At the end of 2014, I knew that 2015 would be different. Everybody knew that. Everybody. Knows. That.
But I swear, I really knew it, and so far things have been different for the better for the most part. In terms of the Mission house, I’ve managed to make a more visual rendering of the Mission House in a computer program that I taught myself. I’ve shared the video of the Mission House promo stills with at least one person at my job and an important leadership company in Kernersville.
But before I get to all that (which I will, in subsequent posts), let’s see what we’ve been segueing into the new year with.
At the end of 2014, Google put out a video putting a positive and hopeful spin on the years events. They were encouraging us as humanity to stay strong. Keep looking up. Keep Moving Forward, right?
Well, after being on my facebook every once in a while, going to work and seeing the same things and hearing the same moans and groans from people who aren’t as “into” their work, as I am? Or they aren’t as hopeful as I would like to think I am, I had to wonder, what’s going on?! Because really, folks, although the Google Year in Review for 2014 said:
We searched for hope more than fear.
Science more than fiction.
We search for things we love.
And for greatness.
We search to make sense.
We search to remember.
We search to be inspired.
…they never really addressed why we search for those things. Why do we look at panda videos? Why do we share endless amounts of funny cat videos (I type this as my cat comes in to say good morning again, lol)? Why do we get sucked into the “internet vortex”, more than likely powered by Google 😉 Why do we need to look at these things? To search for these things? To feel these things?
Because on the other side of these searches are these things **as witnessed on my facebook feed on a regular basis**:
Incarceration Rates Around The World
70% of American Workers Are Not Engaged or Actively Disengaged
Greensboro March Focuses on Police Behavior
16 Year Old Queer Latina Jessie Hernandez Killed by Denver Police
Watch Seattle Police Pepper Spray Teacher Jesse Hagopian on MLK Day
Yale President: Alcohol Can’t Be Used To Blame Sexual Assault Victims
And seriously some days (more often than not), this can go on all day for multiple days. Because yes. There are many many reasons to be undeniably mad on a regular basis. And that’s what anybody who practically thrives and survives off of negativity would want you to see. They would want you to believe in that. Why? Because if you’re paying attention to that sort of thing or even if you’re not and subconsciously when you scroll down your Facebook or Twitter feed and feel yourself getting so upset that you want to “take it to the streets” or “break stuff” or “stick it to somebody”…well of course that’s what’s going to happen. Because anything’s better than building, creating, pushing ahead, moving forward, or being positive change, right?
Not so much.
If you focus on the negative and become determined to just tunnel-vision into those aspects of life, then you’re distracted. And that’s what people want. While you’re busy protesting on a Sunday while the rest of a town continues to go to work on a Monday and gets upset about something else on a Tuesday, you’re not contributing to being the positive change that completely eliminates any trace of agitation, race relations, societal issues, etcetera. Why? Because while working towards positive change, you automatically eliminate so many issues just by communicating.
It’s that simple.
Communication.
It’s a human thing.
But until then, we’ll just have to continue to watch these videos that convince us that we’re really looking at things that matter. That we’re focusing on positive change and creation, not negative habits that tear things down so that in the end when we stand in the rubble and say that we’ve won and we all hug and celebrate…we suddenly remember in those victorious moments that we’ve spent so much time tearing down everything that we don’t think we can handle, we don’t have anything in place that can help us handle things better.
But at any rate…have you seen this video with the pandas and the apples?
the GSO Compassion Mission 