Attitude – What Are You Saying?

Often, as we work, live, and mingle with people on a daily basis (some of whom we are closer with than others) the only chance that people may have to know us is by our attitude – how you present yourself and the manner in which you say something. Sometimes, you only get one chance with an individual – a phone call or a chance encounter – and perhaps never to be relived again. Do you ever ask yourself, “How did I present myself in that situation?” Did I bring all of my “baggage” with me when I spoke with the individual? The stuff of a typical day – difficult people, difficult situations and seemingly endless tasks – can color the way we approach everything.

I often think after I speak with someone in the daily settings of my life – in the office, in meetings, others in the synod, others in the ELCA, in my family and in other situations – how have I presented myself? – as someone weary from the storms of the day, or someone ready to accept new challenges eagerly and openly with a spirit of Christian love?

John Maxwell speaks often in his publications about the importance of a positive approach to life and how it can color our perceptions of life. In one example, he speaks of a newly-married wife who, upon learning that her husband will be stationed in the California desert, decides to follow him to the desert to be near him. The only place available for them to live in was a dilapidated shack near the Indian village. She found the situation nearly unbearable – the heat was over 100 degrees in the shade; a dry, fierce wind blew constantly, covering everything with a grey dust that settled on the environment like a newly-laundered sheet being flung on a bed.

No one spoke English. The newly-married young lady was alone and miserable. She then received notice that her husband would be going further into the desert for two weeks. She decided that she could not continue and wrote her mother to ask if she could make arrangements for her to come home.

Her mother replied: Two men looked through prison bars; one saw mud, the other saw stars.

As we face life daily, do we say “Father, forgive me, I can’t go on. I am weary and don’t want to face the difficulties any longer. Why am I being given these situations?” Or do we say, “Father, thank you for the darknes so that I can appreciate the stars and the many opportunities afforded to me on a daily basis. Give me strength through your Holy Spirit to face each situation the way that you would wish me to face them.”

What does your attitude say to others?