In today’s world, so many things can adversely affect our inner peace. Did you ever stop and think about social media? I find the negativity of some people on social media sites astounding. Some folks make comments and say things as blanket statements that I am certain they would not have the nerve to say to another person’s face. I have read comments that stereotype horribly based on other’s opinions. According to some “friends,” I am an uneducated racist pig. Wow. How rude! They don’t even know me! Fortunately, I do not take those comments to heart, but with a click of my mouse, those people are gone from my page.
Lately, I have found social media to be as rattling as watching the news. Don’t get me wrong, I still love it to keep up with friends, get new recipes and ideas, share photos, and other positive things, but really, the drama? No thank you!
A very close friend of mine once told me, “you are entitled to your opinion no matter how wrong you are.” I still laugh about that every time I think about it. It’s true though. We all have our opinions and are entitled to them. It doesn’t make your opinion wrong and it doesn’t make my opinion right. We have to find common ground. As my mother liked to say, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”
We live in a time where everyone feels the need to argue their point. I have tried to watch the “news” only to find three people having a heated “discussion” about a topic. That’s stressful to me and since it interferes with my inner peace, off it goes. Meanwhile, I have heard nothing about today’s news. We let this negativity seep into our lives over time, and sadly, we have gotten used to it. It gets into our heads and steers us into this negative thought process. Unfortunately, we have accepted this as “the norm.”
Peace of Mind
Sometimes in order to find peace in our lives, not only do we need to declutter our living spaces, but our minds as well. Letting things that cause us undue anxiety continue to have a hold on us just isn’t worth our peace of mind. It is clutter that paralyzes us over time and keeps us from enjoying your life.
As I get older, I have learned not to surround myself with toxic people. You know the type, the people who make you second guess yourself, feel bad about yourself, and just aren’t supportive of anything you try to take on. Lose them, life is too short. If you can’t do that, at least limit contact with them. There are kind, compassionate, and loving people in this world that want nothing but the best for you. Seek them out and surround yourself with that crowd; they will bring out the best in you. Hint: They will be easy to find because they have a smile on their face and a glimmer in their eyes.
Don’t Let Anyone Steal Your Joy
A few months ago, I had an incident that I just couldn’t let go. The problem was eating away at me, causing anger, disappointment, and mental anguish. The person responsible, or people, in this case, had no clue about how their actions affected me. After days went by, maybe even weeks, suddenly a thought was put into my mind…”Don’t let anyone steal your joy.” I heard this repeatedly. So simple, yet so true. We are pilots of our thoughts and our moods. Ultimately, we are in control over what we let get under our skin and what we let roll off.
Of course we will get upset, angry, and frustrated sometimes. After all, we are only human. But by harboring resentment and letting the thoughts associated with those who have “wronged” us consume our minds, we are only hurting ourselves. The people who we are letting affect us aren’t miserable, we are!
Letting Go
I am going to be really honest with you. I have an extremely hard time with this. Letting go is a skill I have never mastered, but recently I decided that enough is enough already! Daily, I am making a conscious effort to change my thought process. Taking this journey requires a good hard look in the mirror, which is anything but easy. Because I have already addressed this problem in myself, I find that my life is more settled and happy. This practice has helped my relationships become more fulfilling, my focus sharper, and my coping mechanisms better. As a bonus, my heart feels lighter too! I feel like I have finally had the breakthrough I needed in my personal quest for inner peace!
So the challenge today is decluttering our minds and letting go of negative thoughts and the things, people, and events that cause them. I encourage your comments and advice on how you handle these situations in your life.
Until Next Time,
April
*Photo by Jonathan Meyer from Pexels
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I agree with you, I can hardly stand to get on Facebook anymore, especially since realizing Facebook likes to play with people and limit what you see, to see how people react, kind of like playing with lab rats. Letting go can be hard especially if it’s something you’ve done for a long time. You can almost go through a sort of grieving period. I’m going to follow your lead and focus on more positive things and limit the toxic.
Thank you so much for your comment! If you have any suggestions or advice along the way, I would be happy to hear them!
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I too have experienced this both in the past and in the present situation of pandemic. I actually consider myself lucky to have had a mental collapse a few years ago as I learned so many strategies that both my daughter and I use to carry us through this time. We do not listen to the radio–I play CDs all day long–this avoids the mention of the pandemic–we really don’t need to be reminded why we are all at home. I don’t watch the news but read it from NPR emailed newsletters so I can pick and choose when I am “up” for more information. My life will not change much until my husband goes back to his regular office and my daughter back to her regular school. I don’t need the news to tell me about when that’s going to happen. My husband’s work and daughter’s school will inform us soon enough.
Some tools I use to help shut out the negativity–limit/avoid social network sites–unless I am in a proper mindset to scroll past the negativity without being impacted by it. Meditate–daily–I like guided meditations from the Chopra Center, but it can be as simple as having a quite moment to just shut everything out and appreciate what is right in front of me or as complex as reading the Bible and reflecting upon how the passage communicates to me for where my life is right now. Get out into nature–okay, all the state parks are closed right now, but we still go for daily walks and appreciate the beauty of flowers, birds, the night sky and the warmth of the sunshine. I also highly recommend yoga–even if you only learn how to do belly breathing–it is the only exercise that intentionally incorporates prayer and always brings a sense of peace–if for no other reason than you really have to focus on the present moment to hold some of those poses. 🙂
Laughter–finding something to laugh at as often as possible–not a forced laugh but a beautiful fun filled belly laugh is such a wonderful reminder that there is still joy during some of our greatest struggles. Keep up the great writing! Love your Blog!
Great advice. Thanks for following the blog!