I have published this slide before, but I thought that some of the points needed an emphasis these days.
Let us consider “More Laughter; Less Anger.”
Some people may say, “But times are bad, we need to express anger at ( fill in your favorite hate here ).” You can’t talk facts to emotion, but we are actually in general much better off than previous generations. Even “poor” people can go to Wal-Mart and buy cheap stuff–but still stuff that the middle class or wealthy have. We live in much larger houses. Most of us have plenty of cars. Many of us have storage sheds either in our back yards or that we rent to hold our stuff.
We can choose to find humor and laugh more.
Let us also consider “More Giving; Less Wanting.”
We want so much stuff. We want higher paying jobs–without putting forth the effort to learn new skills or deepen our knowledge. People who mindfully set aside money to give to specific charities find they can live on the rest adequately. They find that they actually have plenty.
Or as a Buddhist proverb says, “Enough is a feast.”
“More chewing; Less swallowing.” Let’s slow down. Enjoy what we have. We’ll eat less–something most of us need to practice.
We choose these lifestyles. We choose the path of unhealthy negativity. We can also choose the path of health, enjoyment, generosity.
These are all disciplines. We choose to be a better person that people want to be around.
Especially these days, let’s try the More Laughing; Less Anger route. You can choose to let the President-Elect get your emotions riled up one way or the other. Or, you can choose to walk with God secure in the knowledge that we know who wins in the end. And it’s not politics.
Gary Mintchell
Faith Venture 