The picture on the left is on quite a few drains in and around Los Angeles County. It warns people not to dump garbage into those particular sewers, as those drain directly to the ocean. Seeing as no one wants to swim in garbage, this seems like a pretty non controversial idea. However there are those who would argue that it doesn't matter whether or not we dump things into the sewers that would pollute our waterways. Garbage has to go somewhere, right?
Hold on to that thought for a minute.
I read an old Facebook post I made several years ago. It dealt with my loose interpretation of Karma: whatever you put out into the world, be it good, bad or indifferent, always comes back to you in some way. Although I have always tried to watch what I project, I haven't always been careful, and have let the negativity flow in my unguarded moments. I spoke of this briefly in a post I made about my son's rough summer a few years ago. Someone felt the need to kick me while I was already down, and feeling like I could not hit back (I did eventually), I let the garbage flow out of me onto whatever person, object, or behavior was the object of my ire at the particular moment. After some amount of contrition, I reminded myself that everything we do has some residual effect on someone else. I could have ruined someone's day over a minor slip, and I would never know it.
I do not have the time or energy for a mid-life crisis. What I have had, instead, is a series of revelations that helped me put a great deal of what has gone on in my life into some sort of perspective. It's that perspective that informs how I relate to the world around me, and thus, how I treat others. I try to stay away from toxic positivity; mostly because that is merely hiding my own discomfort with another person's life issues and emotions behind meaningless platitudes meant to make me sound profound. I strive to be genuine, and really be present for those I interact with. Of course this isn't easy; what worth doing in life is? The best any of us can do is navigate the path of our lives in all of it's glories and messiness without inadvertently taking any of the worst bits of it out on anyone else.
Like most social media users, I post a lot of memes: funny, sarcastic, uplifting, informative. My attempt to keep from boring people by posting a lot of the same types of memes is also me projecting the kaleidoscope of my personality out there, in hopes that it is giving them the permission to do the same thing.
Walt Whitman was right. We are indeed vast, and we do contain multitudes.
And, yes, while the negative is a part of that multitude, that's not the part I want to put on anyone else, if only because I want to lighten the load of the next person. I have borne the burden of someone else's bad day, and I never want to burden anyone else that way if I can help it.
So I remind myself in many ways that my attitude is my responsibility, no matter what else is going on around me: by quiet morning meditation, by pleasant conversation, by smiling invocation. By words, and pictures, and blue waves on concrete, am I reminded that I have the choice to either make, or ruin, someone's day.
I choose peace.
Hold on to that thought for a minute.
I read an old Facebook post I made several years ago. It dealt with my loose interpretation of Karma: whatever you put out into the world, be it good, bad or indifferent, always comes back to you in some way. Although I have always tried to watch what I project, I haven't always been careful, and have let the negativity flow in my unguarded moments. I spoke of this briefly in a post I made about my son's rough summer a few years ago. Someone felt the need to kick me while I was already down, and feeling like I could not hit back (I did eventually), I let the garbage flow out of me onto whatever person, object, or behavior was the object of my ire at the particular moment. After some amount of contrition, I reminded myself that everything we do has some residual effect on someone else. I could have ruined someone's day over a minor slip, and I would never know it.
I do not have the time or energy for a mid-life crisis. What I have had, instead, is a series of revelations that helped me put a great deal of what has gone on in my life into some sort of perspective. It's that perspective that informs how I relate to the world around me, and thus, how I treat others. I try to stay away from toxic positivity; mostly because that is merely hiding my own discomfort with another person's life issues and emotions behind meaningless platitudes meant to make me sound profound. I strive to be genuine, and really be present for those I interact with. Of course this isn't easy; what worth doing in life is? The best any of us can do is navigate the path of our lives in all of it's glories and messiness without inadvertently taking any of the worst bits of it out on anyone else.
Like most social media users, I post a lot of memes: funny, sarcastic, uplifting, informative. My attempt to keep from boring people by posting a lot of the same types of memes is also me projecting the kaleidoscope of my personality out there, in hopes that it is giving them the permission to do the same thing.
Walt Whitman was right. We are indeed vast, and we do contain multitudes.
And, yes, while the negative is a part of that multitude, that's not the part I want to put on anyone else, if only because I want to lighten the load of the next person. I have borne the burden of someone else's bad day, and I never want to burden anyone else that way if I can help it.
So I remind myself in many ways that my attitude is my responsibility, no matter what else is going on around me: by quiet morning meditation, by pleasant conversation, by smiling invocation. By words, and pictures, and blue waves on concrete, am I reminded that I have the choice to either make, or ruin, someone's day.
I choose peace.
RSS Feed
