An old, popular song is (Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song. "Wronged" is the tune most of us sing in our head, in or out of the shower.

Just monitor you internal conversation for about 5 minutes and I can guarantee that you will have your version of being wronged pop up on the jukebox.

It's amazing that so much of our thinking is about trespasses that are against us. Reminds me of a story . . .

Over the weekend I was shopping at a wholesale warehouse store. I heard a woman pass by and say to her friend, "They don't have black olives in here." I said, "Pardon me but I couldn't help overhearing you. Are you looking for black olives?" I knew right where they were. She said, "No, I said, 'they don't have black dolls in here' and that's not right. A lot of black people shop here."

She was upset and was feeling wronged. I said, "Have you looked online?" She said, "I shouldn't have to." I then asked if she spoke to the manager. She said, "That's not going to do anything."

I was out of suggestions and told her if she ever wanted to know where the black olives were, I could help her. She smiled and walked away.

It got me to thinking that her thinking and my thinking had striking similarities, a lot of time spent thinking about being wronged.

My next thought was thinking about being wronged doesn't accomplish much, yet we spend a lot of thinking about it.

My friend, Jerry Stocking has the right idea about thoughts. He says we should use them to entertain ourselves. After all, there's a floor show going on in our head anyway; we may as well make it entertaining.

Being wronged isn't fun and thinking about it is less fun and counter-productive.

The problem, as I see it, is we don't notice our thinking. It seems to have a life of its own. It rambles and rumbles on and takes us on trip after trip down the wrong highway.

It would be fine if our wronged thoughts led to something other than feeling dissed, but they rarely do.

I invite you to begin to notice how "wrong" your thinking is. Just the simple act of putting your attention on the thought pattern of being wronged will shine a light on your thinking and illuminate another path to follow.

Taking the time to notice that we're constantly under siege by our own thoughts, gives us an opportunity for a cease fire that is one step closer to peace.

If you've taken a wrong turn and are in a traffic jam of your own thoughts, throw in the clutch and switch gears. That means to notice your thoughts while they are happening. Become the observer of your thoughts rather than a participant.

Begin watching the show your mind is putting on and you'll get many opportunities to laugh at your own drama. You may even begin to ask, "How can something so wrong feel so right?"

All the best,

John