Hello... Happy New Year! Hope I'm not too late to wish you well for 2023.
Do you have any resolutions? I do, and I'd like to share it with you today.
He began his conversation as though to ask my advice. When I started to explain the answer to what seemed to be his question, he interrupted me with complaints and criticisms. Then, it took a bit, but I shut up and listened.
That is my New Year's Resolution, to shut up and listen. I intend to learn and lift by listening with love to understand.
What I discovered with my not so new found dominant intent is that even though people ask for advice, sometimes they just want to vent and feel understood. To help anyone with this, I must shut up and listen. Not an easy task for me because I do not believe in blaming, complaining, or criticizing. This is an exquisite focus on the negative, which causes stress.
Human conditioning has convinced many people, including me in my younger years, that blaming, complaining, and criticizing are absolutely necessary. This is not only a contradiction to the teachings of Christ; it is a confusion that blocks us from living by the spirit, which relieves stress.
Living by the spirit takes exquisite focus on the affirmative, the light, and love, which are all teachings of Christ. Sometimes I want to claim this from the rooftops, and that is why it is not necessarily easy for me to shut up and listen. But, in the conversation I mentioned above, after a bit of resistance on my part, I did! I shut my mouth, learned, and lifted by listening with love to understand.
My resolution is all a part of the endeavor to behave as I believe. Being a doer of God's word and work.
"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." ~James 1:22, New Testament, Holy Bible, KJV
I'm learning, and it feels terrific to rejoice in remembering because sometimes I forget. This is another thing I am working on. I rejoice in the remembering and do not beat myself up for forgetting. This habit allows me to lift and love myself, which is all about me destressing.
I'm just putting my thoughts of love out into the Universe.
God bless you, my dear reader. God is blessing you, and if you do not believe me try focusing on the benefits and blessings in your life. I know you will discover that it is part of the path to a stress-free life.
Happy Happy New Year! Thank you for hanging out with me, even if it was just to read my words to the Universe.
Big Hugs Always!!!
If you love what you read here, you may find my books by clicking, books by Elizabeth Stanfill.
