There are affiliate links in many of the posts on this site. This means your purchase supports myself, my business, and my family when you click through to buy - at no additional cost to you. This site also uses cookies. You can learn more here. Thank you!
This post is more of a rant. If that’s your thing, read on. If not – feel free to click away.
I’m so over it. Nearly everything to be exact.
People are upset about everything these days. They don’t like how a business did something, so they take to social media. Then many others jump on the bandwagon and call the business out by name as well.
If someone doesn’t like the way their food tastes – they blast the company online in some type of review. Never mind the fact that this is the 100th time they’ve eaten there and they’ve always had great service and food before today. Nope. Today only this one bad time matters. So let’s blast the company and then share it around as much as possible to ruin their reputation (or at least try to).
And let’s not kid ourselves – it’s not just businesses that get bashed. People do it to their “friends” too.
One Christian calls out another Christian because they simply “can’t be a Christian” if they believe *that*. (Whatever *that* is at the time.) Are you kidding me? I’m not even sure I understand their argument half the time!
Or a series of messages are sent back and forth between a few “close” friends – yet one of those conversations gets screen-shotted to the person getting bashed. Yep – thanks for ruining their day (or week!).
In the past few months I’ve left over 50 Facebook groups. Yes, I clearly belonged to way too many of them to begin with – but the bickering and constant negativity…
And Facebook friends…I’ve had to un-follow more of them than I can count. It started during the 2016 election, but I think that was just the starting point. I feel like it’s gotten worse in the past few months.
Recently I took Facebook off my phone. It was stressing me out, taking me away from my family, and just sucking away so much precious time.
So.Much.Negativity.
When did it get like this? Have I had my head in a hole? Or did things make a really bad change for the worse in the last year or so?…
I try to have an open mind. I try to play devil’s advocate in various situations and see both sides. I’m not always successful, but I at least attempt to look at things from various angles.
I try to see the best in people.
I try to remember that I too have made mistakes – PLENTY of them. Some of those mistakes more recently than others. Some of them bigger than others. Some that I am still sorry for.
I remember Bambi and Thumper – “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothin’ at all.”
When did it change? When did people stop being kind? Do we really feel that safe, entitled, and empowered behind our computer screens? Would we be having these same conversations if we were face to face? What if we didn’t have our “posse” to back us up?
Can we all just mind our own business? Is it possible to do just that while ALSO being kind and watching out for our neighbor?
Is it too much to ask to assume the best in people?
And if you really do have a problem with someone – what happened to asking them about it privately? There’s no need to publicly bash them. There’s no need to post their “wrong” in a public setting. Reach out to them via email or private message. Just because they don’t respond doesn’t mean they didn’t hear you. It means they’re busy. Or maybe they don’t know how to respond. Or maybe they’re embarrassed and sorry and overwhelmed. Or perhaps they think you’re in the wrong and have no right to reach out to them. Whatever.
Give them grace.
Yes, we should all continuously strive to be better people. But sometimes life is flat out hard. We don’t always know what to do. So sometimes we do nothing. Or we put our head in the sand for awhile to think about things, but we come out better and stronger.
I truly believe we are all doing our best.
Starting today – even more than I’ve done in the past – I’m going to look for the best in people.
I’m going to assume people mean well.
I’m going to worry a little bit less.
I’m going to hug my kids.
I’m going to teach them right from wrong.
I’m going to do my best to raise them up to be good people. Good Christians.
I’m going to teach them to treat others with kindness.
I’m going to work hard every day and pray that God helps me do my best for them.
They are the future of the world. And right now the world scares me. So I’m going to do what I can in my own home to change the future.
It may be hard. But it matters. My kids matter. Their future matters. So today – I choose kindness.
Want more every day thoughts and rants? Follow Heather on Instagram.