Sometimes our hands can seem small and useless. Our opinions and beliefs seem frivolous. Our attempts at bettering ourselves, pointless when so many continue living in careless ways.
It is so easy to believe that we are small and insignificant, that we cannot control the masses - And it's true, to a degree, we can't control others.
What we can control however, is ourselves. We can choose whether we create great things with out hands, voices, minds and harbour kind beliefs, or we can let ourselves slouch into the lazy existence of consumerism and carelessness.
In our lives, we have the power to greatly effect the people around us, by our behaviour, our emotions and our words.
Humans are observant creatures. Even if we don't always know it, we are always observing. Forever reading body language, tones of voice, eye movement, all the small lines and creases on our companions faces, trying to read them, understand them, find out if we can trust them.
And how we react or behave towards others can shift them onto a course that is unpleasant or positive.
And it isn't just the big things that can do this, either.
In example:
I work in retail and I deal with dozens of people ever day. Every time I face a new customer I have a lot of options. I can either be kind and compassionate, helpful and service their needs, or I could be rude, careless, without any desire to help them in any way.
I try to remind myself of this every day I'm at work, particularly when I am feeling depressed.
In my mind, I'm not meaning to be rude, I'm just busy fighting my melancholy self. To them however, I am dismissive. I am rude. I am unhelpful. I anger them, offend them, hurt their feelings. This is their time, not mine. I'm ruining their shopping, their escapism, their break from reality.
Their anger with me reduces down to a thick raging sludge by the time they confront anyone about it.
Whether it be to a friend or one of my managers, the sludge will surely spill. "That girl was so damn rude, she didn't even smile or say hello! God, all I wanted was another size in these bloody shoes! If she hates her damn job so much, she should quit."
And on it continues to reduce, until she convinces herself that I was pure evil and was out to ruin her day from the get go.
And here I was, thinking I had no control over the world around me.
If I am compassionate, on the other hand... They leave happy, contented, smiling. They speak of good things. A problem has been removed and I was the one their to solve it for them.
They are grateful. Satisfied.
This happens every minute you are existing around other beings. You are behaving, and they are reading.
If I am happy and positive, being a helpful little servant to the masses buying clothing and shoes, and one dare come up in a bad mood and rave at me, spilling past reduced anger all over me, I will be talking away to myself in my mind of her rudeness for hours. I may even mention to a co-worker or two of her horribleness. Sure to let my anger reduce to sludge, which then spills over onto others.
Sludge. It is contagious. One spills it, one picks it up, one carries it with them until they spill it onto another, who picks it up and continues the viscous cycle.
How do we stop this toxic sludge? This anger? This disgust? This foul process in our minds?
Compassion.
If we face every one, every day, with compassion and understanding, with reason and patiences, we can reduce the production of this terrible, hatred filled, anger ridden sludge.
We can produce happiness in others. We can produce positivity.
Be the sweet, compassionate, caring person you always wanted in your own life. Be the person others need. Be strong. Be kind. Be gentle with your hands, be gentle with your words and be gentle with your mind.
Everyone around you is listening, everyone is watching, everyone is reading.
Break the cruel cycle of the unhappy sludge and send out positivity.
Believe. Believe that by doing this, you can change somebodies day. By being positive and kind, you may even distract someone from their unhappy sludge long enough for them to get to a better place.
You have a lot of power. See it, use it, change your universe.
- This is as much a message to you, as it is to myself.
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