Reflections From a Country Girl

Imperfections…we see them all the time.  We all have them. 

With reality television these days, millions of people can see mistakes happen instantly.  There was a man this past week on Dancing With the Stars – where an arm weakened in the middle of a dance routine and an injury disabled him.Then there was a young and very talented singer on American Idol who literally has to start her song all over again.  Fans were forgiving and showed there support through their votes to keep both of these on at least one more week. 

There are those who are forgiving and see the best in others…just like the audiences who rally around people who make mistakes or are less than perfect.  There are those, for some reason, who are quick to judge another and subtly share negative information with their “friends” who also instantly make their own judgements.  These judgements quickly spread from one to the other and, before you know it, the thoughts are shared with one too many.  It’s the chance you take when you judge others…the chance that it will get back to the person you talked about.  

I’ve seen that happen lately.  Actually i’ve seen it happening frequently these past few months.  How someone has time to talk negatively about another is beyond me. I hardly have time to do all the things I have to do, much less take the time to stir up something negative about someone else.  

My mother always told me “If you can’t say something good about someone, don’t say it at all”.  It’s not always easy to do that. 

I do my best not to surround myself with people who are prone to talk negatively about others.  I also do my best not to be a part of those sorts of conversations when they are occurring.  I’ve really found it best to avoid situations like that as much as possible. 

Yes, life is just too short.   Imperfections can get the best of us sometimes.  Often they will go away if you give people their space.  When they don’t, and there are times when the negative and judgmental thoughts are so ingrained in us that they never completely go away, then they just keep the one who is spreading them from living their best life.   

My wish for you today is that you make sure you don’t spread negative thoughts about anyone.  Keep those thoughts about others to yourself when possible.  Try to remain as neutral as possible when others attempt to draw you in.  Challenge them when you are willing to.  Dig deep in your soul and ask “Why do I even want to bother spreading negative information or thoughts?  What causes me to do this?”  Seek out those answers.  Often it is not about the other person, it is about you.   Make a commitment to yourself that you will not be part of a problem but part of a solution. You will be a more joyful person if you take the high road. 

~ Joellen

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 29th, 2008 at 10:49:pm and is filed under Conflicts, Friendship, Living Life to the Fullest, Releationships - general. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.