Be The Light. Be The Change. Beat The Bully

“The best thing you can do is the right thing. The next best thing you can do is the wrong thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing.”

I’m not sure who wrote, or said, those words. However, that’s the message I tweeted in my Positivity Project today. The project, combined with Daniel J. Watts’ THE JAM: LOVE TERRORISTS (A Benefit for Orlando), is why I’m writing this blog.

I mentioned tonight’s event (link will be at the bottom) to some people. Their reaction was that it sounded good! However, some raised their eyebrows at the title of the event. Why? It has the word “terrorists” in it.

Let’s look at the word “terrorist.” One dictionary defines it as “a person who uses terrorism in the pursuit of political aims.” Fortunately, we (thank you to those who serve and protect) don’t often use terrorism and America in the same breath. However, I feel, that there are terror attacks happening in our country all the time. I’m not talking about the terror attacks involving bombs, guns or hostages. I’m talking about another kind of attack that happens every day… in every city… in every school. It’s an attack everyone has suffered or witnessed in their lives. It’s the terror of an attack from a bully. You don’t have to be a kid to experience bullying. It happens to adults too. It has to stop. I truly believe we need to raise each other up. We need to support each other on this journey of life. We can stop the terror.

The question is… will you do the right thing, the wrong thing, or nothing. Nobody should have to fight bullies alone. The man who walked into Pulse nightclub in Orlando was a bully. He created terror. As a country… as a community… we are stronger than any bully. We showed that on June 12th. 

Orlando Strong. Dallas Strong. Baton Rouge Strong. America Strong.

http://broadwayblack.com/daniel-j-watts-the-jam-love-terrorists-benefit-for-orlando/

Sending Smiles: A Positivity Project

Social Media. It’s part of our daily lives now. I came home from work last night and marveled about the likes of Twitter and Facebook … how in one click of a button a message can affect one person … or dozens.

I also came home last night to a lovely card. So simple. One card. One smile. It’s a simple gesture I picked up from my mom. I send cards too and have been for years. Snail mail provides something more personal than social media can provide. I call it Sending Smiles. 

Besides coming home to a smile, I came home to find a children’s book I had written. I dug it up because at work we were talking about fish (Yes! The Bachelorette was on one of the dozens of monitors that lit up the newsroom with the red, white and blue of politics). Anyway, I’m digressing. If you watch The Bachelorette you’ll get the fish reference. Ok … so anyway, I wrote this book in 1997 for a college class I was taking. Here’s how it ended.

“Not everybody in the world is made the same. There is a place for everybody in this world and we can learn a lot from the people we meet. Annie learned that night that even though she is now different on the outside, she is a very special person on the inside and nobody can take that away from her … or C.J. or anybody!” 

Funny, how what I wrote all those years ago in Kansas is so relevant today. These past few weeks have been full of bad news. I can see the effect it has had via comments on social media. I’ve been reading a lot of hateful comments. I’ve been reading a lot of confused comments. I’m starting to become more aware of bullying type comments. We rise by lifting others. That is why I’m starting the Positivity Project on Wednesday at 9am EST. If you follow me on Twitter you know I typically start the day with a quote or something positive. I’m still going to do that. However, I want you to send that smile on. I’m asking you to forward that Tweet to one person you follow. I want you to do so in hopes of brightening their day. I’m sure it would make them smile. Hence…#SendingSmiles. Hopefully that person will forward that Tweet … and so on and so forth. At the end of the day I want you to Tweet one moment that brightened your day.

The Power of Positivity. Let’s help spread it, and send some smiles while we are at it. #SendingSmiles

Just Breathe

Good morning you. It’s a new day. The sun is peaking from behind the fluffy, white clouds. The quiet buzz of taxis are starting down the street. It’s a new day. Breathe it in. 

Most of you know I work at a television network. I cover a region of the United States. I keep a pulse on what’s going on there. Among the states I monitor are Louisiana and Texas. The pulse in Dallas and Baton Rouge over the past few weeks have been all over the place… but the people in those cities continue to breathe. The spirits of those who were killed are felt. Their breath can be felt. They are felt in the words spoken by people they helped protect. They shine brightly in the candles that flicker across the country in remembrance. They are felt in hugs that are given by strangers to those grieving.

Love, life and death unfold every single day. It’s something every person, in every city, every village, and every suburb have to deal with every day. So, when you feel sad or mad stop and breathe. Remember, there is good in the world. There is some good that comes from tragedy. I believe that cause I hear it in the stories being told by survivors of the ambush in Dallas. I see it in the flowers being dropped off at makeshift memorials in Baton Rouge… flowers that bring color and light to what sometimes may feel like dark days. The flowers are being given by people who are, often unknowingly, leaving footprints in our hearts. 

I wonder what footprints I leave behind. Do you? Footprints in the sand may be washed away, but they are proof that you existed and did something. Even when a footprint disappears in the tide, it’s taking the sand and bringing it elsewhere. Maybe the sand mixes with a new beach… a beach overseas in Nice. The sand mixes with people walking along that beach. They are people you probably don’t know… but the sand mixes with their footprints and in an instant you are connected. We are all connected. Through this blog. Through social media. Through friends. Remember that. Remember to spread love. To show respect. To honor life. To breathe.