Perspective is huge. I have a tendency in my own life to see things from a negative perspective. This has caused me great suffering. So , this year, one of my goals is to change that, and the Lord is showing me that a key factor to this is Gratitude. I am not sure why, but Gratitude is and thankfulness do not come naturally to me.
I definitely have a ton of things to be grateful for. A ton of people to be thankful and grateful for. I don’t always choose those attitudes though. I have to make a conscious choice to see things that way.
I think this goes for everyone though. We all have choices we make daily that impact how we see life.
I think one of my hangups , walls, stuck places, is that ..sometimes I expect the mere realization of a need to change to be good enough to change the situation. But , the thing is, a realization is just a thought … like any other thought , and not a breakthrough, enlightenment , or whatever you want to call it.. until we add in the factor of responsibility and action.
I don’t know about you, but I have had this view of God as someone who will just magically make things happen when we ask him to . But here’s a hard truth: God reveals the direction and change he wants us to make, but then it becomes our responsibility to be obedient, take responsibility and action in order for the change to occur. I think sometimes , at least in my experience, the need to take responsibility and action is viewed as God being mean, punitive or not loving. But this is simply not true.
This can be applied to anything, : For example, you have coffee with a friend, and they say ” hey , this is going on, and I see you hurting, and I want to be honest with you so that you can be free and not suffer” – You then have the ability to choose your response and whether or not you are going to heed their advice. Now, yes, I think some people use advice to be manipulative, but I am not talking about this type of correction or conversation. In this scenario, I am assuming everyone has their loved one’s best interest in mind.
The hard truth is that, yes God, a higher power , whomever your spiritual Guide is, is the one who directs your path. Specifically , if you are Christian, it is true that the Lord has gone before you and will direct your path, But that doesn’t mean the path your on is the one he wants you to be.
I guess my point here is Be bold enough to own the fact that you are where you are at in life because of the decisions and choices YOU made 5 minutes ago, an hour ago, a week ago.. and even years ago. It is Your responsibility to own the consequences of the choices you made and actions you took. It is my responsibility to own the consequences of the choices I made and the actions I took. No one can live life for you. No one can live life for me. It’s a one man .. One woman job.
Do your Job and I’ll do mine.
Be encouraged
Rachael
Accepting The Peace 