Loving Them

Hello and welcome to Tuesday!

I’ve been away for awhile – I hope you didn’t miss me too much.

Today’s service challenge is short and hopefully sweet:

When you encounter someone who disappoints you, think about the reason for your disappointment.

Are you tying your feelings to them to their behavior or because you don’t like them?

The two are not always the same thing.

Try loving the person for the person, and deal with the behavior separately. Love them for who they are, not for what they do or don't do.

See?

Short.

Hopefully simple.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and accept today’s challenge.

Service is the Action Form of Love.

I appreciate you!

James

Reconcile

Welcome to Friday – our favorite day of the week!

Have you been weighed down by the conflicting emotions of wanting to forgive but not wanting to let go?

I’d like to tell you about a challenging experience I had to get through recently.

In my job as a customer service representative, I was asked to take on some additional responsibilities. It wasn’t a promotion. There was no extra money, just a sort of added title to go with more work.

I relished the challenge.

This new role required me to help supervise my team of workers. I was asked to help manage them, direct them, listen to them and answer their questions.

One of the people I now supervise apparently didn’t understand or appreciate my new role. I’m not sure if she felt she was better qualified, or just didn’t like the fact that I was now in a position to help the team step up to the plate and work a little harder and smarter. Whatever the reason, there was bitterness. It was immediate and fierce.

I began receiving replies to my team emails that were sarcastic in tone. I even received a message asking if I could have special priveleges because of my new responsibilities.

Whenever I passed by her, I got a cold, withering look from her.

She met with my supervisors to complain about me.

It got bad enough that I was losing sleep over it.

A lot of sleep.

Then, just as I was about at the point of giving in to my fears that I was the cause of the animosity, I received an email from her.

She apologized.

She asked for my forgiveness.

She asked if we could be friends.

She told me she hadn’t realized what my responsibilities entailed, and thought I was unfairly giving her extra work when I had no right do delegate tasks.

What would you do?

Would you forgive?

Would you question her motives?

Here’s today’s challenge:

If you’ve been weighed down by a situation where you’re wanting to forgive, but you’re just having a hard time deciding whether or not you can or should let it go –

Forgive.

Forget.

Let go.

It’s certainly not easy, especially considering all the negative emotions and energy that came before now, but hanging on to all of that is no way to live. It’s draining, and it’s likely affecting you much more than it is the other person or people involved.

You don’t have to be their best friend.

You can still be cautious.

You can still be careful.

But forgive.

Today.

No matter how long ago the incident happened. No matter who was right or wrong.

Just forgive.

Move forward.

Move on.

Let it go.

Find reconciliation with the peace you so badly want, even if you can’t reconcile with them.

A friend used the phrase, “water under the bridge” the other day.

The interesting thing about water under the bridge is that you don’t have to run downstream to watch and see what happens.

You can just… let it go and find peace and joy that comes with forgiveness.

Thank you for reading and accepting today’s challenge. Thank you also for being willing to pass it on to others.

Remember, Service is the Action form of Love.

James

Heart of Hearing

Welcome to Tuesday!

Yesterday’s challenge was about judging others.

Something I’ve found that helps me avoid judging someone in a negative way is to both listen and hear what they’re trying to tell me.

To do this effectively, I’ve found, I can’t just listen with my ears. I have to listen with my heart as well. Sometimes, I get my emotions involved – the good ones.

I try to look past whatever physical obstacles there may be, like the exterior of the person trying to make me understand. Sadly, I’m human and I sometimes let people’s rough or otherwise unusual exterior get in the way of hearing and understanding their needs.

I usually find I do better when I try to “hear between the lines”. This helps me more easily pick up the real meaning of what someone is trying to tell me.

We often speak – and hear – in contradictions. This isn’t always a bad thing, but it can lead to miscommunication and missed messages.

So, here’s your challenge for today.

When someone is trying to get you to really hear them, look past their physical exterior and try to listen with your heart. Don’t cut them off. Don’t anticipate what they’re going to say next (or what you want to say next, for that matter).

Really listen.

And then do all you can to respond with love, caring and positivity. Make them glad they came to you.

Thank you for reading and accepting today’s challenge. I appreciate the time you take to really hear my message with your heart.

Truly, Service is the Action form of Love.

James

Judging

Welcome to Monday!

For many of us, getting through the day without judging others without cause and complete information is near impossible.

I’m constantly surprised at how often I am willing to judge others by their words and actual deeds (results) when I want to be judged by my good intentions.

I suspect you may feel the same way.

So, here’s your challenge for today:

Put yourself in someone else’s shoes.

When you’re tempted to think the worst, ask yourself “how can I look at this person or situation in a less judgmental light?”

Try and see the situation from the other person’s point of view – then act accordingly.

That’s all there is to it.

Thank you for reading and accepting today’s challenge. Thank you also for being willing to pass it on, for stumbling it, digging it, retweeting it and forwarding it to others.

I appreciate you.

Remember, Service is the Action form of Love.

James