There is an anecdote of the Far West that carries a wonderful lesson. It appears that a party of hunters, being called away from their camp, left the campfire unattended, with a kettle of water boiling on it.
Presently an old bear crept out of the woods, and, seeing the kettle with its lid dancing about on top, promptly seized it. The boiling water scalded him badly, but, instead of dropping the kettle instantly, he proceeded to hug it tightly—this being a bear’s idea of defence. Of course, the tighter he hugged it the more it burned him; and the more it burned him the tighter he hugged it; and so on in a vicious circle, to the undoing of the bear.
This illustrates perfectly the way in which many people hug difficulties to their bosoms by constantly rehearsing them to themselves and others.
Whenever you catch yourself thinking about your grievances, to yourself sternly: "Bear hugs kettle," and think about God instead. You will be surprised how quickly some long-standing wounds heal.
Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord ... (Psalm 25:15) (Emmet Fox)
When I have a problem, the most important thing is to:
- Turn it over to God
- Ask God daily for the right attitude and action
- Then forget all about it.
I forget all about it by:
- Concentrating on the task at hand
- In free time, listening and reading to interesting materials
- Under no circumstances talk about the problem except to garner vital input from one or a maximum of two suitable people
- Under no circumstances think about it: when intruded upon by thoughts on the subject, disavow, reject, turn back, and pray as I'm doing it
- If necessary, erect a blocking wall of repetitive prayer
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