Good Morning Friends. I debated blogging about this because I’m pretty non-confrontational and I didn’t want to stir up a dust storm. That being said, being non-confrontational does not mean I shouldn’t have my own convictions and stand behind them while trying to shed some light on another way of thought.
In the last year, I’ve seen a few posts on FB (darn you FB you instigator you!) that, although not outright divisional, are still in that neighborhood and it always makes me sigh. This seems to be the year of divisiveness, and I feel if we can avoid that in the small ways, perhaps it will slowly shift the way in which we sometimes do need to take a stand on the big things. This may on the surface seem like a small annoyance, but hear me out please...
Here are three separate posts that I’ve seen the likes of on FB. These aren’t the exact posts, but they were the closest thing I could find to the original.
The first thing you cannot deny is the intent behind these. The intent is clearly to elevate the person posting to a “winner” rather than a “loser.” Someone is winning in these posts, and someone is losing. The second thing I noticed was the generalization of the audience falling into one of these categories. “Pick a side!” it seems to say to me forcefully. The third thing I noticed, was that if the poster was posting with any serious intent in the thought process behind these posts, this implies that they have a disdain for anything other their own beliefs and if your preferred way of life falls into the “other” category, their feelings towards you are pretty clear.
Now you may at this point want to tell me to relax, it’s just a humorous quote. I think if it weren’t 2018/2019, I might do just that, but in the era of bullying, dividing, having no faith in our leaders, having no faith in our FAITH… with people needing a kind word more today now than ever, I will not just “relax.” It’s hard enough being a woman, difficult enough with all of the challenges we face daily, complicated enough with our OWN self-doubt, discouraging enough without any other nonsense bombarding us telling us we aren’t good enough. We talk about girl power, women supporting women, “show us your beautiful non-filtered faces ladies” type posts on FB by women trying to unite us, yet do we pay attention to the small things that go directly against some of the preaching we do? Maybe a post like the example I gave may not affect you on a conscious level, but do not underestimate the power of words on the sub-conscious level my friends. You are affected by everything you see, hear, read or observe throughout the day.
City women, Country women, Suburban women… be proud of you! I know plenty of city girls who can drive a stick, hunt and aren’t afraid of a little mud. I know plenty of country girls who are well read and can spin you on your head with their worldly takes on art or literature. I know suburban women who are not limited to baking pies or going to hockey practice for their kids. These women are secretly photographers, writers, or they can whip up a meal that would rival a perfect country BBQ or a top chef any day. Why do we have to put others down while being proud of who we are?
Maybe I’m sounding a lot like, “can’t we all just get along?” Guess what? Can’t we? I admit I work on this myself, and it takes a conscious effort sometimes. Yet in the interest of becoming the example I want my daughters and son to follow, it’s worth it. Not only that, but in the meantime, I do believe I’m truly becoming kinder and I’m truly becoming a better human. I’m a work in progress. I've had to apologize when I've been in the wrong, and that's humbling. It seems like I am changing my attitude all the time some days. That’s ok, as long as the effort is there right?
Women, we need to truly support each other. Not just post on social media about it, not just blog about it, but really BE it. It starts with each of us individually. Look, I found a great quote to leave you with… Let's BE this!
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