I don’t know if you’ve noticed but a whole lot of people are really, really, really angry! I mean they’re angry because you’re a different sex, color, political party, orientation, religion, the way you dress, talk, drive, walk, the college you went to, that thing you just said, that thing you just DIDN’T say, and on and on! Now here’s the thing, and I hope you’re sitting down for this one. Ready? YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE ANGRY! “Who woulda thunk it,” huh? We all walk around feeling entitled to incessantly being angry about God knows what or why and doing our best to transfer that anger onto the assembled masses we see! Well I hate to be the one to tell you (OK, actually I don’t hate it…) but you have no right to be entitled! You have no right to spread the gospel of anger! Oh, you may have the right to be angry, frustrated or hurt about something for a short while, but that anger is a feeling, NOT A LIFESTYLE! Whether you are or aren’t angry, that doesn’t not absolve you from being part of the human race. My dad once told me that “Being angry doesn’t mean that you have the right to forget that others are doing their best to have a good day and it’s not your life mission to ruin that!” Anger is a thing we feel. Anger is not our whole life. Anger is not some mythical figure. Anger is a thing and that means that Kindness, Love, Gratitude and Empathy can get you over anger. So, quoting my Dad again, Get Over It! Strive to live your life in a way so that instead of people noting how angry people are, they’ll be talking about how nice the people they met are, and without even noticing, they’ll spread that gospel instead, all because one day, at some point, you decided to get over it! Peace      …..Gregg

No matter what our politicians do or say, our job is still the same.

Be A Good Human Being! The problem is, we’re just not doing it!

If we’re not on the same side, then

…to Hell with you!

…what do you know!

…that’s stupid!

…you’re a loser!

…my party/candidate is better than yours!

…I’m smarter than you are!

Or the worst…simply ignoring that there might be another viewpoint that might be better, and a human being right in front of you. That’s not OK! Let me say that again, That’s not OK!

No matter what our politicians do or say, our job is still the same.

Be A Good Human Being

It’s still not right to bully people, mock people or assault people. The concept which has grown over the last few years that, “Whoever yells the loudest is speaking the truth” is still wrong.

I’ll say it again…

No matter what our politicians do or say, our job is still the same.

Be A Good Human Being.

Not only reach out to others, but once you do that, help them up.

Understand that others are going to have a different position than you do. Realize that different isn’t bad, different is a way to grow and learn. Understand what your job is, each day, 24/7/365

Stand by your values, but do that in a civil way, respectful way that not only finds a way to make something productive happen, but also allows you to be the mind of human beings that we deserve to be.

No matter what our politicians do or say, our job is still the same.

Be A Good Human Being.

If we were trapped in a burning building, we wouldn’t care less if the firefighter rescuing us was a man, woman, black, white, brown, yellow or green! We also wouldn’t care if they were a Democrat or Republican! I can hear it now,  “Well, that’s different because that is a crisis.” Folks, what’s happing now IS a CRISIS! Look around. I’ve seen friends walk away from each other simply because they don’t believe exactly the same thing or worse yet, follow a different political candidate! I’ve seen people in my town scream unthinkable obscenities at a couple (a white man and black woman) in love, simply due to racism. I’ve heard bigots who would be shocked to know they’re bigots, racist who would be shocked to know they’re racists and friends who would be shocked to know that they were the ones who tanked the friendship! And politicians lie, swear, condone cheating, deflect and work for their good, not ours on a level way above anything we’ve ever seen. All of this in the name of politics? All of this to divide us. All of this is dividing us!

No matter what our politicians do or say, our job is still the same.

Be A Good Human Being

Stop it! It’s up to you, not them to be a better person! You know what to do, you also know that there is no way we’ll agree on everything, but are you asking if there is ANYTHING we can agree on? Are you calling out bigotry and racism, even when it’s with your friends? Are you as open minded as you want them to be? Are you part of the problem? Are you willing to change to be a better person? Make no mistake about it, where we are as a country and even human beings are right now, is a crisis! No matter how we got here, it’s up to us to fix.

A good start might be to reach out to friends both former and current and to begin to listen. Before making a decision or making up your mind, make sure that kindness and hope are a part of it. DO THE RIGHT THING! (You know what that is, but in some cases, it might have been a while since we held ourselves to these standards.)

No matter what our politicians do or say, our job is still the same.

Be A Good Human Being.

Peace

    …..Gregg

Many people will balk at the idea that they are a leader while many others will balk at the idea that they are a follower. So, let’s start with this…

Every single thing you do today, or don’t do, will in one fashion or another, influence and lead others! EVERYTHING! In our daily lives we will influence both the people we know and also people that we have no idea are even affected! Where and how we lead them happens each and every instant and is completely up to us.

A misconception that we have about leadership is that it always happens from the front, right?

The picture of General George S. Patton on his beautiful white horse leading row after row of tanks and men into battle. Well yep, that one way to lead but leadership is needed and happens everywhere. It doesn’t matter if you’re the boss, a middle manager, secretary or just started in the mailroom, all of you are required to lead. From the head of our household to the kids all lead in their own way and we all follow each other in our own way too.

Now where there are leaders there are also followers, right?  If you believe you can lead from the front, you should be able to lead from the pack too! So because we strive to be a good leader, should mean we also strive to be a good follower too! In other words, just as there are good and bad leaders, there are also good and bad followers. My Dad would tell me “To be proud of who you are, you need to be proud of what you’ve done!”

Being a leader can be scary and isolating, so can being a follower.

Being a follower can be the same.

Being a leader can also be satisfying and enveloped by inspiration. Again, the same for followers.

All of this comes down to being aware, doesn’t it? If we are more aware when we are leading, we will be better leaders and do more good in the world. If we are more aware as we are following, we will be better followers and make better judgements about who we follow and why. Be more aware of if others are being aware. (That’s kind of confusing, so if you need to read that sentence over A few times, I’ll understand.) Be more aware of if others are being aware. If you see those around you not being aware, try to bring them along. Some will follow you and some won’t. But, that’s all a good leader/follower can expect!

Peace

     …..Gregg