A Better World

What does that mean? A Better World--what does it look like to you?

I've been doing one of my top self-care techniques and reading--a lot! I just recently finished Sarah J. Maas's Throne of Glass series and I'm delving into her A Court of Thorns and Roses series for a second time. I had chosen to read the latter a second time because she released a new book in that series called A Court of Silver Flames and I realized I didn't remember a whole lot of the series (I had read it a few years ago and due to my early onset of Alzheimer's I needed to recap and be ready for the newest book).

All jokes aside, there were two major themes between the main characters of both books. Both were striving for a better world. Of course I asked myself if I were to make a better world there would be no injustice, no racism, no hunger, no diseases, and most importantly, no hate.

However, what if we tried? What if we strove to make this place a better world? What should we start with first? I'd like to think that we should start with kindness and positivity.

One thing my mom taught me when I was growing up was to smile at people. She said that sometimes people fight battles we know nothing about (Jon Snow--okay forgive me, had to throw my GoT quote in there).

But that stuck with me. Because she is right. People might be having a bad day or going through a rough, difficult time and sometimes the only brightness in their day is that someone--someone--smiled at them.

I remember one time, as I sat in a torturous long line waiting for a cup of coffee (coffee is sometimes MY light in the dark) and after I placed my order, I pull up to the window to pay and they told me that the car in front of me paid my order. Honestly? I was shocked. Never, and I mean never, had I ever been on the receiving end of a random act of kindness. In all of my years blessed on this earth no one had ever felt the need to do something kind--randomly--up until this point.

Well I couldn't let this act go unrewarded, therefore I chose to pay for the person behind me, and my hope is that there was a snowball effect and many people experienced those random acts of kindness that day. And maybe, like myself, it made them feel good, maybe it surprised them in a good way and somewhat restored their faith in humanity.

So I ask my readers to look deep within yourself and think about how you can spread positivity. It doesn't have to buying someone's coffee or lunch. It could be as simple as a smile on a rainy day. It could be holding open the door for someone even if they don't offer so much as a thank you. It could be comments such as "I love your hair, nails, shoes, outfits, etc."

Be the light in someone's darkness.