Encouragement

Encouragement.

Such a big word with an even bigger meaning. Some people take it for granted. Other people have very little, so much so that they may as well say they don’t have it at all.

For those of you that don’t know, I fall into the latter of the two categories. And I’ll admit, for the sake of being honest, that sometimes, it’s hard to be a writer. To have pride in the words that I write. So much so that I can’t even be inspired to pick up a pen and try some days.

A writer in the middle of a work-in-progress is a very fragile creature indeed. Kind words can go for miles and rudeness can be detrimental. Even an indifferent comment can be enough to cause someone like me a moment’s pause.

The sad part is most of the time, we speak without thinking. We’re all guilty of it. I know I am. Words slip out and regardless of whether or not we mean it, they can never be taken back. You can chant “Sticks and Stones” all you want but in a way, isn’t the psychological damage of an insult far worse than a cut or bruise?

Wounds heal but how do you heal a memory? A feeling? You can’t. Or at least I haven’t figured out a way to.

Sometimes, I think we all just need to take a moment, to breathe and step back from the routine chaos of our lives, and think about what kind of person we want to be. To think about who we are. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in ourselves, in our lives, that we lose sight of everything.

When you get down to it, that blindness is terrifying.

The point of this blog post isn’t to bum you out, I promise. It’s to make you think. The world doesn’t have to blind you, to lead you in an endless march to your grave. Take a moment out of your day, even if it’s just one, to spread a word of kindness and you might be surprised at the way your life changes.

Besides, you never know who needs it.

I don’t know who will read this post or if anyone even will, but today, I want to be that person to say it: You’ve got this. Someone cares. Just know that someone always cares.

“I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same. People will never know how far a little kindness can go.”  ~Rachel Joy Scott