The Downside to Looking on the Bright Side.

I used to be edgy.  I've lost my edge.  I had a sharp remark or quick quip [try and say that ten times fast] for every occasion.  I routinely zeroed in on absurd realities and held them up to ridicule.  I cracked me up.

Thank you for absurd realities.

As my rate of Facebook status updates shows a huge decline, I reflect on the possible causes.

• Is the world a better place?
• Are people in the news more intelligent, caring, or tolerant?
• Do I have a brain tumor?

Please, God, let the answer be that the world is a better place and NOT a brain tumor.

Well, the world is not a better place.  Basketball freak show Dennis Rodman visits North Korea, calls Kim Jong Un a "friend" and a "great guy," and Kim Jong Un promptly threatens to destroy Washington, D.C. with a nuclear missile attack.  [There is a snarky remarky just dying to be said, but I've gone soft.]  

People in the news are not more intelligent, caring, or tolerant.  The Voting Rights Act is under fire, with opponents claiming we don't need it anymore.  Am I the only one who remembers how conservatives actively tried to shut down extended early polling in an effort to prevent minorities from voting in the most recent presidential election?  [Anyone else?]

With all that's wrong in the world, with so much to complain about, why have I been silent?  [Brain tumor aside.]  I hear a lot of negativity.  I haven't seen any evidence that it makes problems go away.  On the other hand, ignoring the world's problems and focusing on the positive doesn't effect change either.  A life spent complaining can make you ill in body and spirit.  But insisting "life is grand" isn't realistic.

Thank you for struggles to find balance.

This "Year of Gratitude" is changing me.  In my effort to see the silver linings to each gray cloud life blows my way, I find myself praying more and "Facebooking" less.  That should be good.  But if I was the person with the sarcastic comments, and I'm not that person anymore, then who will I be now?

Thank you for redefining self in middle age.

Jesus asked the blind beggar, "What do you want me to do for you?"  What do I want?

• I want to acknowledge and appreciate the gifts God sends [even the ones disguised as trouble].
• I want to understand my role as observer or actor [and to know when to do one or the other].
• I want to be positive [not just my blood type].
• I want to fix what I can, rather than complain about what needs fixing.

Thank you, Jesus.  When you put it like that, it really brings things into focus.

And if my blogging helps anyone else clarify what's important to them, well, that's cool, too.

Thank you, God, for personal, professional, and spiritual growth throughout our lives.  Thank you for clarity.  Thank you for change.