Don’t hold onto our wounds and hurts. Forgive and fill our hearts with gratitude.
We
need a forgiving spirit because when we hold onto our wounds, we
diminish our health. One suggestion that I think works is to keep a
gratitude journal. Each day, write down in this journal:
1. Three things in life for which you’re grateful
2. Three things in your family for which you’re grateful
3. Three things in yourself for which you’re grateful
The
Chinese did a study and found that gratitude can lower stress, anxiety,
and fears. Gratitude can help us sleep better, which is a great way to
maintain good health. Also according to the Chinese study, negative
thoughts have more of an impact on us than a lot of positive ones, so we
need to exchange our negative thoughts for positive ones. The
motivational speaker Zig Ziglar said the more positive thoughts we give
ourselves, the more energized we feel. So the lesson for us is to
forgive and stay positive.
Don’t act your age!
“Act
your age.” Translated this means, “Get serious! Stop letting the
child—the playful, fun side of yourself—out. Stop acting silly.” I don’t
know how to act my age; I’ve never been this age before.
In
her book, Quantum Learning, author Bobbi DePorter reports that children
on the average receive 460 negative or critical comments and 75
positive or supportive comments every day. Steve Kissell, a local
comedian, shared some disturbing statistics: “Children laugh over 350
times a day while adults laugh 15.” Maybe the amount of critical remarks
finally stifle the child in all of us, chain the free spirit and make
us take everything so seriously because it has not been safe to let our
inner child out. We are afraid to let the inner child out because we
might be criticized or rejected for being immature or not acting our
age!
What is
interesting is the advice our seniors offer. Nadine Stair, an
85-year-old woman from Louisville, Kentucky at the time, gave these
thoughts about what would do if she could relive her life:
“If I had my life to live over again...
I’d dare to make more mistakes next time.
I’d relax.
I’d limber up.
I’d be sillier than I’ve been this trip.
I would take fewer things seriously.
I would take more chances,
I would eat more ice cream and fewer beans.”
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