“The water heater needs resetting – this shower just isn’t warm enough! I’m freezing.” Where is the focus here? Not on my safe shelter, or clean running water, or abundant power to heat my home, but on what is less-than-perfect. This attitude of looking for what is wrong is a nasty habit and one that is hard to break. When we start looking, we find ourselves seeking problems everywhere! My favorite sweater has a small stain. My coffee cup has the wrong words. My trusty car has a dent. That banana has a bruise. How silly we are to see the imperfections and overlook the blessings. It can even happen with physical attributes: My hair is too straight (or curly) instead of, “How glad I am to have hair.” My nose is too big, my ears stick out. More seriously, I used to be able to see clearly, but now my vison is failing. I used to be able to hike 20 miles a day but today I can’t. Can we embrace our selves, our bodies as the gift they are?
God, our generous giver, floods us with blessings. Like ungrateful children, we complain that the gift we have received is imperfect. Our loving God continues to give, even in the face of our ingratitude. If we focus on what is less than perfect in our eyes, we grump through life, looking for the one thing that isn’t right. We can discover problems everywhere, and when we look for them, we will find them. If, however, we look for the much more abundant blessings, we will find them all around us. The fruit of this change in our focus is joy We begin to be happier, moment by moment. At the end of the day, we look back and see that we have indeed had a great day, in spite of the little inconveniences or flaws.
The problem isn’t with the minor flaws, or major ones, in our lives. The problem is within us, with our attention on what is wrong. The very good news is that this attitude is within our control. We can become people of joy.
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