Gratitude and Peace

I am not the most important person in this world. I am a small part who by doing good and being open and honest, can potentially change the world. And this will be my message to my child(ren). The more time that passes and the more experience I gain with life, it becomes more evident that life is truly what you make it. You can make it positive or you can made it negative. Certainly situations arise in life that can feel horrific, overwhelming, hard, depressing, awful, and unbearable; but what matters more is our reactions to these situations. People can choose to be mean, abusive, and toxic toward us; does that mean we have to take that and settle with that? Absolutely not. Sure, it makes things much harder when you are hurt by someone, even more-so when that someone is someone who you thought loves you. Maybe that person does in fact love you, but maybe that person is so deeply affected in a negative way that they can't help their actions and reactions. Of course that is NO excuse to be a hurtful human being. 

What I am suggesting is that maybe our reactions to these actions are what cause us most pain and suffering, not so much the action. Every day I am trying to be better than I was the day before. Every day I aim to see that everyone has a story. And that person who cut me off in traffic may be rushing to get to a family emergency, or the person who gives me a dirty look could possibly be going through something horrible in their life. 

My point is, it's not about me. It's not about us. Everything is NOT about us. The more I realize this, the more compassion and peace I acquire. My focus is to raise myself up, in turn raising those around me up. I don't want my son thinking he has to be cold just because it can be a cold world. I want him to live with his chest and heart open up to the sky. I want him to live a life of love. A life where he has the power to inspire others just by being a peaceful person. I'm not saying I want him to be a wimp or to back down, I want him to stand up for himself in a strong way, to be a leader for those who feel burdened, who feel afraid. A life of courage and peace is my only wish.