The Power of One

So, I'll be going about my day feeling somewhat positive about myself, maybe I just dealt with a task I've been avoiding or solved a problem for someone, or I'll just be feeling centered and able to deal with life, and someone will say something that makes me feel like an idiot or makes me feel like crying. To add to the negative feelings often it will be an off hand remark, just a small bit of snark to blow off steam, that the person will likely forget about within the hour. If not then it's something that could have been said just slightly differently so as not to be hurtful. It's not necessary to imply that I constantly fail to do a particular thing correctly when I get it right 95% of the time.

Most of the time I'm able to shrug off the random nastiness that you get when dealing with people. Every once in a while PMS or just plain stress will make me dwell on it more than need be. I'm still dealing with things pretty well these days but everyone has weak moments.

Or else I'll be sunk in the glums, feeling pretty lonely and sorry for myself and a friend will call or IM me and we'll talk and laugh and I'll completely forget about my mood by the time we say goodbye.

It's got me thinking about how much power we have over others and how ignorant we tend to be of that power. Something that is small and unimportant to us can either help someone feel good or ruin their day completely.

All of us have the ability to positively or negatively affect those around us with little things and we need to be more conscious of that. It's the little things that do the most in the constant fight between darkness and light that is human existence. You don't have to give a lot of money to charity or work all day in a soup kitchen to make a difference in the world. You just need to think about what you say before you say it and take a moment to reach out to those you care about, just because.