Just Smile!

I have mixed feelings about today’s resolution: to be more positive.

I don’t think I am an overly negative person. I honestly believe most people are good and care about other people, I just think they were not taught empathy. I think most of the rudeness and inconsideration in our modern society is caused because most people don’t take the time to think how their actions effect other people. I believe that the majority of people would treat their fellow man better if they had their kindergarten lessons still floating around in their head. Sometimes when I see an adult behaving badly I want to ask them how they would feel if they saw a child act the same way.

Now I don’t believe everyone is good and shiny and will always put the rest of the world ahead of them. I think humans have certain needs that have to be met before they can feel stable enough to start caring about everyone else.  Someone who is starving will do whatever they can to get available food.  I know if my kids were starving and someone had a sandwich that would save my children, I would do whatever it took to get that sandwich for my children. It sounds brutal but I think most people feel the same way. Anyway, I honestly believe that if people have basic needs met and realize how their actions affect people they will do what they think is right and treat people with some modicum of respect.

I also think I am generally positive about life. I have the strange belief that sometimes life sucks but there are also times when life is unbelievably sweet and you just have to hang on through the bad to get to the good. I also genuinely believe that happiness is a choice. Sometime things go to hell and there is no way around it but you can decide on whether you want to wallow in the bad things and get defeated or stop and look for a way out. Our only real control is how we react to things.  My life view is not all puppies and tulips but I try to live my life being grateful for what is good and trying to fix what isn’t.

With all of that said about how positive I am, I think people can be incredibly dumb, especially people in a group.

Nothing scares me more than a mass of people who think they are right and everyone else is wrong. (Yes, I know I am being a bit hypocritical here by saying I think I am right about mass groups of people being wrong.) When people surround themselves with only like people they have a tendency to develop a blindness and insensitivity. Everyone is guilty of this. Every religion, political party, race, gender, sports fan club, music groupies, everyone gets convinced they are right when in a group and unfortunately their conviction of their rightness leads them to believe that others are wrong and bad.  They lose perspective and queue badness.

People also act badly in groups. Mob mentality frightens me.

Another way I might need some work being positive  is that I try to be cautiously positive. Great things are happening in my life right now and I am excited and thankful but I am also trying not to be blind to threats. I don’t know if this is smart or if I am just keeping myself from fully enjoying things.  I don’t really know. I do know that I am going to be excited about meeting my handsome hunk of dork in March. I am just going to be excited and not look for thorns. If thorns show up, I will deal with them then.