Every morning we wake up with an important choice to make and most of us just let the opportunity to make that choice pass us by. It doesn't matter if it is raining or sunny, if you got enough sleep or tossed and turned all night. It doesn't matter if you are sick, or you are well. If you are sad, or if you are happy.
Every morning when you wake up, you have an opportunity to take stock of yourself. How do you feel? How much energy do you have? How hard is is to get out of bed and face your day? No matter what this inventory tells you, it presents you with the same choice.
How will I treat people today? What emotion will guide my interactions? Will I spend my emotional energy negatively, or positively?
It is easy to be short tempered, to be less charitable, to be less kind when we are tired, or ill, or sad. But allowing yourself to be short tempered or uncharitable or unkind feeds a downward spiral of emotion.
Choosing to be patient, and charitable and kind when it is hard is the easiest way to fill up your own heart and soul with the energy to continue be patient and charitable and kind.
Treating people well, and really listening to and appreciating them and their perspective is a habit that requires constant attention to stay strong.
When someone says or posts something that is angry, or designed to evoke negative emotions, they are making a choice to add dissent and disharmony to the world.
Make no mistake, asking people to be kind or inclusive, or asking people to remember the past doesn't necessarily mean that you are trying to evoke negative emotions.
Learning from the past, and challenging each other to be better is part of adding introspection and increasing harmony.
The simple age old questions; "Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?"; if answered honestly, will help greatly in decision making.
Almost daily, I see and hear people adding negativity to their world for no discernible reason. There are times when we are called as good humans to speak out, but what I am talking about doesn't meet that criteria.
I see and hear so many people advocating kindness at one moment, and then demonstrating severe intolerance in the next. That is the choice I am talking about.
We humans are all here on this planet interacting with each other for just a blink of an eye in cosmic terms.
What legacy do we want to leave? One of love, kindness and fellowship? Or one of anger, unkindness and tribalism?
It is a choice. One we each make every day, consciously or unconsciously.
I'm trying harder to make that choice be a conscious one, and to choose to leave a legacy of love.
What choice will you make?
