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A way out of office politics
Originally appeared on spirituality.com
It was a typical lunch hour for me. I was eating in an empty office at my workplace, feeling restless and unhappy about going back to my desk. This position that had at one time offered challenging new opportunities had quickly degenerated into a quagmire of office politics, gossip, and personal agendas. And my paychecks weren’t substantial enough to cover the basic cost of living expenses. I wanted out, but had no idea where to go. On top of it all, I was developing the symptoms of a cold.
That week, I attended a Christian Science lecture about security. One point that stuck with me after that lecture was, “worrying is ingratitude in advance.” I realized that over that past year, I’d spent so much time worrying about what other people in my office thought of me, worrying about making ends meet, worrying about what I’d make each night for dinner, that I hadn’t spent much time thanking God for blessing me with my job in the first place! After all, it did provide a consistent income, and my supervisor had supported me on more than one occasion as I attempted to navigate what I then saw as a toxic office environment.
As I began to reevaluate my attitude, I found this dynamite idea in Mary Baker Eddy’s textbook on Christian Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “Action expresses more gratitude than speech.” This made so much sense to me—grateful living required more than just words, it required humility and patience. It quickly became my spiritual focus. Right away I vowed to stop worrying and start thinking and, most importantly, acting grateful.
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