I was talking about that whole cancel culture life recently. & how we have this whole ‘remove-the-bad-vibes-from-my-life’ mindset where we just totally drop anyone who is quote toxic to us or something. that’s actually ridiculous & selfish. we can’t just ditch the ppl who make us feel bad. I was reading this book today, & it was talking about “righteous” ppl, and it said…they always give generously and lend freely.

that whole idea of giving freely is so countercultural. giving with nothing returned. even being meek about it. we have this whole idea that meekness is weakness & pathetic-ness & whatever. but the primary definition of meek is actually to be “easily imposed on.”

ima talk about the christian life for a minute. bc it gives all of existence meaning so I have to. but in the christian life, being imposed on is just sort of expected. u r going to give generously, u won’t get anything in return, u might get stepped on. but none of that rlly matters. bc u have this fulfillment & peace that doesn’t come from monetary or material wealth. I mean it’s true.

there’s this unspoken rule that u have to wait at least a few hrs before u respond to a text bc u don’t want to look desperate or whatever. or something like that. but if u r a kind person, & u sincerely care, maybe u should always be available. & responsive. I mean compassion requires humility & the willingness to sacrifice your preoccupations for the concerns of someone else. at a moment’s notice. that’s love. given freely.

I think that’s part of the key to guarding your heart. it doesn’t mean that u won’t get hurt. it just means that the wound won’t penetrate to the soul. in order to be compassionate & generous, u have to give yourself away, but u don’t have to give up your soul for it. in this christian life, u will have to to risk rejection. u just will. but when your soul is guarded, that rejection won’t cause the same sort of ache.

so guarding your heart doesn’t mean that u won’t get rejected. it means that you are able to be rejected, and be okay with it.

^ that’s actually amazing

so the keys to a meaningful life r to be intentional even to rude ppl & to be unregretably generous. u have to see the best in everyone, to love them. & care. & ache for their aches. bc they matter. i’ve always been a sort of self-absorbed & narcissistic person, but I can honestly say that these past few months I have witnessed this sort of spiritual change in my soul where I actually do care & ache for ppl. so there’s a little testament to the trueness of god for u.

‘guarding your heart’ means being not afraid of rejection. yowza. epiphany.