The Eternality of Our Words

The longer I live the more observant I become. One thing that I've observed a lot lately is how ANGRY people are. I mean almost ALWAYS angry at SOMETHING. And with the advances in technology, by way of social media, folks are now able to pull others into what I call their, "lair of anger." It's really quite sad when you think about it.

Here's what I mean.

I am a daily Facebook user. I love logging in and seeing what's going on in the lives of my friends. I'm usually scrolling along, enjoying the posts and THEN...there it is...someone's angry rant. Honestly, I can typically tell by the first two or three words where the post is going and I scroll right past. I don't stop to read the comments, I don't notice how many "likes" the angry rant got...I just scroll right past. Seriously, why would I want to let that anger occupy a space in my mind. Even if it's not MY anger...once I read it..."it's in there."

I've often thought of "unfollowing" the "regular angry rant offenders", but the problem with that is that I will then miss their other "non-angry" posts too. So...I'll just keep scrolling past the anger as I've been doing.

I guess I have a hard time understanding it because I'm not wired that way. When I'm angry, the LAST place I go is Facebook. Partly because (A) NOBODY CARES, and (B) the world has enough anger in it...why would I want to add to that? I wouldn't!

I've often said, "Negativity will suck you in like a vacuum". With the spread of social media, that comment has become exponentially more true. If you want to see the "mob mentality" in action, just pull up someone's angry post, and watch all the angry comments that follow. I don't want any part of that.

Mind you, I don't expect EVERY post to be flowers and butterflies all the time...that's not natural. Life has its angry moments. I just wish sometimes that people would think of their social media profiles as the LEGACY that they will leave behind when they die.

When folks are scrolling through your profile after you die, what do you want them to see? How do you want them to remember you?

Me...I want to be remembered for my LOVE, HUMOR, POSITIVITY, FAITH...and any other GOOD thing.

Does this mean that I NEVER get angry? NO! I am an imperfect human, so of course I get angry. However, I am also a very private person and don't choose to share EVERY angry emotion with the world.

The road that I have chosen to take is that of ENCOURAGEMENT, UPLIFTING, POSITIVITY...those are things that the world needs more of. Interestingly, those things don't get nearly as many "comments" and "likes" as the anger does, and I'm cool with that.

Oh, and another thing about angry rants is this...that ANGER (whether one chooses to admit it or not) will eat a person up. Truly, it will.

I may not be the healthiest person in the world, but I'll tell you this...because of my FAITH, I can remain CALM in the face of adversity, and LOVE those who don't like me (praying for them and wishing them well...as Jesus has commanded). I don't have, nor have ever had high blood pressure, and I've had many many people compliment me on my ability to bring calm into a room, without doing anything but being myself. You see...I have chosen to be the THERMOSTAT and NOT the THERMOMETER.

The difference, you ask?

A THERMOSTAT determines what the temperature will be.
A THERMOMETER reflects the temperature.

So my question to you is this...Let the DIALOGUE begin: Which are you, a THERMOSTAT or a THERMOMETER?

Talk to me!

Til next time...