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When I was young, high school age, I can remember the gargantuan amount of drama that seemed to surround me.  I was like any other not so normal high school kid in Western Kansas.  I drank a lot of Meister Brau with my friends and if it was a good night we might even score some Slo-Gin with Mountain Dew.  We drove around a lot draggin main and if the cops caught us drinking, they would either take it and pour it out, or take it and I would guess they drank it.  They would send us home and often times, you just went home to get a different car if the folks weren’t around.  The drama always seemed to come from rumors or people assuming things.  The parking lot was a good place to talk to and about people.  Friday and Saturday nights were a never ending game of “who said what” and the part that no one ever seemed to notice is that no one really cared!  In the end, what they were discussing didn’t amount to squat.  Unless it happened to be a story about you.

Today it hasn’t changed.  People get bored, or feel bad about themselves so they propagate rumors, untruths, or whatever they like to start the ball rolling!  What I am amazed by is that anyone still listens!  There is something inherently wrong with people who enjoy watching the struggle of others and keep the rumor mill full!  I heard Joel Osteen say one time, “If you hear a word about your neighbor, let it die within you.”  That was a game changer in my life!  What a kind and decent way to treat your neighbor.  Everyone at some point in their life is going to have the target on their back and people are going to want them to do poorly so they can cheer!!  Isn’t that great??  Could they say the same thing to their face??  The worst thing that I see is the jealousy.  If people are doing well, they don’t cheer them on with support, oh no, they wish ill on them!! If they are doing poorly, they kick them.

For years I have done my level best to avoid drama and wish well for others.  Wishing bad things on people isn’t healthy for me or anyone else.  It feels so much better to be nice!   I wake up in the mornings to the news and to the climate of this nasty mouthed America.  Right now, everyday people show their true selves because the filter is gone and we truly see many people for just who they are… mean: maybe even more mean than high schoolers.  We see it in memes.  We read it on social media: post after repost after repost.  We hear it about people in our town.  We go get beautified to only be inundated with gossip (ironic beauty, but only on the outside).  We see it on the news and rather than reach out with a hand to help, we see it as a good time to kick people on the ground.  Which person are you? Do you propagate, do you listen and repeat, do you listen and let it die, or do you stop it?   I was talking to a friend about being humble.  It is a long way to topple if you don’t possess humility.  One is not greater than another.  We were made to uplift one another, we were even told, “Love one another as I have loved you.”  That doesn’t seem too difficult to me!!  I think that you have to make a choice which person you are going to be, but my first suggestion is to really give it some thought.  I am not a Hindu, so Karma isn’t my thing; but I am a Christian, and I believe the evil you sow will be the evil you reap.  My Gram used to tell me that it all comes around and sometimes you live long enough to see it.  I don’t wish ill on anyone, not even my enemies it takes too much energy.  I figure God will sort that out.  I do however wish that people who continually talk about others negatively would maybe get their lips glued together!  Which person are you??

Try it this week……If you hear something about your neighbor let it die within you!  It feels a whole lot better than passing along the hate.

until then….good luck

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