The atmosphere is threaded with tense excitement,
Chatter bounces and vibrates,
My heart races.
And then as the shaggy buffalo mascot beats the center court drum to amp up the crowd even more, this pregame ritual begins:
One of the best players currently in the game, Russell Westbrook, and his rookie sidekick, Cameron Payne approach the sideline at center court and begin to dance. Wild and uninhibited, they flail their arms and stomp their feet to the beat.
A spontaneous and joyful rite ensues much to the delight of the crowd.
Suddenly, a couple opposing players walked in the middle of their dance and stood in the way of their interactive groove. But instead of being intimidated and quitting, with a quick shove they continued with fervor, never missing a beat.
Of course the press couldn’t wait to pound them with questions and insinuations of rancor, hoping to stir the pot.
When pressed, Westbrook’s comments after the game were, “It was nothing, thats for the guys who don’t play.” He refused to allow the press to create a problem, though they salivated for fireworks and name calling.
He didn’t let spoil sports intimidate and ruin his happy dance. And then he took the high road by refusing to acknowledge ire or bitterness. The only irritation he espoused was for the question itself.
We can choose whether or not to let others ruin our happy dance. There will always be those who are jealous or just so miserable that they can’t stand for others to be happy.
And maybe happy is too strong of a word. I’m certainly not happy all the time. But I try to live a contented and even joyful life.
And all I mean by that is—
When the days are dark
And worries descend with vengeance
And our world teeters and groans,
And after I fall to the sirens lure to plunge into the pit of what I DON’T have for the one-millionth-eighty-five-thousanth time,
I remember the only way out of my self-chains
Is to thank God for what I DO have,
To count my blessings,
One by one, stacking each on top of the other, giving me a staircase to climb out of the depths,
And back into the light of joy.
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Proverbs 15:13 A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.
-What is weighing you down?
-Start a list today of your blessings. Add to it everyday and it won’t take long to be overwhelmed with gratitude.