Licking the Razor's Edge (2015)

TIP #07: DEFEND an ENEMY …
One of the most common symptoms of a negativity addiction (and evidence that
negativity addiction is incredibly common) is the tendency many people have to gossip
about others. And because it is so commonplace and thereby so taken for granted, it
becomes that much more powerful when we choose to consciously do the opposite.
“Posigossip” is what I call it — when a person gently but firmly chooses to defend the
person or persons being gossiped about.
Mention something wonderful they did in the past … Find a reasonable explanation for
their “poor behavior” … Simply note in passing that you happen to think they are
basically a good person no matter what they might have done or not done.
As “herd animals”, it is extremely difficult for us humans to have the courage to stand out
in a crowd, no matter how small the crowd might be. And this is especially true when that
crowd happens to be banding together to verbally attack a “common enemy” (which is
what gossip essentially is). Well, it is precisely because it is so difficult that this Noble
Deed becomes so potent – not only briefly awakening the gossipers to the injustice of
their literal “trash talk”, but also completely shattering every bit of negativity and gloom
that had resided within ourselves beforehand.
In conclusion, even though there is more than enough evidence to support the ego’s
claims that the world is “falling apart” and that life is painful & “unfair”, there is also
more than enough evidence to adopt another point of view – the equally valid Truth that
our world is still stunningly Beauty-full, and that our lives, regardless of any & all
external circumstances, are always laden with opportunities filled with both Meaning &
Wonder.
While it is true that we cannot control what happens to us in our lifetime — and while it
is equally true that some of those situations are extremely painful ones, we can always
choose how we respond to them.
We can – no matter what happens to us — always choose to see life as an honor and a
privilege … we can choose to deeply revere the fact that we are alive at all … and we can
always choose to act accordingly.
“Negativity is an addiction to the bleak haze that always lingers nearby … And yet we
can in any moment transform this shadow by turning it towards the Light in your Spirit.”
~ inspired by John O’Donohue
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It makes whatever we already have into more than
enough … It transforms all suffering into peacefulness, mere meals into feasts, and
feared strangers into friends.” ~ inspired by Melody Beattie
There are the things that we can change: our own intentions, our own attitude, and our
own actions. And there are the things that we cannot change: … everything else.
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