Finding a quiet space, reading...I mean really reading...and re-reading and thinking, and gaining perspective is one of my favorite things about investing in other blogs. Blogs by men, or women, or moms, or singles, or christians, or dog lovers, of food lovers, or or whatever else there is out there...there's always something I come across that seems to stick in my head. I'm either grateful for it because it's made me think of ways I can improve myself and the way I'm living my life, or irritated that I read it because it's something I can't wrap my mind around.
Recently there have been a couple of posts by blogs I loyally follow that have me in a tizzy. The post either stikes a cord and I can completely relate, or I read something like the insert below and I can't seem to stop thinking about discontentment and where this may have a place in my present right now.
I love reading Annie Blogs. She's funny, down to earth, hilarious, and every post reads very real to me. She recently wrote a post on this book (Beyond Ordinary) and 1. I want to read the book, 2. the insert below is what I've had stuck in my head over the past couple of days.
“Discontentment always pushes us to compare what we have to what someone else already has. But comparison is never about the person we are comparing ourselves too but rather it’s about the condition of our heart. Discontentment leads to entitlement, which sets the tone that when people fail to meet our expectations we are owed even more.
That's a mouthful isn't it?
Of course I can only speak for myself here, so I have to admit that any or every comparison that I make absolutely has to do with where I'm at and what I'm happy about or not happy about. What I have or what I don't, and it has nothing to do with whatever I've chosen to fixate on. I have been asking myself where my heart is at...and I feel that even when things aren't just as I feel they should be, I need to remember that it's not my plan in the making, it's His, and they are perfect for where I am in life right now. I am so quick to look past what's in front of me that I take for granted everything that I need to be thankful for.
The second part is what scares me. Expectations are a stinker. Even when we go on and on and on about how we don't have them (we do, just admit it) so this is when things can get messy. I know I have expectations, mainly for the way I'm treated by others around me. Whether you're a stranger or someone I've know for more than a decade. Golden rule: Treat others how you want to be treated. It's simple, easy to understand, and completely doable. Now, having said that, I am not perfect and I sometimes mess up and not so tolerable Courtney escapes, so I take full responsibility. That's just a smallish example for you to chew on. I guess in the grand scheme of things I don't ever want to feel that I'm owed anything. I want to put good out into the universe and hopefully it'll all come around and keep going around not just for me, but for everyone around me.So, I think all I can do is just keep this small insight in my back pocket and dust it off whenever that sneaky little expectation rears it's ugly head.
Slowing down. Appreciating the blessings, big and small, or maybe not even placing them into a box of any size. Remaining thankful. Being better than the day before, and using every bit of breathing room I have make sure I can continue doing all of the above.
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