Attitude!

Proverbs 17:22

       Attitude! We see in all around us. Athletes demonstrate it when they score a point. Politicians show it when they take their own picture during a funeral. We show it when we are asked to do something we don’t really want to do. Attitude says so much about our view of self, of others and of God.

      Attitude can change how we view life. If we have an attitude that says, “I get to” do this or that, rather than “I have to”, it makes a big difference in how we approach tasks and people. If we choose to be grumpy, gloomy and complaining, life will turn in that direction. Pretty soon everything, even the most joyous moments will lose their energy.

      Our proverb tells us the benefits of a cheerful heart. There are few things in life that cost less, but that have such a great impact. Laughter is one of those things. When we are able to see the joys in life and feel that joy, it changes us. Science has confirmed the benefits of laughter in recent years. Often, changing the way we think changes the way we feel. Choosing to see something from a different perspective changes the way we experience it.

      When people give up on life, they give up on joy and laughter. Think about life in a nursing home. Few things seem more depressing than loneliness. Family doesn’t come and visit. Activity dwindles. Variety disappears. When people give up, they do seem to dry up. Their conversations seem shorter and on fewer topics. Their world seems to shrink. They all get treated as if they were children, unable to do anything for themselves. Joy leaves the building.

      But have a group of children visit, and all the smiles return. Have them sing songs, be silly, interact, and the world becomes bigger, at least for the moment. Have dances, make cookies, listen to or perform favorite music for their youth, and they come alive.

Laughing at a Funeral

Proverbs 14:13

The expression of one emotion does not mean that other, even seemingly contradictory emotion, does not exist. Our emotions are very transient. They can change in a moment. But a change from one emotion to another does not mean that there is a permanent shift away from the first to the second. Emotion can be like the waves on a beach, ever shifting and retreating.

I see this shifting most frequently at a funeral and the moments around the funeral. Those who knew the person who died will laugh as they remember some funny incident from their life. To an outsider laughter and grief don’t seem to go hand in hand. And yet, they do seem to go together.

When I was very young I remember my maternal grandmother making lollipops from scratch. She had the metal molds that were carefully washed, oiled and put together with rubber bands. Then all the ingredients were carefully measure and combined. Anticipation began to fill the air.

The pan of ingredients would be placed on the stove and carefully monitored for temperature and time. The thermometer was always right at hand. The temperature had to be just right or the pops would not be hard.

I remember staring into the post and watching the bubbles rise to the surface, create a bubble and then slowly pop. I couldn’t predict the size of the bubble or the exact moment of it breaking. And this part of the process meant that the ingredients were ready for pouring into the molds.

The unpredictable nature of the bubbles reminds me of emotions. They seem to rise to the surface driven by an unseen force. There is no controlling them. The size is unpredictable and the moment of expression is sudden. We can see that they are coming, but we don’t always know when they will be expressed and exactly what will be expressed.

So next time you see emotion rising be ready for joy and sorrow. They are often present at the same time in our lives.