There’s a story of a Cherokee Chief teaching his grandson about life. He told his grandson, “A fight is going on inside of me. A terrible fight between two wolves. One is evil. The other is good. The same fight is going on inside of you and inside of every other person.” The grandson thought for a moment and then asked, “Which wolf will win?” The Chief replied, “The one you feed.”
I believe in addition to evil and good; we also have a battle between fear and faith. You may or may not have religious faith. However, we all must have faith in someone or something in order to have hope. There can be no long term success or significance without faith and hope.
We are living in a time, where we are being fed fear whether we want it or not. Every day we are bombarded with negativity. Every day we are confronted by people trying to divide us. We are faced with being demonized if we don’t agree with one side or the other. We are losing the choice of “agreeing to disagree.” We are losing the acceptance of differences.
You must be intentional about feeding your faith. It won’t happen on its own.
Our world, yours, and mine, is intentionally being centered around COVID-19 and the ever impending new strains that appear to be endless depending on who’s doing the forecasting. Without personal, intentional focus, there is no way to avoid the constant battles over masks and no masks, vaccination, or no vaccination. In fact, if you fail to be the gatekeeper of your mind, you will be destined to believe that the virus(es) are the only thing in life to fear.
I’ve even had people ask me lately, “Are normal illnesses gone?” The answer of course, is absolutely not. Our current situation is a perfect example of what you focus on becomes bigger and more relevant.
Here are several examples of things that were present before COVID-19 (and its variants) and will continue to be here:
Statistics show at least 2.8 million people are dying each year from obesity. If you do the math, that breaks down to more than 5 people every minute die from being overweight or obese.
Nearly 800,000 people worldwide die from suicide each year. This is roughly one every 40 seconds. In the U.S., suicide claims more lives than war, murder, and natural disasters combined.
Here in the U.S., we have more than 480,000 deaths a year related to cigarette smoking, which includes more than 41,000 from second-hand smoke. This equates to 1,300 deaths daily or almost one person per minute. On average, smokers die 10 years sooner than non-smokers.
Excessive alcohol use is responsible for more than 95,000 deaths a year, in the U.S. alone. This averages out to be 261 deaths per day. These deaths shorten the lives of those who die by an average of 29 years!
Over 37,000 people die each year from an automobile accident. That’s one person every sixteen minutes.
It’s sad to say, but scientists, psychiatrists, and the average individual can tell you, the more we isolate from one another, the higher depression rates go up. Isolating and social distancing are like most medications you see advertised on TV. While the medications may solve one problem, there are side-effects that can cause different problems.
I’m not here today to increase your fears or to take one side of the argument for masks vs. no-masks, or vaccination vs. no vaccination. I’m not even trying to convince you to take my word for anything. I’m asking you to do your own research. Don’t just listen to the hype on either side. Listen to both sides. Then make your own decisions. Trust your own eyes with what you see.
I encourage you to stop listening to the media and do your own research on media. Quite often I hear comments like “all of the media can’t be wrong.” If you search media, you will discover some startling facts. For example, in 1984 (just 37 years ago) 50 companies controlled the media in America. Fast forward to today and just 6 companies control 90% of what we read, watch, or listen to in America. This also plays a role in what gets deleted and who determines what is “Fake News.”
One thing I have found to be true. (I hope you will explore and discover this to be true for you as well.) Individuals that remain optimistic about the future and have a positive feeling about the present are those that intentionally limit what they allow into their minds. They read good books. They listen to optimistic podcasts. They stay away from social media and television. They focus on what they can control in their own lives. They are feeding their faith and starving their fears!
On the other hand, the individuals that are angry, listen intently to the daily news. They watch what their neighbors are doing or not doing. They are tracking who’s agreeing with them and who’s got a different opinion. With them, it’s no longer simply a difference of opinion, it’s an “Us vs. Them” mentality. They are feeding their fears!
Remember, there is greatness within you. You must choose greatness. It won’t develop on its own. I believe in you!
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I appreciate you. I know your time is limited and I hope you receive value in reading my posts.
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I always look forward to your thoughts and replies.
Published by Bryan M. Balch, Results Coach
Helping Individuals and Businesses Achieve Desired Results
