The world seems to be filled with so much devastation, depravity, evil and hate. There are days when our news feeds are filled with such tragic events, it’s hard to hold our heads up and face another day. Furthermore, our culture seems to have taken a cue — people in our Networks easily and carelessly make snap judgements, rude accusations, and hate-filled commentary against us without much cause, or pause, for consideration of our viewpoints, or our perspective. Social Media channels have created this beast, but there’s no question it exist even within private conversations and live interchanges between people. I’ve thought much about this — not so much evaluating how others participate in this phenomenon, but rather where my own actions fall. It’s caused me to ask this simple question:
If I am the sum of all my Facebook Likes, Posts, Shares, and Comments, would they equal the character I wish to be? And furthermore, would others want to be measured this same way?
Our society is at a crossroads — we shall either continue to participate in the Judgement, or look deeper and see people for who they really are, beyond their latest public profile image. We are all complicated, interesting, humanly-flawed individuals. We are creatures filled with ideas and emotions, a history of mistakes, and a future filled with possibilities. Isn’t it high time we go back to seeing one another as we care to be seen ourselves? Remember the Golden Rule of Do Unto Others as You Would Have Them Do Unto You.
Let’s stop highlighting everyone’s wrongs and start celebrating their rights.
We are not perfect! We are going to say things that come out all wrong. We are going to have opinions that sometimes don’t make sense to others. We are going to make decisions based on where we are in our own lives, not where others wish us to be. We’ve become so engrossed and invested in other people’s beliefs and habits that we have somehow lost sight of our own; we’re too busy worrying about other people’s moral compass to figure out if our own is out of whack. The time has come ― we must put the brakes on being hyper critical.
When I dreamed of LIGHTbeamers, I envisioned it as a vehicle for us all to shine for one another, support one another, inspire and motivate, lift each other up! However, my own shortcomings often leave me feeling unworthy of leading such a charge for I also make mistakes, say things I don’t mean, have polarizing opinions, and fail miserably at times in shining the LIGHT. Sometimes when this has happened, people have quickly pointed out my flaws. But mostly they have soldiered on for me — shining for me when my own darkness is too deep, lifting me up instead of stomping me down. For the latter, I am immensely grateful.
Can we all agree to shine a kind LIGHT for others? Give them a little Grace when they need it?
Social Media has created this platform for us to announce and denounce 24-hours a day. While posting selfies is fun, and sharing pics from my awesome vacation is great ― this is status update I really want to say, and what I imagine we all want to say to the world—
“Thank you for seeing me for who I really am. I am grateful for your open eyes, your widespread arms, and your loving heart. You don’t question my heart and you don’t waiver in your friendship, despite all the many ways in which you and I differ. You see me for more than just my profile picture, my status update, my likes and comments, and my political views. You see me for the beautiful, God-created soul I am. You see the smiles I give, the laughs we share, the goals I achieve. You see through all my fears, even when I do my best to mask them in a defiant state of self-confidence. You relate to me on a human level — as a mom, friend, wife, concerned citizen, sister, daughter, just someone who’s trying to find her footing in this big-bad-wolf of a world. You see me sharing my kindness in the world, and give me credit for doing more than is necessary.”
Our means of communication needs to be filled with love, compassion, faith and understanding... and especially, grace. There is no room for hatred, bigotry, and insults. When we share our kind words and supportive hands, we shine our LIGHT. When we do this, we remind each other of the best versions of ourselves.
We are all fumbling our way through life together. After all, we all want the same things — love, hope, peace, safety, compassion, a brighter future. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter how we get there… as long as we stay true to our own unique course, and accept others along their way.
#ShineYourLIGHT
#BeGrateful
#CelebrateOthers
#BuildOthersUp
#DontTearThemDown
April Adams Pertuis is a writer, storyteller, speaker, and the creator of LIGHTbeamers ― a Blog & Community geared toward inspiring and motivating women to rise up, tap into their personal power, and shine their individual lights. Her philosophy is “everyone has a story” and she’s fascinated with helping people get to the core of what that story is, because “when people tell their story, they speak their truth!”
Follow April’s work at www.LIGHTbeamers.com and actively engage in conversation with her daily in the LIGHTbeamers Community on Facebook.