@bethvogt
My walking buddy Mary told me to write this blog post about our conversation yesterday.
“Write a blog about it. See what your readers say.”
So, yes, you may thank Mary for today’s post – and yes, I’d love to hear your thoughts about … my choice of T-shirts.
At the end of our hour-long walk yesterday, Mary commented on my T-shirt. It wasn’t one of my normal workout shirts. No, yesterday I threw on one of my Life is Good T-shirts.
The last couple of years, I’ve purchased a few Life is Good T-shirts. I wear them as a reminder to look for the good in life. There’s no denying life has been difficult for everyone for so many different reasons. And the challenges keep on coming. Our minds, bodies, and spirits are weary.
I deal with all these ongoing challenges in a variety of ways. Prayer. Music. Anchor verses. Yes, one way I deal with all of this is by wearing Life is Good T-shirts. When I look in the mirror, I see the logo and I’m reminded to look for the good. To look for opportunities to be the good.
Of course, when Mary told me, “I don’t like those T-shirts,” I had to ask why.
Here’s what Mary said:
I’m just not a fan of the whole “life is good” motto. In the worst light, it’s just not true. In the best possible light, I think that it’s the wrong focus because, for most people, life is not good. They struggle with financial issues, family issues, health issues – heavy, heavy stuff.
It doesn’t mean life is not ever good. But if I watch the news, I see clearly overall life is not good. I travel the world and see so much pain and suffering. It breaks my heart. So I can’t embrace that motto.
Now, God is good – always. When life is not good? He is still good. Because that is His nature.
Can life be good? Yes. But I wouldn’t say “Life is good” as a stand-alone statement because it makes it sound like life is always good.
I understand what Mary’s saying. I also agree with what she’s saying.
I don’t wear my T-shirt like a pair of blinders so that I can’t see what’s going on around me in the world – the pain, the heartbreak, the fear. No. I wear it to help my perspective stay positive amid all the negative.
And, like Mary, I know the source of my true hope isn’t in a T-shirt slogan. My life is good, day in and day out, come what may, because of God and his promises to me.
So, friends, what do you think about the “Life is good” slogan? I’d love to know.
Life, Reality, and Pondering the Credibility of a T-shirt Motto #perspective #life Click To Tweet 'It's important to have people...who have a totally different perspective than you....' by @ShondaRhimes #quote #perspective Click To Tweet
Comments 18
I’ll put a little different twist on it. Yesterday marked 16 years for me of being a cancer survivor, so I say it’s good to be alive! Like you, I know that every experience of life is not good; certainly I and my family have experienced some very bad days. That’s not to be a surprise. Job said, “Man is born to trouble as sparks fly upward” and Jesus said, “In this world you will have tribulation.” But every day of life is a gift, and even in the dark ones, something good can be found if we look for it. Wear the t-shirt!
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Melanie: 🙂 I appreciate your perspective — and it is certainly a hard-earned won. Congratulations on your anniversary — I know you celebrate that every day! And yes, I will continue to wear my T-shirts.
I kind of like the “Life is hard. God is good. Let’s dance.” motto a bit better.
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Terri: I certainly can’t argue with that motto. There’s a lot of truth in it.
I will take a shirt like that! 🙂
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Thanks for making me think, my friend. Our walks are such a wonderful way to start the day.
What a great thought-provoking post! I also have several Life is Good T-shirts and seeing someone wearing one brings a smile to my face. I know (and lately have experienced) that life is HARD, and often tragic. However for me, even in the hard places, life has its good points. I have enough to eat, friends and family to turn to and God walks with me. Yes, God is the only One who is truly good, but He has provided a “good” life for me and those I love.
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Edie: Yes — my conversation with Mary was so thought-provoking I had to write this post. And like you, in the midst of the hardships, the hard days, I remind myself that God has provided a good life for me that I’m grateful for.
Some folks say that life ain’t good
and at its heart, unfair,
but I think they have heads of wood
with hollows of hot air,
’cause every day’s a fresh surprise,
and hope flies as a rumour
even when the mirror spies
another growing tumour.
Now cancer’s not the dandiest
fate that life could give,
but I try to be the handiest
at knowing how to live
the life I have from sun to sun,
find that the effort gets it done.
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Bravo, Andrew, bravo.
If anyone knows how to keep going in the face of adversity, it is you, my friend.
Praying for you.
What an interesting discussion you and Mary had during your walk! I love the attitude that you’re going to try to be positive rather than negative and enjoy life as much as possible. Terri’s contribution of an appropriate motto– “Life is hard. God is good. Let’s dance.”–embodies that attitude of being positive because of God’s goodness. That’s a reminder to me to keep my focus on God.
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Suzanne: That’s the best blessing of my morning walks with Mary: our conversations. I always come away encouraged. And we always end them by saying: This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24
Attitude can impact our demeanor. Life is Good can put us in a better mood and allow us to look for the good in a situation. Conversely, if we wore Life is Bad, we might find ourselves in a constant grumpy mood or worse. Life is Good doesn’t mean we’re Pollyannas, it means we welcome the good, seek the good, and even seek God.
There are a lot of hard things going on in the world at the moment. We may feel hopeless. But, not everything in the world is bad. There are good things, too. We can pray, do what we can, and look for ways to help. And that is good.
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Denise: Thanks so much for your perspective. If I’m not careful, I drape a “Life is Bad” T-shirt over my thoughts. It weighs me down. wearing the Life is Good T-shirts helps me combat a negative mindset.
Hi Beth – I understand what your friend is saying, for sure.
I’ve always liked the slogan because, like you, it reminds me of the good in life.
Yes, there are tragic situations everywhere we look, every day. But I’m reminded, that for those who put their hope in Jesus, life really is good! He’s put the Holy Spirit in us to guide us, to lead us and to remind us of the great Hope that greets us every morning. In fact, He never leaves us nor forsakes us. He won’t forsake us. It’s a guarantee more sure than “taking it to the bank”. That’s worth celebrating- it makes life good!
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Connie: Love this: “…for those who put their hope in Jesus, life is really good.”
And that’s the best truth of all.
It is important to have people see a different perspective. Bringing together the different perspective, I think I get closer to the truth. I love how God made us to think differently as we are limited to seeing when we only think on our own! And I love switching the word
‘is’ to ‘be’ for life is good when we choose to be focused on God’s goodness in life! You’ve helped me with my perspective!
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Lynn: I agree with you that it is so beneficial to share others’ perspectives because it stretches ours … expands our viewpoints. And yes, focusing on God’s goodness is the best perspective of all. Thanks for joining the conversation.