Let’s Get Loud!

Drowning out the Darkness

 

     The other day I was mulling over all the ‘stuff’ that is happening around the world today. Because of how mankind is so much more connected than we were fifty years ago, we can get all kinds of news from just about anywhere. A lot of information is at our disposal. With that brings a lot of sad, bad, immoral, disgusting, evil, dark, and discouraging overload!

So, as I pondered about this overload I was screaming inside, “What on EARTH is HAPPENING?!”

The answer came to me like a lightning bolt. “The GOODNESS is not LOUD enough!”

Wow! If that isn’t the truth! If you want to see change, you must be the change.

We all know that the news is not going to get better, and the news outlets will only let the goodness be reported, usually, at the end of the news as a blurb. Which is nice, to wrap up the news with something positive, but we know, that the news is never going to give us a warm fuzzy feeling all day long! Not happening!

I’m not blaming the news for the discouragement. We, as human beings, need to take the blame for not stepping it up and figuring out how to be a part of the solution for goodness and positive reinforcement!

The other day, I was standing in line to check out at a large retail store. Lines are longer these days, so you get to see a lot of…well, I like people watching we’ll say. Good and bad behavior seems to take place out in public and it doesn’t matter who is watching or listening when the row gets heated!

But this day was different. The line was not moving. It was at a standstill. I tried not to be too obvious, but I rubbernecked to see what was going on. At checkout was a young mother with her nine-year-old daughter. They did not have enough money to pay for their purchase, so they were trying to decide, together, what should be put back from their fully loaded and bagged shopping cart.

After a while, the young twenty something man standing next in line asked how much was needed to complete their purchase. All they needed was six dollars. The young man quickly whipped out his card and slid it into the processor and paid for it. The young mother was so thankful for his help. He told her to pay it forward someday.

As the cashier processed the young man’s purchase, she praised him helping. It brought tears to my eyes to see this young man, getting it. Make goodness loud! Even though this was done very quietly, to not embarrass the mother any further, his action spoke VOLUMNS!

The problem: Everyone wants to be right, to win, to be top dog in any argument or fight. Stubbornness to the end, never giving an inch. Egos get in the way. Only what they think is important, it doesn’t matter what others think, because the others are always wrong! People have lost the art of listening and constructive conversation and cognitive thinking. No one wants to read or do research; they just want to be spoon fed and be a follower.

There is a great disconnect between the brain and the heart, so people have become numbers or objects to be treated badly. Say what you want about anybody, put it out there on the internet, destroy someone’s life and just walk away with no repercussions or guilt.

THE GOODNESS MUST GET LOUD!

Let’s use our words to build up, encourage, and bring happiness to others.

Let our good words be backed up with good works.

Turn up the volume on GOODNESS! Start feeding your mind with wholesome stuff.

Practice connecting your brain to your heart, after all, it’s only eighteen inches! Put yourself in someone else’s shoes before you open your mouth and weigh in. Maybe don’t weigh in at all. Some people just need a good listener.

My daddy always said, “You don’t always have to tell everything you know.” He was right. I am so thankful for the stuff I didn’t say. Yes, I could win an argument if I told them what I knew. But was it necessary? Would it cause more division?

I don’t have to win an argument. It isn’t that important to me, and it isn’t that important for me to tell everything I know. What is important to me is relationships. It is important to me that others feel loved, valued, and made to feel that they are worthy of all things good.

LET THE GOODNESS GET LOUD! Take a stand and be the change and get loud with it!

 

“Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Psalm 37 is one of the best-loved of David’s Psalms. Its purpose is to teach the righteous how to live in a world filled with wickedness. The Psalm contains seven admonitions on how to achieve tranquility and peace of mind under these conditions.

 

Debra Lee, Author/Key-Note Speaker

“It Is What It Is…But It Wasn’t A Tragedy”

“Making Wise Choices…the most important life skill to master”