The Psalmist David prayed, “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.” (Ps 19:14 AV)

Meditation is a popular thing to do these days and it has been helpful to me when I am going through a particularly stressful time.

I think most people would say that they do not know how to meditate or do not take the time to meditate but I would suggest to you that we all meditate.

For those of us who meditate intentionally we focus on some positive phrase or words and we concentrate on them. Often, we repeat a phrase or word and try to relax while we focus on one or two words.

For those times when we are not intentionally meditating, I find my self revisiting old emotional wounds or injuries and keep going over and over them and getting more and more angry or distraught. This too is meditating. However, this is destructive meditation. It is not improving our mindset and is adding to our stress levels.

Dr. Daniel Amen, a noted psychiatrist, tells us to stop doing that. When we catch ourselves meditating on negative, non-beneficial thoughts, we need to replace them with thankful thoughts.

We all have much to be thankful for. Some of us need to stop and analyze our lives to take notice of those things because meditating the on unpleasant things in our lives has become a bad habit.  Take some time and make a list of the things in your life that you can be thankful for.  I have food on the table.  My family is healthy. I have a warm place to live, etc.

Perhaps I am not too well.  I can be thankful that I am not as bad as the guy down the street who has more health problems than I do.

This practice of finding things to be thankful for has been a benefit to me.  My wife and I have had issues and I have had a tendency to resent her.  I found that being thankful for her in spite of the irritations has been a helpful.  The irritations may still be there but she is a blessing in other ways which I have learned to focus on and be thankful.

If we are in the position of frequently mulling over the negative things in our lives, we need to become intentional about changing our thinking. We all have done it, some more than others, but we need to make the effort to change our thinking.

Depending on our previous habits and how deep seated they may be we may need to start with some baby steps. Do not become discouraged if you catch you selves being negative often. Just keep trying. Few of us have arrived at no negative thinking at all. We are human, but we can make a difference if we give it some effort.

If it seems too difficult, try talking to a trusted friend and have him or her help uncover blessings that you can be thankful for.  They can also help keep you accountable.

Do not give up. You can do it. Hang in there. One step at a time.