I am back to being happy. I have heard that more times this past week than I had heard in months. Many of my family and friends have described it as living in a tunnel or behind a veil.
We have let our joy; our happiness be defined by the circumstances we found ourselves in.
Social distancing, protest, mask wearing, insurrection, whatever you chose to have allowed to become your joy breaker, you suddenly feel lighter. As leaders, we have been worried about the impacts of the virus and other things on our workforce, on business, on revenues.
Yet, many of us have become resilient and seem to be coming through this challenging stressful time.
I realized when I picked my camera up for the first time in months, that I too was back to letting joy in. I believe a part of that was the commitment I made to myself at the beginning of our collective national melt down. I am not talking political melt downs. I am talking about our collective melt down in who we are as human beings. The collective melt down that caused such divisions that families were breaking down. Collective melt downs that were occurring on social media that cause such derision, and just downright hateful vitriol.
How in the world did we become so comfortable with hate? How in the world did we forget that adage that our mothers taught us?
“If you don’t have something nice to say about someone, don’t say anything at all.”
We have been deceived. No, I am not talking deception about political parties, or one side against another. We have been deceived by our own hearts, eyes, and mind.
We have allowed what we see to be clouded by what we think we know. We have lost a sense of reason, and the ability to have civil conversations about the things that ail us.
That commitment that I was talking about that I had made to myself when this all started…well that was about not losing focus. It was about reminding me that I was here on the planet for a purpose.
And a large part of that purpose is to be my brothers/sister’s keeper. To help make the world a better place. To understand that no matter how bad any situation gets, we are all in this together.
I am often reminded that I am a Pollyanna by those who have made hate, isolation and the “me only” attitude an art form. Yet, if we are truthful with our own hearts we know for sure, “a house divided cannot stand.”
That is true for families, workplaces, communities, nations. Being back to happy means getting back to the work of having conversations that can help us rebuild our homes, our communities, our nation.
For sure that does not mean we have to agree. Quite frankly we need to have those dissenting opinions so that we never get so far on the wrong side of anything. We must stay grounded to stay happy. So, open your heart and head to happiness.
I know I have. It is time to point, click and shoot. Smile, I might just be pointing my lens at you.
And that’s a brilliant glimpse of insight.