Hi Again!
My weeks tend to have themes lately, as I'm sure you may have noticed. In between working on Little Raindrop, I don't have much time to do other art. So I have to come up with something interesting on my blog or it will go stagnant and dusty. This week's theme seemed to just scream at me. It was at my workplace. In the news. On my favorite tv show. It was on Facebook, and in Blogs and on Twitter. It was everywhere that people are.
People are just plain MEAN.
And it's not like this is news to me. It's just increasingly worse every day and it drives me mad. You know what I'm talking about. You've seen it too. Parents abusing their kids. People shooting each other. People lashing out at one another on social media. Bullying in politics. Bullying in schools. Howard playing humiliating tricks on Sheldon. All for what? Because we're selfish. Because we're afraid someone will learn about our true selves, or get the best of us. Because we're not being honest human beings.
We have all participated in it. We are all guilty of varying degrees of it. But it makes me wonder, if people are even trying to be better? For the love of all that is good, why can't we practice putting aside our egos and just love one another for once?
Truly it is okay to disagree with one another on any given topic. But when did name-calling or put-downs become an okay thing to do? Just because on social media, you are behind a screen and no one can see your face or hear your voice, it doesn't mean that your words and your ranting don't hurt. That they don't make another person flare up with heat, whether it be shame, or anger, or fear. It doesn't mean it can't ruin their day, or their week... or their life.
When you physically hurt another living thing, don't you realize what you are taking away from them? You are stealing their security, their peace of mind, their self-pride and faith in themselves. You are creating a monster that will lash out at others, and cause a chain reaction that reaches across the entire planet. And this planet is starting to feel even smaller as the human race increases in size.
And on the flip side: CHILL OUT. Seriously, people, try not to take things so seriously! So you sat in chocolate and it's all over your butt... LAUGH, it's funny! If someone tells you that you have a big head, then OWN that big head! One of my uncles has an unusually large skull and we marvel at it every time. And guess what? It makes us all smile and laugh together! Or, you've made a mistake and someone points it out. Say, "whoops! Sorry!" and move on! Don't be mad that someone caught your bluff. Your kid just punched that other kid? The other kid might have been asking for it, might have even deserved it, but you know what? Violence is wrong and all parties should be punished. Your kid isn't innocent. Kids need to be taught to stop violence when it gets to them.
We're all so different and yet so much the same. My husband's skin is the color of a Ball Park hot dog, and I'm so white I'm practically see through. He can't live without rice, and I can't live without breakfast cereal. He was born in Hong Kong, and I was born here in RI, not twenty minutes from where we work. We constantly make fun of each other, and we have fun with it! Because we love our differences. We embrace each other's faults and we work together as a team. I know for a fact that my husband's socks will always lie in a pile two feet from the hamper. For as long as we both shall live, I can count on that. And it irritates the heck out of me. But if those socks aren't there... well, it means neither is he. And that's not something I can live with.
Now, I'll be the first to admit I'm not perfect. I often try to be, and that could be my Achilles heel. I too, am guilty of being mean. I'm selfish, and also ignorant enough at times to say or do things that hurt others without even realizing it. And on top of that, I'm clumsy. But I live my life in the most honest way that I can.
So I'm going to start with a clean slate. I'm going to take a vow today. Make myself a promise. And make you a promise, too. Heck, I'll make the whole world a promise. And I'm going to encourage you all to do the same. Put it on your blog, Twitter, Facebook, wherever you can spread the word. Share my post or create your own, or find a more well-written one on the topic. Use these hashtags for good measure: #WeCanDoBetter #IPromise2DoBetter
I promise to do better.
I promise to try harder, to be kinder, to be more understanding. I promise to turn the other cheek, to Do No Harm, that I'm aware of. I want future generations to live in a better world. Change begins with ME.
There are some movements starting out there, and it gives me hope:
"Bully" - the movie about bullying in schools.
#WeCanDoBetter - the Twitter hashtag that has been used to create awareness of child abuse, but is also commonly used for other things.
"Do No Harm" - a site I recently found and I like it :)
And if you know of more, let me know so I can post them!
I hope you'll take this candle, and run with it, too. Maybe we can light up with world with a little more love!
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