MAY 18, 2010 - OPTIMISTIC

Today I have been pondering the importance of an optimistic attitude and how important it is to have it in our lives!! Everything in life depends on perspective and attitude. I CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY OR SAD, MAD OR GLAD! That used to be so hard for me to comprehend. How can I choose when the world and certain people are CAUSING me to react in a negative way. After much pondering (and arguing within myself), I realized that I am giving away my free agency or choice of reaction and consequence, if I choose to allow the other person to influence me against my will or to cause me to react in a certain way (which is exactly what is really happening when I decide to become angry, upset, unforgiving, hurt, or frustrated by the actions of another.) Hmmmmmm! This means, with the Lord's help, there is a possibility of another choice or reaction available to me for the asking...... therefore I can no longer have an excuse to blame the other person for my behavior and thoughts! Also, if I choose to blame and not forgive, I am saying that the Lord did not atone for the behavior of another and I am judging that they don't deserve to be allowed to be resonsible for their own actions and thoughts, or me for my own!! Interesting....... In my life there have been so many times I so easily fell for Satan's cunning words that "the other person made me feel that way! It is all their fault I feel like this! or I deserve to feel hurt (depressed, offended, walked on, sad--because......")" Don't get me wrong, feelings are very important and need to be acknowledged, just not in the blaming way. "I feel (naming the feeling that you are feeling), about (naming the problem which has confronted you by another), because (that reaction or result you are feeling because of the other persons action!) You must own your own "feeling". It is your feeling to own and to keep, but can be expressed in the way I just described, to the person who made the comment or action. In many cases one can just forget and drop the reaction by asking questions (why did he say that or do that? What is he going through right now that may have caused those actions or words to come out, And to remember it is not about ME(don't take it as a "truth" about you), (it is really about him and his choice of word or action himself). But with those situations in which you struggle to forgive, it is important to ask Heavanly Father's help to forgive that person and express how YOU are "feeling" to the offensive person.(the I FEEL, ABOUT, bECAUSE) TO EXPRESS TO THE OTHER PERSON WHAT YOU ARE FEELING INSIDE AT THAT MOMENT. JUST REMEMBER THAT OFTEN THE "OFFENDER" WILL DENY, BLAME YOU, OR TRY TO DENY YOUR RIGHT TO YOUR FEELINGS. THAT IS WHEN YOU MUST REALIZE AGAIN THAT IT IS ABOUT THEM, NOT YOU! You have done and been in the right to have your feelings, and having released those feelings in a positive and Christlide way, you are now able to feel loving and forgiving feelings for the negative person, no matter what their reaction was to you when you expressed yourself to them. They are a like a "LAMP POST" (unable to feel at that time). Allow them time and space and sometimes they will later come around to realizing their influence on your feelings. (Again you are responsible for how you react!) This all sounds so confusing, but I hope I will be able to go back to this often to realize MY BEHAVIOR and CHOICES are mine in life, irregardless of what others say and do! When I stand at JUDGEMENT DAY, it will only be about me, my reactions and behavior in life irregardless of what others say or do to me. Feelings are allowed, but I am responsible for them and what and how I deal with them......