I know that my goal of this blog is to reach a place of Gratitude in all that I do but today I am taking a detour. Normally I start my day with a quote that applies to what I am thinking, what I am feeling or that applies to someone I am thinking about. Today I posted much of this as my status on Facebook this morning but even though I needed to get it off my chest- I doubt it will be read because it's so long. So bear with me friends-here we go:
No quote this morning, just something to think about. We as a society put people up on pedestals-
athletes, actors/actresses, musicians, those that are famous just for being
famous, anyone we admire. But why? Yes, the athletes are superior at their
sport. The actor/actress is capable of
taking on a new persona and entertaining us for a few hours. The musician can create music that takes you
to a new place. The famous for being famous lives a lifestyle that you may
aspire to. No matter how talented they
are, they are just people, just like us.
On the other hand, we as a society are so quick to tear
people down. Those same “famous” people
do something that we don’t like and suddenly they are worthy of our scorn and
we make no bones about it. We trash them
to our friends, we attack them on social media, and we say things we would
never have the nerve to say to them face-to-face. We forget that they are just people, just
like us.
Then we let it start to bleed over into other areas of our lives. We can’t just disagree with others like reasonable human beings. We have to immediately go on the attack- “Idiot” “Ass hole”, “Ignorant _________(fill in the party affiliation/religion/ethnic background)” "You Suck" and far worse. Why? Why are we incapable of making an argument based on the content and not attacking people personally? Why are we okay with jumping into a conversation and attacking someone we have never met? What happened to behaving with dignity? What happened to giving the respect that we expect to be given? What happened to being open to listening to “the other side” the way we expect to be heard? How did we get to a place where this is accepted and perpetuated Every. Single. Day?
That negativity is infectious and there’s only one way I can see to combat it. #Kindness. Kindness to ourselves. Kindness to our friends/family/acquaintances. Kindness to strangers. We don't have to agree with someone, or even like them, to show kindness and treat people with dignity. We are all just people. We have brains, we have feelings and we have value. #StopAndThink #TheresAPersonBehindTheScreen #BeKind
