As we grow older, we encounter events and people in our life that can either be the start of our down fall to the beginnings of our climb to happiness. You can’t control everything that happens, you can’t control money problems that your parents occur, nor can you control how people treat you. Everything may seem bitter, and disappointing when times get rough, but even with all these disappointments, there is still a small bit of light that remains. It flickers at times, making you feel like there is no escape. Leaving you in total darkness you become scared. But just as you are about to break, the little light flickers back on, and you look towards it, wishing and trying to get it to grow brighter. You channel your energy into that delicate little light, for it is your attempt at gaining freedom from despair. It is your hope in life. Your hope that no matter what happens, you have the ability to get through it. Because the truth is, you are never stuck in the darkness, and if you are, you are the one that’s making it that way.
Sometimes things happen to us in life, that doesn’t make sense. We don’t get why we were left with these large burdens. We are left to question if there really is someone who is out there, helping us move along through our lives. We sometimes blame the problems upon that one person, we yell to the heavens asking why, why us? Why can’t we just get a break, what are you trying to teach me? We are told over and over again that everything happens for a reason. But what is the reason for the horrible things that happen? Why did that child get cancer? Why did those people shoot innocent people? What is the reason behind that? What makes that right?
The point is, it doesn’t have to be right. It happens, we may not know the reason till we are old and gray, but there has to be a reason. Something’s are caused by the bad decision of others, whether it be that the mother smoked around her child giving the child second hand smoke causing the cancer, to the person deciding to pull the trigger on the gun. We are human beings. We have the ability to decide for ourselves. It’s our decisions that affect our world. But the first step to helping the world is helping your own backyard. We are constantly lost in the hustle and bustle of our own lives that we forget to examine others. Maybe you had thought the Johnson’s were selfish for not bringing a dish to the potluck picnic you had hosted. Too busy to notice that the Johnson’s had serious money issues, and had barley enough money to feed their own family. While you think badly of the Johnson’s the Johnson’s fear asking for help. They feel embarrassed by their situation. The mother constantly tells her children that they shouldn’t ask for help because people will judge the family. The saddest part of that is that its true. People do judge, especially if the family is a good family. People try to find flaws in them, they even resort to twisting the words that we say.

Why do people do this, especially when we are in times that we need to join together? If you really think about it, it backfires on the people. People try to find ways to distract themselves from their own problems, just like in grade school. People use it to boost their self esteem. But why? Don’t you think that if someone were to just be nice to others, and listen and care for them without deciding to go and stab them in the back the minute they turned their backs? If you asked me I would say that could actually boost their self esteem. Because then you know that the people surrounding you aren’t just putting on a mask, they are telling the truth, because they have a reason to be truthful. Yes I know life will never be completely like that, where everyone gets along, but one person can change a whole lot. Even if it only be in the people’s lives that they try to help, or by a whole community one person has the ability to gain the powers of positive change. We can break the chain.

So what are you going to do?
I challenge you to try to go at least a week without judging people, keep your views open. Because who knows, maybe the person you were judging was going through a horrible thing in their life.

Do you accept this challenge?