Daily Gratitude: Don’t worry (no pun intended). This is not a religious post. Faith is not necessarily religious.

For me the most important part of this quote is the first part – worry drains your energy. If I think back to all my years of worry (I got a PhD in worry), I can now remember that I was so frequently exhausted. I thought it was because of all I had to do but it wasn’t. It was because of the energy drain.

Can you think back on times you’ve worried and see if this is true in your life?

What about the “faith” part of the quote? Faith can be packaged in many ways.

Merriam-Webster gives one of its definitions as “firm belief in something for which there is no proof”. There are other variations but I think it’s mostly about “complete faith” in someone or something.

This might be a process. If you’ve done something (a process) every day as a result of discipline, you may have faith that you will be able to do anything that process was meant for. Take basketball. If you do 100 free throws a day (in the right way) every day for let’s say 5 years, you can have faith that you can make the shot next time you’re at the line.

Apply that to any aspect of your life.

There is the fact that this applies to complete faith in another person. That can be dangerous. But that’s why it behooves us to thoroughly investigate people we choose to blindly follow.

The fact that faith fuels action can explain why we march ahead with passionate when we believe in something. If you want to have more energy direct your thoughts to something you have faith in. But also examine your beliefs frequently. Remember that many of our beliefs are not really ours. They were “imposed” on us from birth. That’s how humanity works. But a smart human takes inventory frequently to see if they still believe something. The strongest humans can admit that their beliefs have changed and they can alter them accordingly.

A belief is just a thought you keep thinking.

When was your last inventory?

Daily Gratitude: We have to take responsibility for our actions and behaviors, not blame others.

If we find ourselves doing that blaming and/or complaining left and right, it’s a clear signal to us that we still have work to do…inside.

In this time we have to be careful about our judgments. It’s ok to be angry, disappointed or even scared. What’s happened is not right because the needless loss of life is never right.

Being upset at what’s going on politically is also ok no matter what side you’re on. But we must be aware of the lines that get blurred when we “stand up” for what we believe. Concepts are ok. Extremes are not. In either direction.

We also must be careful not to fall into the hate trap. Even if you think the situation is filled with hate, that doesn’t mean you should lower yourself to that position. We have to remain calm and objective to make a difference if we lose sight of that objectivity, it’s easy for all of our faults and defects inside of us to come out. That makes us just as bad as those we’re “against”

We have to find peaceful ways to help make changes. Despite what the naysayers are saying about the protests in Minnesota inciting the problems, I think the Minnesota people deserve a lot of credit for maintaining peace even in such adverse conditions and with such larger crowds.

This is what both parties should do. Everyone in this should do the proper evaluations, check their own emotions and come to data based conclusions.

You can only control yourself so don’t lose it if others don’t say or do what you think they should. Mind your own responses.

Daily Gratitude: I think that if Helen Keller could remember and live by this, each of us should be able to.

Yes it takes effort- concentrated effort – but it’s so worthwhile. We are living in a time when we seem to have to continually overcome something.

But it can be simple too. I went to IHOP this morning and when asked how she was, the woman who greeted me said “I’m alive and I have a job. I’m great”.

It’s going to be dangerously cold for much of the US this weekend. Are you going to be in a place that can keep you warm even if the power goes out? Think about those that are unhoused or otherwise destitute. Think of them before you start to complain if the power goes out or you can’t go somewhere because of snow or ice.

They are suffering. You’re probably not.

People will help them (I hope) overcome their suffering. What will you be doing?

Hopefully you’ll stay safe and can at least be grateful there are those overcoming adversity. What can you do to help for the future?

Take some time to think about your suffering and how much you’ve exacerbated it with the “what if” syndrome. I’m really good at that game. But I continually try to stay in the present and not catastrophize. Isn’t it interesting that when we play the what if game, we never look at the “what if it gets better and is nothing”?

We can overcome much more than we think. And you know what? We already have. Take a look back at your life and find those times you’ve “overcome”. It will help you know that you can do it again.