Feel Good in Just One Step
Hi, it’s mid-2020. Need anyone say more? You’ve heard and seen more hurt, anger, violence, murder, death, fear, illness, and just plain meanness than you’ve possibly witnessed cumulatively in your life. This year has been a kind of chaos that has, for better or worse, brought humanity together…and to our knees in prayer.
There are many days it just feels bad. Really bad. And scary and unbelievable.
People you thought you trusted will violently throw you under the bus. Shocking injustices have broken your soul. Strangers shout at each other, in person, from their cars, online. Stress reigns.
But here’s the biblical truth. Each of us can choose how we feel, regardless of our circumstances. People will backstab, cheat, lie, and hurt you. People are prone to sin. But even those who hurt you—possess the will to choose. So here is your opportunity. Pull up close to Paul’s epiphany in Philippians 4:11:
I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances.
Paul’s letter, that lays out this concept of mind-and-heart-over-matter, opens with lines such as:
Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
And in daunting times, Paul found his strength came from the Lord. Not from his circumstances. We humans don’t do ‘circumstances’ all that well. We need a strength more powerful, gracious, and forgiving than we can muster. We need to draw in a deep breath…soul deep…well-beyond-ourselves-deep…and reach for a new mantra.
Take the Step: Choose to Feel Good
Any one of us, at any moment, can write a collection of words like Paul’s I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances. Surely, he did much living, hurting, striving, and praying to get there.
We’re doing all that, too. And in the midst of facing terror, tragedy, even death, we can still choose how we feel.
It really is that concrete. And possible.
I read about this fabulous and proven truth in a marvelous book by Gabrielle Bernstein. You can have someone heartlessly exact the unthinkable on you, publicly, and while you still have a day to live in, you can choose to take your life back, like this:
Take time to personalize, write out, and repeat your very own feel-good mantra.
Or saying. Or lifeline. Or whatever you want to call it.
Clear away the enemy with its grace. Brush off the attack with its hope. This does not mean you go silent. Or take no action. This means allowing your words and actions to flow from this chosen place of peace.
What Is Your New Mantra?
Do you know that feeling really bad all the time about everything can be an addiction of sorts? Being pushy, angry, and critical builds on itself and enslaves you. But you hold the key.
Grab a pen and paper and physically write out your new statement to choose to feel good. Be creative. Don’t call it yours until it overfills you with feel-good joy. Do you know what mine is right now?
Everything is beautiful and I am enjoying peace.
Did I recently have my world turned upside down? Yes. Have I witnessed atrocity? Yes. Was I betrayed? Yes. Am I terrified that others will continually plan to hurt me and others? Yes. So…enough of that.
Demean, lie, embarrass me, sell me short, ruin my life. As Paul reminds us, these are merely circumstances. My heart belongs to the Lord and he says that it is good. And the same goes for you. And the best thing I can do—and maybe each of us can do—is to write a new mantra and see what’s possible. One that takes on problems, issues, and disasters with the power of good. Feeling good. Choosing good. Being good.
You are good. We all do bad things, but when God creates, He calls it good. And that’s a truth worth repeating. Now, go write your feel-good truth down, type it up, and save it on your lock screen.
Let your choice to feel good change the world as we know it for the better.
Then if you’re feeling good about it, I’d love for you to share it with me at liamartinwriting@gmail.com. I’m wishing you peace and love.
Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/Pawel Czerwinski