Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Let Go of Distress

O Lord, what are human beings that you regard them, or mortals that you think of them? They are like breath; their days are like a passing shadow. (Ps 144:3-4)

Sometimes we make so much of things. Someone affronts us and we blow the situation way out of proportion to what actually occurred. We may spend days feeling upset and offended. Friends and family members stop speaking to each other, each one waiting for the other to apologize. Love and forgiveness are hovering around the fringes, and we leave them unacknowledged. How sad for everyone involved, whose days are “a passing shadow.” May we not waste our days by clinging to distress.

My life is so short, my God, Please help me to not let it waste away in hard feelings. I am the one who needs to choose to be a loving person. No one else can make me be loving, or make me act in an unloving way, no matter what that person says or does. When I’ve been wronged or feel distressed, let me take a breath and make a decision to respond in love.
Surrendering Our Stress (Prayers to Calm the Soul and Strengthen the Spirit), by Joan Guntzelman

I was having a bad day recently when I walked into the bookstore and found the above book staring at me in the front display. The above is one of the short meditations from it. If you are looking for a book of short morning meditations, this one was worth the buy.

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