We are all tributaries…part of something that flows into something else which flows into something else, to make up a whole something!

Maybe we could rename ourselves contributaries… we are all contributing to something. We are all contributing to life, our own, our family’s our neighbor’s, community, state, nation…the list goes on, and it all begins with you and I.

What am I sending down my tributary to contribute to the next stream, river or pond/lake, because what I send out will affect somebody else. So I, we, have to be conscious that what is fed into other’s waterways could cause them to grow and be encouraged and strengthened, or it might be a pollutant of sorts, causing stagnation (stop moving), indifference (the blahs), or even poison (kill ideas and stifle growth).

Why should we allow ourselves to retard someone else’s growth because we don’t keep our tributary clean and pure – sending something harmful down their way?

We see the importance of keeping real waterways clean, free of chemical pollutants, debris, plastic bottles etc. for the sake of fish and other mammals, what about the importance of protecting the mammal called humanity (us!) free from the internal contaminants which work from the inside out?

Every chance we get, let’s work to send good down our ‘waterway’ to better the whole of us. We are in charge of looking out for each other…as well as ourselves.

Do I need to clean out, maybe even dredge out my tributary so it flows clear again?

You are worth it! Others are worth your contribution!

Yesterday we talked about magnification!

In my teens, a transitory time for everyone, one of my friend’s mothers was very critical of others. I think she had a low opinion of herself although there was no need to. She was a good mom. But, everywhere we went she was commenting on someone and their flaws. Without realizing it, gradually over the years of listening to her comments (my friend and I did a lot of things together from grade school on through graduation) I began to ‘notice’ the negative and I too became more critical in my observations of others. Ultimately it led to extreme self-consciousness on my part, because I began to see all my imperfections and thought others noticed them and were making comments about me. Already prone to shyness, I found myself ‘going into hiding’ when around others, to ‘protect myself’ from possible critical thoughts of others.

All this did was slow down my growth, cause me to primarily think only about me and what others might think, and prevented me from opening up and being friendly and helpful to others. I was a prisoner of my own making (thinking)!!!

Finally in my college years, I realized all this thinking wasn’t who I really was or wanted to become.

It was a process to start recognizing and refuting all the negative critical thoughts I’d entertained for years, but I was determined to live a better, free-er, more generous, less selfish life.

Another time I’ll go into more detail of the effects of an introverted life for me, but for now, I will tell you I am free of it. It was truly life changing to be set free of its mentality.

Are there areas in you life you need to be set free from? It begins by a simple realization that you can be.

• What a beautiful red orange sunset!
• Look at all the trash floating down the gutter!
• That’s a lovely looking family sitting over there!
• Their kids are little rascals!
• He has such a good way of speaking!
• Her voice is too shrill!
• They keep their yard so neat and tidy!
• That place looks like a dump!
• I think I look great today!
• I’m so fat and ugly!
• That was an excellent article to read!
• I don’t agree with a thing in there!
• What a delicious meal she prepared!
• I didn’t like the salad!
• What a sharp looking outfit she’s wearing!
• It would have looked better in blue!

What do we see? What are we looking for? Are we looking to build up or to put down?

Too often when we magnify another’s perceived flaws, we’re really feeling bad about something inside of us, but if we speak something (even think something) good, positive, uplifting about the other person or situation, we will begin to feel better about ourselves.

What do we magnify? What do we really want to magnify? What would we like others to magnify about us?

Stay tuned for Part 2, a true confession from me of my past and now my freedom.