I normally don’t post on Sunday’s, but I’ve been thinking for a while that I wanted to periodically share some of my thoughts with you on topics that are non-hair related, so I’ve come to a decision. I’m going to be posting something on the first Sunday of each month and sharing a bit of “Sunshine on Sunday” with you. In doing so, I hope that as you my readers will get to know me a bit better and what I stand for as a human being who just happens to be Mormon. You don’t have to read it, but if you’ve read this far, I hope you’ll keep reading & take something away from what I share. I don’t want these posts to come across as anything preachy, I just want to try share something good and uplifting here online, since there tends to be so much negativity and not so happy stuff out there. So Welcome to “Sunshine on Sunday.”
Because I’ve been thinking about doing this for several weeks now I’ve been trying to come up with something to share with you, and until Friday, I had been struggling with a topic or theme for this post. That was until my blog went “down.” If you tried to access our blog, or probably a lot of other sites out there on Friday, you may have had issues. It was because our web hosting company was having major problems and even their own site was down. What does all that have to do with coming up with a topic for this post, you may ask?
Well, when I couldn’t reach my hosting company via phone or directly on their website, I went to their FB page. There I found periodic updates from them keeping us apprised of the situation, as best they could. But what I also found there, was a lot, and I mean hundreds upon hundreds of comments from angry customers “yelling” at them via FB comments on how they were unimpressed and how they were losing money from their websites being down, etc. etc. Now I totally get that people expect customer service, and things to function when you pay for a service. I even started getting a bit annoyed about my situation with my site not working just by reading their berating comments. But then I came upon a few comments throughout the “mean” ones that pleasantly surprised me. People were thanking the company for their service and expressed kind sentiments toward them and the problem, rather than freaking out. One person even thanked them for the problem because that meant they were able to get out of their office for a while and go outside and enjoy the beautiful weather! Awesome. A ray of sunshine in all the negativity!
That got me to thinking. How many of us are quick to anger, judge or be unkind? (regardless of the situation and regardless of if you are actually “justified” in your reaction.) Or are we one of those who choose to take the higher ground and show understanding, kindness, patience and/or love instead? I’m a bit ashamed to admit, I’m probably quicker to jump to the negative than the positive. I’ve been working on that though, because it’s not a quality I like about myself.
So as I got to thinking about this whole “being kind and having patience with others” topic I came across this short little video called the “Civility Experiment.” It says things nicely about how civility and kindness go much deeper than appearances and quick judgments. And although this is talking a bit more about judging a person on their physical appearance, I believe this can be applied to all aspects of our lives. As the quote above says, and as you’ll hear in the video, “It doesn’t cost one cent to be polite.” I just love that.
I hope that as you throughout your day today and in the weeks to come, we all will focus on being a bit more civil, kind, polite, and more patient and loving to those we come in contact with. We never know what someone is going through. And how wonderful would the world be if we all just took a step back before we react and chose to act in kindness rather than being unkind? I love the last words of the video:
“Life is perfect for none of us.
Rather than being judgmental
and critical of each other,
may we have the pure love of Christ
for our fellow travelers
in this journey through life.”
~Thomas S. Monson
If you want to read other “sunny” things today, hop over to some of my friends’ blogs to read what they’re sharing today:
If you’re interested in more about me and my beliefs, you can read more HERE. Regardless of where you are or what you believe, I hope you have a Sunday full of Sunshine!
