Choosing Appreciation
Wednesday Inspiration
My favorite season of the year is spring. All around me, new life emerges. The birds come out to sing their songs. The days grow longer and the weather warms.
It is a season of relief. The cold of winter fades into the past as the promise of summer grows.
It probably helps that my favorite color is green, and I have a very green-covered backyard. Green grass, green leaves of the oak trees emerging, and green vines beginning to crawl along my chain-link fence.
This time of year, however, spring is a distant memory. I see only summer’s shadow.
Fall has arrived.
I have friends who tell me fall is their favorite time of year. They love the changing colors of the leaves. Reds, yellows, oranges, and browns all appear to paint a beautiful abstract picture not too far above our heads.
I struggle to appreciate fall, however. For me, it is a reminder that winter is coming. Soon it will be cold. Soon the snow will set in. Soon I will be bundling up to keep warm.
Here's the thing…
As I said, I have friends who absolutely love the fall. That tells me something about my lack of appreciation.
It tells me it's not that fall isn't something to be appreciated. It's that I have created a barrier inside me that prevents me from appreciating it.
Because the barrier inside me is one of my own creation, I can choose to remove it.
I can choose to appreciate the cooling weather.
I can choose to appreciate the changing colors.
I can even choose to appreciate fall as the herald of a white winter that will bring beautiful snowflakes, which will slowly drift from the sky into my backyard.
I know my dread of fall is a choice. And I know I have the power within me to transform it into something new and vibrant.
You have that power, too. You too can choose whether you are going to live in dread, frustration, anger, or other negative emotions, or whether you live in, joy, peace, gratitude, or any other positive emotions.
Today I encourage you to embrace the possibility of choosing to appreciate the world around you, and to embark upon your own inner transformation as a result.
Peace, Bo
The Evolving Christian Faith Network
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