Positive Energy

When I was a child, there was a comic strip called "Lil Abner". (Now I'm really dating myself!) Anyway, there was a character in this comic called Joe Btfsplk (pronounced by putting your tongue between your teeth and blowing out). He always appeared with a little rain cloud over his head, and rain drops falling on him, even when others were enjoying a sunny day.

In the last six months or more, I've been reflecting on how many times I have met Joe in folks around me. Have you noticed how many people choose to always live in negative energy? How they choose to live their life under a cloud? I'm not talking about just seeing the glass as half empty instead of half full. It's more than that. "Sure is a beautiful day today." "Yes, but it's supposed to get colder tomorrow!" They define themselves by what they are against rather than what they are for. They seem to be constantly pushing back against something/someone. If they don't have some cause to be against, they don't know what to do with themselves.

I have learned, perhaps as I get older, that I have a limited amount of energy to expend, both physically, emotionally, psychically and spiritually. I no longer have the luxury of letting it drain off through negative thinking, negative speaking, negative actions.

This became especially clear for me during the recent elections. I made a conscious choice not to plug into all the negative energy that was being manifest through the negative ads, negative emails, negative campaigning and negative speaking. Regardless of party affiliation or candidate support, there was enough of it to go around. Yet, I decided not to plug into it, and it was a wonderful experience of freedom that I felt.

This is not the same as ignoring reality, or refusing to look at issues. Rather, it is choosing to adopt a positive stance toward life in the belief that God is in charge. With that belief, not even a hurricane can park a cloud over my head and rain on me. This is another way of Choosing Life for me.

Is your life characterized by positive or negative energy?