Utopia isn't so far away

After speaking with and seeing posts on various social media sites from friends I realized something. We are all hurting. We are all feeling attacked. And the solution is so simple that it hurts to think we as the human race cannot or will not try to fix it. Why is it so difficult to look at the person next to you and say "I see you hurting and want to help"???? Or even start by simply doing our best to think of the other people around us in every reaction and decision. To reach out in Love and Understanding before anything else. I constantly feel like I'm walking around wishing I could take all the angry and bitter words being thrown into the world and turning them into something else. It's like we don't realize the colossal impact our output has on everything and everyone around us.
It seems difficult because you have to change your thinking but it isn't that hard to actually put into action:

Just ask if you can help.
Simply listen without judgement.
Tell people the wonderful things you notice.
Smile at strangers.
Be generous with your time, words, and anything else you have.

All of those things are free. Let me repeat that. Those things are FREE. They don't cost money yes, but that's not all I meant. They don't cost you anything. They don't cost you to give up your beliefs or values. They don't mean that you must devote your life to something new. You don't have to change who you are. Just your output. What a drastically different world we would live in if we did those five things daily. I think we'd all say we'd much rather live in that world. So decide to. Make it happen. For me, I'm determined to do all I can by choosing to do those things and more as often as I can. Maybe it will make my life a more joyful one.

An Undervalued Courage

It takes a daring woman to see the strength
of remaining soft in a hard world.
To love like you've never been hurt,
when your heart has been broken many times.
I think the greatest act of bravery is to recognize that
loving someone makes you vulnerable,
but refusing to stop.
To be courageous enough
to look that vulnerability in the face and say
"I will not back down,
no matter how many times you try to stop me
I will love boldly."
is a power few people possess.

One of my favorites

#Bookworm

Erin Hanson