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THE TOXIC LIFE


We have all known people, organizations, and even churches that are nothing but negative and hateful. We all have times of feeling negative for a bit. This is sometimes brought on by reading websites of both sides of the political spectrum and the venomous comments people leave, oh my! There are times when this is brought on by too much regular bad and depressing news on TV, radio, and print. Reading people's social media rants with thirty posts and tweets from other negative sources plastered on their Wall or Tweet Board to supposedly warn us of all the evil... "give me those ruby slippers and your little dog Toto too!" Sometimes this is brought on when we encounter people face to face and hear their toxic world and life view spit out all over us. We walk away feeling depressed and anxious... "lions and tigers and bears oh my!"

So we put on our rose-colored glasses and all is well, right? Do we allow the oxidation of our souls by the world? See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil... well... I believe a sagacious person understands this is a fallen world filled with sin. Now, this is not to say we should not stand up for a righteous cause for even Jesus overturned the tables in the Temple. (John 2:13-17 / Matthew 21:12-13) But how we approach this world can be the difference between being a miserable toxic person who people try to avoid and a person with a pleasant disposition that people like to be around. We need to focus on the Rose petal and not the thorns on the stem. Even in the face of an iniquitous world with lots of complicated problems due to sin, we should try hard to be a buoyant person filled with love for there is still beauty and kindness in this world if we but open our eyes.

I consciously choose every day not to be a toxic person. Immersing myself in prayer, reading the New Testament, and taking the Eucharistic sacrament to help me to stay cleansed of the toxins of this world and the sin within. What these spiritual disciplines do for me is to allow my spirit to be open for the Holy Spirit to work within me to affect the world around me for the better. The hope is that as my Heavenly Father overflows my soul with love, grace, and merciful blessings I will be able to share that extra with others in words of encouragement, an understanding heart, and another small light of hope in the world.           

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