Love Harder

Society seems to be quickly heading towards a really dark and cold place. Or at least that’s what we’re all led to believe, isn’t it? We see it every single day in the news and on social media. We hear it in the streets. So much hate and fear. Constant complaining and negativity.

Even if you are a Positive Patty (or Positive Paul), I can pretty much gaurantee that you cannot make it through an entire day without some sort of darkness passing through your funnel in some way. Seriously. Scroll through your newsfeed right now for one minute. I can almost guarantee you come upon something negative. Turn on the radio or the news. Listen for five minutes, and you'll come across something negative.

Society has just been flooded with negativity for so long, that people have adjusted. We developed a hardness. We began to focus on protecting ourselves, and became convinced that negativity is the norm.

It’s like people have evolved emotionally with a shield around our hearts. A shield that causes us all to assume the worst. A shield that forces us to see the negative before giving any bit of light a chance. A shield that then causes us to be negative and distant as a defense mechanism.

We have learned to give less of ourselves and to not make as much of an effort to avoid being let down in the end.

Someone lets us down, so we refuse to let others in. We instead push people away.

A goal doesn't work out on the first try; so we throw in the towel and go back to being mediocre. Giving up on dreams.

We look for the dirt in others before we look for the beauty. We judge and belittle. We distance ourselves in order to protect ourselves. We become negative and dark.

We talk about how strong we are when we are hard and cold. Ignoring the fact that real strength comes in the ability and willingness to be vulnerable.

Before we know it, we have become a part of the problem.

Maybe it’s just me, but I want something more out of life. I don't want to live a life filled with negativity and darkness. What's more, I absolutely refuse to teach it to my children.

I respect that negative things happen. I respect that some humans can be awful. I am not trying to downplay grief or tragedy or pain in any way. I know how powerful it can be! But very few things in this life frustrate me more than seeing negativity win out over all of the positive, seeing awful humans overpower good humans.

Life is too beautiful to let the bullshit win.

Things will never get better if everyone falls into gloomy formation.

Not to mention, how exactly can we allow ourselves to complain about the world becoming such a terrible place, if we’re not doing our small part to change it? Seems rather hypocritical if you ask me.

So here is what I propose. I propose that we all put down our walls. Stop being so defensive and so negative. Stop assuming the worst in people.

Be the change that you want to see in the world.

Go out of your way for people without expecting anything in return. Give second chances. Spread kindness regardless of whether others ‘deserve’ it. Care more.

Find every reason you can to spread happiness. Smile at strangers. Believe in people. Love harder.

Give life everything you have and add a bit of lightness whenever possible. And never, NEVER apologize for loving and caring too much.

Are you going to end up hurt and let down along the way. Probably. Do it all anyways. Be kind anyways. Give too much anyways.

Worst case scenario, you know you gave this life and the people in it, everything you had. Best case scenario, your extra dash of effort lets you leave society a little better than when you found it.