If we look deeper into living we might discover that so much of what we do, say, think, and feel are simply the product of reactions. This happens, we react that way. That happened, we react this way. Can we see perhaps, that we live in the world of reaction maybe more than in the world of careful, determined thought and effort?
At times that is good. At other times, not so good. I remember when I was involved in martial arts, Kung Fu San Soo. I was being taught that I had to train and get to the point where when confronted with certain situations, I would not think but react. If this happened and I was well trained and disciplined, I would respond without really thinking. It would become kind of an instinct. That is how I interpreted the training. In the discipline of martial arts, that was the desired result of training and it was a good thing.
Today, many approach life that way, although maybe not consciously. Situations arise and we simply react and move on.
Someone does something and we respond a particular way. We can always use the traffic scenerio. I have watched people go over the top in anger when someone doesn't floor it when the light turns green. I have seen people pass over double yellow lines because the person in front of them wasn't going as fast as they thought they should. I have seen people cut other people off screaming and yelling because they were going the speed limit. How many times a day do we react in anger or prejudice at situations we don't like. Why does it seem to be so easy, almost instinctive to get angry, judge, or be critical? Is it really that much harder to not be that way?
We talk of loving others on this site and we look into a variety of ways to let that play out in our lives. Today it struck me, perhaps we might take more control over how we behave. We might begin to start making choices. We can choose to not be angry. We can choose to not be judgemental. We can choose to not be prejudiced. We can get up every day and tell ourselves we choose to not be that way rather than run on auto pilot. We can choose to be loving. We can choose to be forgiving. We can choose to not be irritated by the things of life. We can choose to stop believing that we cannot help how we react, feel, or respond to other people - even if they are wrong.
That being said, choice may be only part of what we need to do. To be successful at our choice, we also need to be determined to make those choices in every situation that confronts us. We cannot make the choice to be loving and expect that old friend "auto pilot" to take over even though we have a new destination. We may have to stop and think each and every time for a while until our determination and practice of the choice we made become part of who we are. We can become a people who live a more loving existence - no matter what other people do - no matter what life deals us.
Last week's blog ended with choices and that leads us right into this weeks comments. This week, we have added the fact that we have to be a determined people to change our lives and the world around us.
So the thought for today is, make a choice regarding what kind of person you want to be and be determined to practice that choice until it becomes a solid part of who you are. Choose to be loving and be determined to be that way every day.