In my daily life, as I interact with a wide array of individuals in our community, I find a considerable gap between the reality I observe and the narratives frequently depicted in the media. This isn’t limited to the extreme portrayals; even the moderate depictions seem a bit removed from the grounded reality that many of us live daily, where kindness and goodness are more common than not.
Not long ago, I reached out to 16,000 people via a text message initiative. The responses I received were quite revealing. While a single person replied with unwarranted negativity, there were hundreds who responded with positivity and encouragement. Yet, it was somewhat easy to find myself fixating on that one negative response, allowing it to overshadow the multitude of positive feedback.
This instance mirrors a larger tendency in our society where we, perhaps inadvertently, focus more on the negative, giving it more weight than the countless positive interactions that happen every day.
Today, I invite us all to shift our perspective consciously, to focus on the wealth of positive relationships and the majority who radiate good intentions. It’s crucial to realize that the events causing strife or bringing about conflict in our society are not only rare but are also not representative of the regular, harmonious interactions that take place daily.
By celebrating the positive and nurturing relationships that promote harmony, we offer a more genuine and hopeful depiction of our community, encouraging a society where the good vastly outweighs the bad. Let us learn to champion the majority who foster understanding, kindness, and mutual respect, steering our culture towards positivity and unity.
Jaren
