Changing the way I respond to others means changing my view of things. Sometimes I find the world around me is filled with negativity. Some people seem to thrive on bringing everyone around them into their negative world. Once I get into that frame of mind, it is hard to break out.
One thing I enjoy to bring back some light heartedness into my life is listening to humorists speak. There are several, and one in particular I enjoy is Jeanne Robertson. I listen via Pandora radio and watch on You Tube. I enjoy hearing her stories and about things that happen to us everyday and finding the humor in it. Sometimes I get so caught up in the mundane of life and get stuck in the mire. I need the reassurance and reminder to ‘look for the humor’. I need to put on my ‘new perspective glasses’ and see things differently.
I am currently listening to the Harry Potter books. I have just started on book 3. One scene I enjoy is when Harry and the other students learn the Riddikulus spell. With this spell the person faces a strong fear and with the spell they imagine the fear as something amusing; like a feared teacher dressed in a ridiculous hat and dress. You can’t help but laugh, and it is hard to be filled with anxiousness and worry while laughing.
When I got to this part I wondered what if I used this imagery when I face anxiety and fears. God tells us to trust in Him. We are not to worry or be fearful. I don’t know about you, but sometimes the weight of the fear and anxiety is so heavy I lose sight of God. So, how could I make an overwhelming fear into something RIDICULOUS. Just like a humorist will show an activity in a funny light, changing the perception of the event, I must get control of my mind and change the way I view what is overwhelming me.
Maybe that stack of bills could become the bill of large bird and it would fly away. Perhaps the physical pain could become something sitting on a dunking machine that I throw God’s Word at and watch it fall – SPLASH – into the well.
I don’t’ know. I am still working on it. But I have to admit, thinking about that did make me smile. Smiling opens up the mind to possibilities.
During a discussion of what we are reading right now a friend asked me if, as a Christian, I had a problem reading Harry Potter. My answer was ‘no’. I went on to explain it along the lines of a movie trailer I saw when I went to see the new Star Wars movie. The movie trailer was for one with Batman and Superman in it. One of the lines in there was about this being a battle of light versus dark. I see the Harry Potter (and Star Wars, etc) as a battle of light versus dark. We live in a world where this battle does exist. No, I am not going to grab a wand and cry “Riddikulus” in a fearful situation. But if I take my focus off that and do whatever it takes to remind myself God is in control, then I am letting the Light into my darkness. Light will overcome.
God has given His peace, and there nothing ridiculous about that.
What Riddikulus spell would you like to cast?