Monday, June 2, 2014

Overcoming the Negative

Welcome!

I always try to have a positive tone on my blog posts, and this one is no exception, although at first it may not seem that way.  An recent incident made me realize that this post was long overdue.

(Be warned: This next paragraph is not pretty!)

A few days ago, I was walking in a park with a lake, enjoying the fresh air and beautiful sunshine, when suddenly, a duck ran over to another duck that was just standing on the walkway, and for no obvious reason, started chasing it.  Much to my shock and amazement, the aggressive duck knocked the other duck off its feet, and he held it down and started viciously biting it's neck.  I was absolutely appalled for, to me, this was a horrific scene.  Most of us hate to see unfairness and especially cruelty, so I started yelling at the duck, thinking that would put an end to the attack, but to no avail.  I then looked down at my feet and saw and picked up some pebbles which I tossed near the attacking duck.  Thankfully, that did the trick, for it let go of its victim which quickly got up and left for another area of the park.

I was glad that I could be there to help out that poor duck, but I started wondering why this happened while I was there.  Was there a deeper meaning to it all?  As I've written about previously, I believe that we are being sent signs all along, that we just have to pay attention to them and get the lesson from each one.

The first thing I felt I was being told was that we shouldn't be like an ostrich and stick our heads in the sand and try to pretend everything is okay when it isn't.  We need to enjoy life and to accentuate the positive, but not let any person or institution take advantage of us.  Be happy and positive, but always keep one eye open!

Back to my ugly duck story, what was his problem, anyway?  I noticed right off that the ducks looked different.  They were not the same type of duck.  Do you suppose the aggressive duck didn't like it that the other duck was different, that he didn't want that kind of duck around?  Or, maybe (s)he was jealous because (s)he thought that duck looked prettier or more handsome than (s)he did.  Who knows?  Maybe that duck was just having a bad day, or maybe...(s)he's just mean, period!

This brings me back to the other important lesson I was being taught, and that was that I need to quit procrastinating, and to finish the book I started on overcoming abuse which is a subject that most of us can relate to.

Although we want to see the best in everyone and give them the benefit of the doubt, the truth is that, unfortunately, some people act about as mature as that out-of-sorts duck.  Would you try to befriend a lion?

I have a lot of interests and one of my favorites is psychology.  Although I don't have a degree in the subject, I have studied it extensively, and I believe I could bring helpful insights to others through my writing.  I pretty thoroughly understand what makes abusers, users, harassers, bullies, gossips, name-callers, controllers, backstabbers, and even sociopaths tick.  We need to protect ourselves from these negative types of individuals, so we can live happier, more fulfilling lives!

I love people individually and in general, but I still keep one eye open!

This has been a pretty heavy blog post, so wash your eyes out with the following-

This past weekend, Greg and I visited a wonderful place to eat that we just discovered, The Cheesecake Factory in Knoxville, Tennessee that has over 200 menu selections made from scratch every day!  It's a relatively small chain, and there are only two in Tennessee.

The people there are friendly, and the food is delicious!


 Shepherd's Pie

There was so much food, we brought part of it home for the next day.


Carrot Cake

F.Y.I.
The Cheesecake Factory
West Town Mall
201 Morrell Road
Knoxville, TN 37919
(865) 670-7443
(Also, search online for the location nearest you.)

Positive thought: Smile!  God loves you!
Thanks for visiting!  Until next Sunday, Becky



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