Say No to Negativity

Each day this month I will be answering one question from these December Journal Prompts.

Day 28: Next year I’d like to improve my spiritual health by…

Not long ago, Ryan and I discussed how some of our recent conversations had taken on an unnecessarily negative tone. Ryan, in particular, has always been a passionate advocate for taking a positive outlook on life, and so this was a strange place to find ourselves in. It wasn’t that either of us had intentionally been steering our conversations in a downbeat direction, but somehow, it seemed we had wandered off the more positive path without realizing it.

It caught my attention when I started to notice the negativity seeping into my heart and tainting my thoughts. I started having fictional arguments in my mind with people that love. I started imagining all the things that might go wrong with certain situations, and how other people were obviously to blame. I started feeling frustrated about things that hadn’t even happened.

The sudden and noticeable damage done by a slight detour off the path was startling. It made me realize how incredibly on guard I need to be in order to protect my heart against darkness. It’s not like I was watching horror movies or living a secret life… I was just having seemingly normal conversations with my husband. But that’s the thing. Negativity can be very cunning and sneaky if you’re not paying close attention.

Sometimes when you think you’re just venting to get something off your chest, you’re actually opening up your heart to a darkness that you really don’t want residing there. Ryan and I found ourselves in this place, and we realized that we have to make a change. We can’t let negativity go unchecked in our lives under the guise of “healthy venting”, or anything else for that matter. We need to take a stand against the darkness, and fiercely protect the light in our hearts.

This is something I want to be very vigilant about in 2019. I believe that one of the best things I can do for my spiritual health will be to actively and strategically resist the darkness that seeks to infiltrate my heart, tarnish my thoughts, and distract me from what matters most. I need to say no to negativity, and yes to the truth which sets me free!