimes the only way we find that good is by turning the other cheek no mater how hard it can be.
Absolutely. Thanks for commenting.
Very well said. I love Joyce Meyer. She is very straight forward and makes a lot of sense, just like you. It is very easy to get caught in the trap of complaining. I find if I say to myself there is nothing you can do about this and complaining does not help, I notice I become okay with it and am able to find joy in a learning experience. Also it doesn’t get to live in my head rent free! Thanks for sharing this, it’s a great reminder to stay present.
Thanks for your insight. We have a lot in our heads living rent free that we need to kick out. Have a joy-filled day.
I have had many focused weeks on removing this particular malignant growth that seems to stir inside us all at some point in time. It is simply amazing how profound an effect it has on everything when you consciously make the decision to choose a response congruent with the attitude you want to cultivate. A wonderful reminder to help begin the week, thank you!
Thanks again for your thoughtful comments. When we are in alignment the little stuff remains little.
Kathie