How about no more negativity?

I don’t do motivational/inspirational posts. But something has been really troubling me of late.  

The habit of throwing cold water on others’ warm bliss. The pattern of pricking holes in the fabric of someone’s self-confidence. The custom of casting shadows on others’ sunshine with one’s own paranoia. What’s up, crabby negative folks? What has been so awful in your lives that you feel the need to spread your toxic tentacles into neighbouring cheer?

Everyone’s been through their own versions of hell. We’ve all got a sob story. We all sport invisible bruises and cuts and internal coatings of scar tissue. But do my own injuries give me the right to assume that the whole world is fated to be wounded?

I hear the warnings. Be careful, watch yourself, don’t give so much of yourself.

Right. Because, being bitter, being hateful, being an asshole is so much more fulfilling. Well, screw you. At the end of my life, I’m not going to count the number of gifts I received. I’m going to count how many I gave.

I don’t want to live in a world where I mistrust those around me. It’s exhausting. And if my trust is violated, I’ll deal with it. You’re of course free to live your life being suspicious. But please note, the world is not out to get you. Or me. We are too insignificant for the world to care. Life is too short to waste time on hostility. More importantly, a lifetime is too damn long, do you really want to spend the entire length of it with an acrid taste in your mouth?

I say this a lot–we get the love we deserve. So, if you’re spewing venom 24x7, expect others to bite back. Or avoid you like the plague.

Get that chip off your shoulder. Give someone the benefit of doubt. Stop being so bloody negative. Because when you tell others to be wary of the world, the only one they become wary of is you.

The next time the word NO dependably rises to the tip of your tongue, stop awhile and consider, ‘how about yes’.