Being better. One day at a time.
I am a pessimist at heart. I tend to focus on the negative in both my personal and professional life. But I always strive to be the opposite. I want to look out in the world and see the inherent good in things. I used to be better at it, but the last three years emboldened the worst in so many. It becomes a challenge.
Even at my worst — my most desperate — I've never given up on the fight. Life is about the long game. While I'll never be able to enact any widespread change, I do know I can do small things to make the lives around me just a little better.
I started that move months ago on social media. I've stopped myself from posting negative takes on comics, movies, and shows numerous times. I strive to point out the great things I read or watch. It's easy to let the things that don't fall by the wayside.
Case in point: James Patterson by James Patterson, the new memoir by the ever-present writer. I've read Patterson before with little to praise, but his autobiography has proven immensely readable. I'm about halfway through as I write this, but the anecdotes from his early life are enough to get me to recommend the book.
In the last few weeks, I've strived to move that positivity to more personal interactions. I've grown into a person that doesn't suffer fools easily. I'm often fast to judge and distrust. But even in interacting with people with little or no respect for others, I strive to be kind. And I don't mean in the local way sometimes called Iowa Nice. I'm not going to stand aside and let people be outright awful. But I'm still going to strive to follow the ancient golden rule no matter how others treat me. We cannot fix anything by just saying "fuck 'em" to even the worst people. It's amazing how even an awful, tense situation can be cooled by simply being kind.
I'm far from perfect. I've never pretended to be. I'll still fail. I'll still put my foot in my mouth. But just as the founding documents of this country didn't pretend to be infallible but instead strived for a "more perfect union," I plan to keep working on myself and my communities one day at a time. Maybe I'll never change anyone's mind. I don't know. But I want to put in the work to make things better rather than divide us even more.
It’s the only way I know to let my own heroism shine.
Photo by Andrew Thornebrooke via Unsplash.
