The Best of Jack’s Winning Words 3/18/24 – reprises of posts to the blog of the late Pastor Jack Freed – Originally sent May 17, 2016.
“Remember that everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something and has lost something.” (H. Jackson Brown Jr) Someone I know was treated rudely by a bank teller. She asked the person, “Are you having a bad day, or are you always like this?” It was done in a caring way and not meant to be sarcastic. Everyone we meet is probably carrying some kind of burden, so we need to give them some slack and go easy with the voice…or horn. 😉 Jack
One of the harder things to consistently do is to be able step back from your own thoughts, issues and priorities to consider the state of mind or point of view of another person that you have encountered. Everyone has their own story and has arrived at this moment on a path that is different from yours.
If you cannot be empathetic or sympathetic, at least don’t be rude or mad. Perhaps your best retort to something down or rude that they may have said is to ask, “What’s causing you to feel that way (or to say that)?”
Sometimes the person that you need to say that to is the person that you are looking at in the mirror. If you are having a bad day, an important step to turning things around is trying to understand why. What is it that you are afraid of? What or who have you lost? What don’t you understand? What is causing you to be fearful, anxious, or angry?
One of the lessons that I am still learning as I get older is how really unimportant many things are (were) that used to drive my life and my behavior. It is all too easy, especially when one is younger, to become so focused and driven by what seems at the time to be important that one becomes rude or worse to those around them.
Divorces and family breakups are often caused by the intensity that a job may demand and the inability to let that go or “switch gears” when one is at home. The fact that many Gen Zers have resisted that work-mode intensity irks those in older generations when it should actually be showing us the way to a more fulfilling life.
So, if you are having a bad day that is work-oriented, stop and ask yourself is what you are concerned about really all that important? Will anybody die if you don’t get this task done right now? Will you die if you don’t get this task done right now? Asking those questions will help you to put things in perspective.
If all else fails, try the little prayer that I’ve posted here a few times – “Not my will, but Thy will be done.” Nothing frees you more to leave behind life’s burdens and get on with life than turning over your life to the will of God. Try it.
Are you having a bad day? Ask yourself about it, then ask for God’s help.
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