Shrug Therapy, Yes Please!

 

Don’t stress out that this looks like a video but is simply a photo. I couldn’t find Joyce’s idea of shrug therapy without the arrow. So I am not stressing about the arrow but shrugging it off. Oh well needs to be my go to phrase when even little things don’t go as planned. 

Just shrug it off. It is a choice I make to let circumstances upset or consume me or just move forward in my situation. Doesn’t that sound like I have this all figured out? Nope! It is a work in progress as I catch myself letting things knock me out of my joy. Last night I cleaned out my fridge which is my practice every Monday night since Tuesday is trash day. The salsa that I was not even throwing away fell out or was pushed and spilled in the fridge, the rug in front of the fridge and all over my shoe. Ugh! I caught myself and shrugged it off. That doesn’t mean I left the mess for Ronnie B to clean up. It does mean I realized I could take care of it in under two minutes so what was the big deal. 

Sometimes hurts or inconveniences are not so easily dealt with and bring a lot of emotional baggage. Even those I can pray about, support where I can and trust that even if it doesn’t turn out the way I would choose, God has this. His love for me and those I love is greater than mine and more often than not I can’t see the whole picture of how He is moving. That is worth resting in and worth shrug therapy. After all, pitching a fit has never made anything better. My eleven month old great grandson has not learned this lesson either. He literally stomps his feet and bangs his head when he doesn’t get his way. How sad that I need his innocent behaviors to remind me that I may not physically stomp and bang but I do rant rather than trust. They say insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Joyce is right that getting all frustrated or angry won’t solve anything. So shrugging it off and moving on is the best choice. 

Perhaps I will learn this before I am seventy. Actually I stay

calmer than I used to so a work in progress is what I will identify as. After all, my letting things upset me should not be another thing I stress about or is it? Hope you have a peaceful day and your salsa stays on the shelf where it belongs. Now I need to go outside and see if the bears got into my trash again. It is so fun to wake up and pick up all the trash off the street. Hibernation is just around the corner for that I am thankful.

In Him,

Joyful

9-5-23