Here’s where I stand with all the drama flying around Social
media today after such an intense election battle.
The message of love and tolerance we all defend so fiercely
applies to our own actions. Instead of attacking someone for a mistake they’ve
made, or something they’ve said, why not be tolerant and forgiving? Why not
educate and lead by example? As individuals, we each possess different
abilities in articulating our thoughts. Some folks have a much harder time
using their written or verbal voice to express emotion, whether it is love,
anger, frustration or joy. I have said
some incredibly ignorant things over social media. It took patient,
understanding friends to point out my mistakes and talk to me about how to
better express my thoughts, for me to grow and make progress with my own
communication skills. If those same people had attacked me for the mistakes I
made, what would I have learned? And if
they didn’t give me a chance to express what I was really thinking or feeling, how
much progress could I have made?
My own opinions and emotions frequently conflict with those
of my friends. What I love, is that every time one of THEM shares their
opinion, I learn a little more about them. I learn a little more about what is
important to them and how they relate to other people. It’s a joyful experience
to grow a little closer to my friends, even through our vast differences.
I love that as intelligent, progressive human beings, we are
an impressively DIVERSE society. If we didn’t all have different morals,
values, opinions, fascinations and expectations we would never learn from each other.
We would never grow.
I am getting much better, as I grow, learn and mature, at
choosing to love, forgive, learn and educate. I am inspired by the ferocity
with which my diverse friends express their emotions and desires. It gives me
hope to see such passion, even that passion takes a different form than my own. There is room in
this world for ALL of us, and it will take EVERY one of us to be a successful, joyful
collective society.
I challenge each and every one of you to think on this: The
next time someone says, or writes something which you find extremely offensive,
take a moment to get to know them a little better. Care enough to try to
discover the root of that emotion or desire they expressed in a way which
offended you. Love them enough to value their opinion. Sometimes, something as
simple as listening to one person can start a chain reaction of love and
positivity that will ultimately bond thousands of people together… people who
may not have had any outlet for their thoughts and feelings before you decided
to love, and lead by example.
Hope you are all having a joyful day, my lovelies!
~Bree
