Feeling a little Kaylee today...
There is so much unnecessary negativity in the world. I had a glaring example of it this morning when a guy flicked cigarette ash on my car after I stopped for him in a crosswalk then flipped me off when I beeped my horn at him. There was no reason for that (and yes, he did do it deliberately), it was just random nastyness.
I also spend most of my day talking to people who are in varying degrees of financial stress. Some are genuinely concerned and looking for help, others just get mad or frustrated and take it out on us. I've learned that most anger comes from frustration. It doesn't make it easier to take when it's directed at you, but it does help me keep my compassion and I try to remind myself of that instead of just writing someone off because I got the brunt of their bad day.
I am generally an optimistic, happy person but things like this still wear on me. When I look around and see all the petty meanness and negativity in our individual actions and how it manifests in politics and greater national/international interactions, it really makes me wonder. What if that wasn't our default? What if our first response was kindness instead of mistrust? Why have we decided that it's easier to not make eye contact and plow our own way through life, instead of taking the time to smile at the people we're sharing it with?
I got these feelings a lot when we lived in DC. It was one of the hardest personal issues I had with living there, and I realized it was time to leave when I started internalizing this and making it my default way of interacting with the world as well. I don't want to be one of those people. I want to be a force for kindness, to add beauty, to spread joy. That's not to say I want to be some Pollyanna with my head in the clouds, but I think that coming from a place of love and joy can make a difference in the impact you have on others. I'm trying to be better about recognizing that negativity in myself and preventing it from coloring how I interact with the world.
I choose to love.
I choose to create.
I choose to dance.
Will you join me?
I also spend most of my day talking to people who are in varying degrees of financial stress. Some are genuinely concerned and looking for help, others just get mad or frustrated and take it out on us. I've learned that most anger comes from frustration. It doesn't make it easier to take when it's directed at you, but it does help me keep my compassion and I try to remind myself of that instead of just writing someone off because I got the brunt of their bad day.
I am generally an optimistic, happy person but things like this still wear on me. When I look around and see all the petty meanness and negativity in our individual actions and how it manifests in politics and greater national/international interactions, it really makes me wonder. What if that wasn't our default? What if our first response was kindness instead of mistrust? Why have we decided that it's easier to not make eye contact and plow our own way through life, instead of taking the time to smile at the people we're sharing it with?
I got these feelings a lot when we lived in DC. It was one of the hardest personal issues I had with living there, and I realized it was time to leave when I started internalizing this and making it my default way of interacting with the world as well. I don't want to be one of those people. I want to be a force for kindness, to add beauty, to spread joy. That's not to say I want to be some Pollyanna with my head in the clouds, but I think that coming from a place of love and joy can make a difference in the impact you have on others. I'm trying to be better about recognizing that negativity in myself and preventing it from coloring how I interact with the world.
I choose to love.
I choose to create.
I choose to dance.
Will you join me?