After The Work

You may have heard of choice cuts of beef, or choice licks on a guitar. They are select, unique, and our favorites in whatever genre we are describing. The spiritual life also has choice verses, passages, music, and prayers that we seem to gravitate back to. Perhaps they resonated with you at an important time in your life. For example, maybe you heard “trust in the Lord with all your heart” around the time you were on the cusp of a major decision, strengthening our faith.

Choice thoughts are another submission to this conversation. You may have heard people say “chose joy” or “take each thought captive” in spiritual spheres. It is about mental discipline or positive self talk. Sometimes our default mental narratives are negative or unhealthy. Maybe we start euphoric recall of an old habit we are trying to kick; or a good ole’ fashion temptation. It takes energy to choose to think of something different.

One counselor recommended writing ten positive thoughts to counter a negative thought, kind of a power-through cognitive change. Sometimes it takes that kind of pen and paper work to develop new habits and pathways of thought. When we have affirming thoughts of gratitude, love, a good memory, or something that makes us happy… we have some choice thoughts.

There are many avenues to mental health and they shouldn’t be walked alone. Others are vital to assisting us when we are really down. They can mirror to us our positive qualities and enable us to consider new ways of looking at something. Getting together with a friend or wise counsel can produce some of the choicest thoughts of all. There is power in community, especially when we are trapped in our negative rut.

Self-pity is a spoiled thought, not choice at all. Nor are resentments and grandiosity tasty thoughts, either. Resentment is bitter and grandiosity is that sickening sweet taste that fools you into thinking something is more delicious that you thought. What do we do when we are indulging in sickening thoughts?

Turning over our thoughts to God seems to be a reliable method. Deep breaths, meditation, or helping others are also reliable means of changing to course of our thought life. Asking God to remove unhelpful and often hurtful thoughts and replace them with love and gratitude is truly “taking each thought captive and making them obedient to Christ”.

Helping someone else pulls us out of our misery and gives us respite while we love someone else. Allowing thoughts to come and go in meditation with an “open palm” is another way to select the choicest thoughts and allow the bad to float away. Perhaps a combination of several ways is what helps you. There is no wrong way to do it, only that we become more selective in our thinking, rather than just let the garbage truck in our mind spew trash about.

Seek a rich fare of thoughts you like that are healthy and affirming. Select the choices thoughts as you listen to the choicest licks on your playlist. Just as we place intent upon what we eat and listen to, lets take responsibility for the noise in our head and turn it to healing.