Resonate
Catching the Vibes
Introduction
As the “R-series” continues with some of my favorite “R” words, this issue of The Adventure of Reflection focuses on the word Resonate. Thank you for joining me as I ponder “catching the vibes” we send out to each other.
Note about the image: These are blooming in my backyard, a massive row that originated from a single plant given to me years ago by a friend who just became a subscriber.
A Minute of Motivation
Honest Vibes
Always speak the truth and you’ll never be concerned about your memory.
Honesty seems to be a rare commodity these days. Children lie to their parents, parents lie to their kids, citizens lie to authorities (“I didn’t see the speed limit sign, honest, officer!”), and tax payers cheat on their income taxes. The motto seems to be, “If you can keep from getting caught, go ahead and lie.”
Well, being dishonest erodes your character and integrity. Get caught in one lie and people will suspect you of lying again, even when you’re telling the truth. Integrity and honesty go hand in hand. If you want people to believe you and trust you, tell the truth.
Don’t hide from the truth, and you won’t feel you have anything to hide.
Note. Originally published in 1992. Re-published here because of the good vibes a person sends out by being honest. This integrity creates a resonance in others of “I have a good feeling about you.” Note also, there are only three “Minute Motivators” to re-publish from my 30-year old archive. Changes are coming!
Enjoy Life More
Catching Good Vibes
People are connected by an invisible energy, something like an electrical field. Don’t take me literally on this one, but we can sense the vibes of each other. Some of those vibes are energizing and others are draining. We’ve all met someone and said, “I have a bad feeling about them.” Or, conversely, “I just feel good when I’m around them.”
So, though not a scientific, research-supported hypothesis by any means, you know the reality of which I speak. We each send out, and catch, vibes from each other. Sometimes those vibes are critical or negative, bringing a depleting resonance to those nearby. At other times those vibes are uplifting and encouraging, bringing an energizing resonance to those nearby.
Like electrical charges, the negative vibes drain us and the positive vibes re-charge us.
Where, and by whom, are you being drained? Where, and by whom, are you being re-charged?
To enjoy life more, focus on catching good vibes from the people and situations around you. This might mean making some changes to what you read, hear, and watch. This might mean adjusting the time you spend with various people in your world, minimizing exposure to those sending out bad vibes. Another option is to put on your emotional insulation before being around someone who is draining.
Resonating from the vibes of people and situations around you is unavoidable. Catching more good vibes will help keep your emotional batteries charged. When you are charged with good vibes you will send them out to those around you, causing a positive resonance to others.
Faith Corner
“Focus on what is lovely, true, pure, and good.” (See Philippians 4:8)
Life can be quite draining. Almost every day brings news of disappointment or frustration or worse. Each bit of such news pokes a hole in our reservoir of joy, causing a leak. Drains on our joy come every day and it is so easy to become depleted or discouraged.
Paul, in a letter of encouragement to the believers in Philippi, urged them to think about uplifting things. In some translations the phrase “think about such things” is used. He doesn’t say to ignore the discouraging news and live with a Pollyanna view. Instead, he advises his readers to focus on whatsoever is lovely, true, pure, and good.
Focusing on something doesn’t mean that other parts of our view are out of sight. Focusing means some parts are brought into sharper focus, while others blur into the background. Every day brings images of flowers and weeds. Focusing on the flowers charges the spirit with joy. Focusing on the weeds depletes joy. We need to see the weeds, not ignore them. But the good vibes are coming from the flowers.
Dear Lord, I confess to focusing on the weeds in my world and not paying enough attention to the flowers. Help me to put my focus on the lovely, true, pure, and good around me, shifting everything else into the blurry background. Thank You for being lovely, true, pure, and good. Help me to focus more on You. Amen.
Note. If you want to do your own investigation of any of the scriptures I use, I suggest you go to Bible Gateway. This free online version of the Bible allows a search of words or phrases and provides various translations.
Poetry Pause
Resonate
My being is in tune
With you.
I sense the vibes
Of you.
My vibes are affected
By your vibes.
I resonate with the essence
Of you.
Sometimes I hum
With your pain.
And, sometimes I hum
With your joy.
Together
We resonate.
By Cindy MacGregor, September 22, 2023
Note. This is just a free association about the invisible way we affect each other.
Old Mom to Young Mom
Parental Spidey-Sense
If you are like most parents, you worry about someone in your child’s world causing them harm. With stories of coaches, pastors, and teachers who are found to be harming children, such parental worries are not completely unfounded. Thankfully, parents come equipped with “spidey-sense,” helping them detect when someone or something isn’t quite right.
“Parental spidey-sense” is that uncomfortable gut feeling brought about in certain situations or around certain people. Maybe someone in your child’s world “rubs you the wrong way.” Perhaps you are uncomfortable when your child spends long periods of time alone on a computer or smartphone. Pay attention to these signals. Your “spidey-sense” might be detecting the vibes of someone or something in your child’s life that puts them at risk of being harmed.
You don’t have to “know” something is wrong to act on something being wrong. A parent I know had a bad feeling about a young man who wanted to date their daughter. When that same teenage male put a condom on their daughter’s antenna as a joke, the sense of “wrong-ness” intensified. The parents decided to prohibit their daughter from going to a high school dance with this suitor. Were they right in that decision, which caused intense conflict with their daughter? Was there sufficient evidence to justify their prohibition? Their “parental spidey-sense” was flashing in alert. So, they acted on it.
As an old mom to young parents, I encourage you to act on your “parental spidey-sense.” There is an intuition that equips parents to protect their children from harm. Sometimes they are “right” and at other times they might be over-reacting. But, as the saying goes, it is better to err in the direction of caution. Trust your “spidey-sense.”
Dear Dr. Mac
Dear Readers:
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