When it comes to “giving things to God” and “letting go,” I’m often better at that when it comes to big things (i.e. I’ll have an emotional/physical/spiritual meltdown if I don’t turn to God) than the little things. My approach to dealing with my petty jealousies and my “justice yardstick” tends to be to cultivate gratitude for all the things I have and for things the people in my life do for me (if I think about the ways family members have blessed my life on a large scale, it can be easier to relax about the little things that are happening right now that I’m frustrated about). I don’t often give these little things to God, but doing this does help adjust my overall perspective. But it can be difficult. Good luck figuring it out!

http://thingsofmysoul.blogspot.com/2008/10/cast-thy-burden-at-his-feet.html

I’m trying to figure out how I can learn to let go of keeping score in my relationships. It turns out I’m kind of petty, and I’m embarrassed by it. If I sense that I’ve been doing more service for a friend or family member than they’ve been doing for me, I sometimes feel resentful. If I a friend or family member seems to have more advantages than I do, I sometimes get jealous. I think I’m a little too attuned to the idea of justice, what’s fair, what I deserve, etc. I want to quit carrying around my justice yardstick everywhere. Ultimately, I don’t really want what I deserve; I want forgiveness and mercy and eternal joy.

Once I was complaining to a (non-LDS) friend about someone in my life that I consider an imposition. I had a long list of evidence about how this person was treating me in a way that wasn’t fair or reasonable. The offenses in question were real, but (in retrospect) fairly trivial. My friend said, “Just give it to God, and let it go.”

I don’t quite understand what that means, but I would like to. It sounds great – “Here you go, God. I don’t want these anymore – they’re all yours. I’m tired of carrying around the anger and indignation and annoyance. I’m dumping them on you. Could you just take them to the D.I. for me or something?”

I define “charity” much like this phrase: the willingness to realize that all of us see through our own glasses, darkly and, therefore, to cut everyone some slack in how we categorize and view them – to be more generous than we naturally would be.

This is another post I will be linking on my own blog eventually.

miles, I really like that idea of being happy about the joys of others–it seems like a great idea for drawing closer to others and for shifting one’s own attitude. And if you need to have any discussions on approaching and/or dealing with teenagers, let me know–I spend hours and hours with teenagers every week (I’m a HS English teacher), and I love it.

Eve, thanks.

Mary Magdalene, I can be impatient too, and I know that many, many people find my aloof. I think I’m getting better, though–my job is certainly helping with this!

I recognize the ineffectiveness of this part of me when I meet new people or interact with acquaintances at church. I get frustrated and it’s been reported back to me (usually much later) that their first impression of me …. cold, aloof, standoffish, uppity. (my kneejerk thought ? “if only they knew what I was truly thinking.”)

Of course, I don’t want to be that way and I have a sincere desire to live a Christ-like life. Everything around is brighter and better when I live squarely in His light. A good friend of mine simply said to treat everyone I know like they are new … new to the ward (“can I help you find something?”), new to RS (“Can I sit with you?”), new to the area (“you need help finding a good orthodontist?”), etc.

It works when I behave in a sincere manner, but quite frankly – it’s difficult and I get grumpy and frustrated and we start all over again. I think I’ll tuck “generosity of spirit” into my tool box and use it regularly. thanks a ton.

it’s a great thursday out there.

Last year I worked on allowing myself to be excited for others joys, whether it was a new kitchen, vacation, or small things. I found it helped me get closer to people and made me realize how much I wanted a very simple life. Although I could celebrate with a friend, I realized that some of the stuff others were happy about would do nothing for me. That was rather unexpected and peaceful.