In these times it’s even more important for us to be exposed to kindness, compassion, empathy, moral support and love. But because these are such stressful times it’s hard to muster these essentials in our every day lives. While some of us wait for the world to change, some of us understand that the world will never change until enough of us change ourselves, until enough of us choose to BE the change we want to see in the world.

 

There’s an old saying of ‘fake it until you make it’ and it’s been around so long because it works. So, perhaps it’s time for each of us to stop reacting, hating, fearing and suspecting others and begin to fake being kind, being compassionate, being understanding, being forgiving, being generous and supporting other people who need a hand up from someone until it becomes second nature to us.

I’d like to propose a grand experiment. One that quite possibly may help raise us out of our collective despair with the current realities we're all living with. It may not be easy, but in the end, it will be well worth it.

I propose that each of us strongly consider doing one or more or all these things in our every day lives as we move through life. It will take conscious effort, I promise you. But when we do it we will feel better for it, we will feel hope for humanity rise in our souls and we just may be the catalyst for someone else to begin to do the same.

Here’s a few suggestions for you to DO/BE:

1. Be kind to everyone, strangers especially. Smile at people (even if you don't feel like it).
2. Be patient with everyone, strangers especially.
3. Forgive the trespasses of others, understanding that we ourselves are not perfect.
4. Refer to each other as ‘brother’ and ‘sister’ regardless of creed, race, faith or sexual orientation.
5. Listen when others speak, even if we don’t want to hear it or aren’t interested.
6. Reach out to others when they are in distress. Just a shoulder to lean on, an ear listening, can mean so much.
7. Don’t put your expectations on others and accept others as they are; not as you’d like them to be.
8. Look within yourself and have the courage to identify and change your own shortcomings and issues. There's always room for improvement no matter who we are.
9. Be generous of yourself with money if you can but with time, kindness and words of support no matter your financial situation.
10. Believe in the goodness of others, because it is within every human being but is sometimes buried under pain, ignorance and traumas of the past.

I see so many complaining that the world is all f*cked up, that everyone is a bad person, that no one is listening anymore and everyone is hateful but that's NOT true and in each of our hearts we know that's not true. It's just easiest to believe that, easier to believe that than to do our part in manifesting the changes we want so desperately to see in the world around us.

Each of us have the power to reach others we may never meet with our kindness, our compassion, our empathy, our support and, if we are able, with our help.  Every word we utter, every action we take ripples outward into the world like ripples in a pond whether we want to believe it or want it to. So, what kind of ripples do you want to send out? What kind of influence, even if you don't know you are an influence, do you want to have on the world; on other people?

Yes, our country and even the world feels 'wrecked' right now and some days it feels as if there's no end to it and as if it can only worsen. But we exist in a purely interactive/reactive Universe no matter what we believe. We ARE a part of everything that is. We matter. Our words matter. Our actions matter. Our feelings matter.  We are all leaving a legacy with everything we do and everything we choose to be. What legacy do you want to leave? One of despair, mistrust, judgement, unwillingness to see the good in others? Or one of love, caring, compassion, empathy, giving and peace?

It's up to us. This is our time. The only time we may ever have to be the change we want to see in the world; therefore making the world a better place today and tomorrow.

Happiness is a choice. Make the choice to be happy and to spread it as far and as wide as possible. Adversity, emotional pain, betrayal, loss and more comes to us all but it isn't about what happens to us; it's about how we react to it, feel about it and do about it.

Make a choice. Be happy. You deserve to be. Then spread it around as far and as wide as you can as often as you can.

Together we can make a better world and we can begin today with ourselves.