Being Positive in Today's Negative World
On Saturday this past weekend, Kollin and I were out running errands and began to notice a group of people walking down Michigan Ave. After a few nights of walking out of work and seeing police lights and massive crowds outside Trump Tower (across the street from my office), I assumed it was another protest following the multiple protests there had been since he won the election.
While I am not one to share political views online and will continue not to do so, I wanted to share some positivity I've been seeing in what seems to be a very negative time for Americans. As we continued walking and noticing the crowds becoming larger and larger, I noticed something was different about this group - they were a majority of women. I'll admit I did not know that women's march was happening that morning and was in complete awe of the solidarity of the group of women who were participating.
While you may not agree with their message or what they stand for (everyone's opinion is their own and they are entitled to that) there was something that stuck out to me - most of them were not there to protest the new President, but rather to support one another. At previous marches and protests, there were lewd signs, hateful chants and negative vibes and behaviors, even some violence. On Saturday, most of those women just wanted to be heard and not even just for themselves, but for the women next to them, the women watching it on the news and even the women who wanted no part in participating with them. Many of them stated who they were there for: their mother, sister, grandmother, daughters and friends. It is this mentality that I think a lot of our nation is missing - regardless of your opinions and political views, I hope that we can support each other as humans, friends, and equals. It is healthy to debate, disagree and stand up for what you believe in, but when that message is clouded by hate, you've defeated yourself from the start.
I'm sharing this story to share a positive experience I had in a most negative, tumultuous nation right now. When we log into Facebook and see our friends writing statuses about their opinions and the numerous comments that follow about why they are wrong or how they've offended someone, remember this:
“I think that’s the time to buckle down and really work positively as much as you can. Instead of just saying, ‘This is terrible. He’s terrible.’ Just think, ‘Alright, there’s nothing I can do about that right now but I can do the best in my little circle. So if I do that, maybe you’ll do your best and we’ll get through this.’
You’ve gotta get through it. And you can’t change it, so let’s just one foot in front of another and get through it.”
Understandably, there are people in our nation who are angry, upset, scared and unsure about what is to come. No matter how you choose to "get through it" like Betty said, I hope that this encourages you to do so positively and in support of the women and men around you and in the world. Without that support and encouragement to our fellow Americans, I think it would be hard to get through anything or accomplish anything.
Your outlook on things is completely up to you. Choose to be positive and it will spread in ways you couldn't imagine. Thanks so much for reading! xx
