Doing My Homework

Is anger enough?  Does anger prove that I am on the right side? Or is it the easy way out?

I would argue that anger is just another tool that assures me I am not on the wrong side but doesn't require any more of me than that. A "sort of" let me prove how strongly I feel about this situation.

I have disabled my Twitter and Facebook for a number of reasons but one of them being that I found that social media was, for one reason or another, just fomenting my inner rage and not encouraging effective discourse, furthering educating myself and helping me to learn to listen to others with an open mind. Rather it has a habit of telling me what I already believe to be true and that any thinking person will have the same opinion.

I'm no expert. In fact, quite the opposite but I am trying. I found that Dr. Robin DiAngelo has many good points about being white in a country where systemic racism is the status quo and how that affects how we, yes all of us, populate our version of reality.

What I do know for sure is that there is enough anger to go around and when I cement my views in a foundation of anger it closes the communication options to one.....mine. That's never good place to be. 

I'm no expert but I will continue to try.

From Victim to Happier

One of the many things that was instrumental in starting the change in the way I think of myself as a victim of circumstance was to watch a TedxBoston video called Sharer of Joy: Nataly Kogan. She was the one who made me realize that despite whatever was going on around me, I could still make a choice to be happy. After watching the video, I quickly downloaded the Happier App that she and her Happier people created. I began to experience a new kind of social media. Slowly building on-line relationships with people from every walk of life and all over the world, who were consciously choosing happiness despite problems with love, health, children, etc. It's a world where I spend 10 minutes each day catching up, encouraging and getting encouragement.

The shift in my thinking has been gradual and started before my Secret Keeper had his mental and physical meltdown. I believe that this shift made a sad transition in my life much more bearable. It helped me realize that my world had not come to an end, it had changed, and I had choices to make in how I perceived the changes.  I feel blessed to have met some really wonderful and unique people that help me to remember that, "Happiness is a Freakin Choice."

Happier also has a web site but, truthfully, it doesn't work nearly as well as the iPhone app. It's well worth a try.

To quote Nataly, "Life is made up of many moments. Choose to create and collect the happy ones."

Be kind people. It's easier than you think♥