Shower thoughts with Shelly

PROTECTED CONTENT

If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.

Username

Password

Login

Lost your password?

Username and Password Help

Please enter your email and we will send your username and password to you.

Email

Submit

← Back

Find your peace

“I just can’t believe that she went off and…”

“But haven’t you heard what they said about me?”

“Oh my gosh, you’re never going to believe what I heard…”

“I don’t even know what to do, these things they’re saying about me…”

I feel like we worry an awful lot about what people are or aren’t doing, and what people do or don’t think of us. Very specifically I feel like we worry too much about the opinions of others. Now… there are laws, of course. There are plenty of things we can all agree on when it comes to right and wrong. There are plenty of things we don’t agree on, though… and that’s OK as well. The truth? People will make up stories wherever they please. Their stories don’t have to have any more facts to them than the fairy tales we read as children. Your nervous neighbor may very well have herself convinced that you’re practicing witchcraft when the truth is that you just enjoy your fire pit in the evenings. Your parents could be thinking they’ve wasted their money on college when in fact you’re about to graduate and already have a six-figure job lined up.

And we all know… within small groups, small towns, and familiar people… the rumor mill can be especially dramatic. The things that you’ll learn your peers have presumed to be true about you can be astounding, alarming, and downright hurtful. Which, of course, is the trouble with rumors and speculations.

The best bet, on either side of the issue, is to not concern yourself with others. Your personal life is just that… your personal life. Likewise, your neighbor’s personal life is also personal. What business is it of either of you to judge the other? Assuming neither of you is harming people, does it really matter what you think of each other? If one of you paints your bedroom a color that the other thinks is hideous… does that matter at all?

Don’t perpetuate rumors. You never know how your assumptions can affect someone else. You also wouldn’t want to have them projecting their assumptions back onto you. Concern yourself with your own heart, not the actions of others. What others are doing, or what they might say you’re doing… that’s not important. What ultimately helps you sleep at night? What gives you peace? Find your peace, and leave the rest of the world to assumptions.