Understanding and Loving Other People

Understanding and Loving Other People

As I’m writing this, it’s the first week of June, 2020.

Chances are, if you’re reading this article much later into the future, you will remember the unrest plaguing the United States at this time.

I normally have my content planned a few weeks in advance and do most of my writing the first week of the month.

However, this past week, I was so consumed contemplating my thoughts and reflecting on everything that has transpired, I didn’t even know where to begin with writing this month’s content for my website.

Content that had absolutely nothing to do with current events.

My original plan was to devote the month of June to health and fitness because I noticed a lot of people were reading my article How to Make Exercise A Habit in 6 Steps.

I knew this topic was on people’s minds lately, and I want to help them out in this area.  Especially since I recently achieved a long-standing goal of reaching an average of 10,000 steps a day.

A personal milestone for me.

But, this topic is for another time.

This past week, I had a decision to make.

Do I continue on with my original plan and publish my first article of the month on health and fitness?

I didn’t want my readers to think I was ignoring what’s going on in the world.

Trust me, I’m definitely not.

And I see recent events as a teaching moment for us all, myself included.

A teaching moment that asks, “how can we do better?”

How can I do better?

But I’m also not in the business of controversy or offense.

Yet, I knew I had some things on my heart to share that maybe would help you during this time.

It’s been a rough week (year, really) and we’re all hurting in some way.

So, I was plagued.

What to do?

After much deliberation and reflection, I decided to go ahead with this article.

I can’t just ignore something that has deeply impacted all of us.

Doing so would not serve my readers’ best interests.

Your interests, as my reader, are my #1 priority.

But before I get started, I want to put out a disclaimer:

I do not claim to have all the answers and I’m not perfect.

This isn’t a political piece, either.

And, as stated above, I’m not in the business of offending or upsetting anyone.

I’m in the business of helping people.

My goal is that this article may help you in some way.

Help you make sense of your thoughts and what we can learn moving forward.

It is based on my own thoughts and introspection from this past week.

Late nights on my front porch, asking God questions, for Him to show me any ignorance I have within myself so I can show up as a better person.

Because you may feel helpless and I may feel helpless, but we’re not.

It’s the things you do every day that impact the world around you.

Here are some thoughts I wanted to share with you this week…

Little Acts of Kindness

I’m currently going through this devotional by Joyce Meyer. An entry I read this past week was called, “Get the Small Things Right.”

It was about little acts of kindness.

Sometimes, you might feel overwhelmed by this great big world.

You might feel what you do doesn’t make a difference or impact other people’s lives.

But it couldn’t be further from the truth. 

Something as simple as smiling at your neighbor is a little act of kindness, and it’s completely free.

Or leaving a $5 tip on a $10 takeout order for a restaurant worker, working in public during a pandemic to make ends meet for her family.

Holding the door open for the person behind you.

A genuine compliment to the cashier at your local grocery store.

Think back on a time when someone showed you a small act of kindness and how it impacted your day.

I bet you’re smiling right now, thinking about it.

See, you don’t have to make a ton of money to change someone’s life.

You just have to care. 

Let’s get the small things right (as Joyce Meyer says) and start with showing little acts of kindness to other people.

Acknowledging Others

We get so bogged down by our own problems that sometimes we hide from the world and other people, because we’re looking out for #1: Ourselves.

But what if we stepped out into the world every morning with the intention to acknowledge the people we cross paths with?

To let them know they are seen?

How many times have we rushed through the grocery store, not even looking anyone in the eye?

I have a confession to make: I’ve been living at my house with my husband for five years, and it was just recently I began to get to know some of my neighbors.

A few of them I already knew because they are friends of my husband’s, but that left the rest of the neighborhood complete strangers to me.

With the goal of reaching 10,000 steps a day, I recently began taking daily walks around my neighborhood by myself for the first time.

This was a little scary for me because I’m a quiet person.

I’m an introvert and I’ve always flown under the radar.

So, my new walking habit meant I needed to interact with anyone I came in contact with or risked coming off rude, which is not my nature and definitely not the impression I wanted to give.

With every car that passed as I walked around the neighborhood, I smiled and waved.

Every person out in their yard, I waved and asked, “hello, how are you?”

To you, this may not sound like a big deal.

But to me, it was.

It was a little scary at first.

And it got me thinking: How many other people are afraid to do this?

Or just can’t be bothered to do this?

We’ve grown so closed-off from one another.

Fearful, even.

Technology is partly to blame for this.

I remember fondly growing up as a kid in the 80’s and 90’s. We knew all our neighbors (for better or worse).

Sure, a few of my neighbors now are long-time friends of my husband’s, so I have known them since I moved into this neighborhood.

But what about everyone else?

These past few months, I’ve met so many people in my neighborhood.

A diverse neighborhood, with a wide variety of age, ethnicity and family dynamics.

I’ve learned names, pets’ names, took notice of beautiful landscaping and the hard work that went into creating it, the flowers blooming in yards…all the little beautiful details of this neighborhood and the people in it.

And in my efforts to interact and acknowledge others in a way I haven’t before, I began to change.

Being intentional about acknowledging others has led to more meaningful interactions with others outside the neighborhood.

Our world needs more intentional, meaningful interactions with other people.

Even when it’s outside of our comfort zone.

Understanding and Loving People

If we truly understood and loved other people, can you imagine the great feats we’d accomplish?

My pastor said something at a recent church service that stuck with me:

“There is a difference between talking TO people, and talking WITH people.”

It got me thinking: Do I listen in a conversation as much as I talk? Or do I just rattle on and gloss over what someone else has to say?

This concept of talking WITH people and not just talking TO them calls up an example from social media.

We all have that one friend who shares content and follows it up with “if you disagree with me, delete yourself.”

I’ve seen this many times and even though I’ve sometimes disagreed with what was shared, I never delete.

What my pastor shared got me thinking: If we only talk TO people and not WITH them, we don’t have the chance to understand them or love them.

We just become that much more divisive.

When you wake up in the morning, ask yourself: What can I do to better understand and love other people today?  How can I become a better listener?

I believe there could be healing when we take the time to understand and love one another.

Before You Go

I wrote this piece because I noticed the trend of a nation of people seeking answers to how we can do better.

It starts with asking how we can better understand and love other people.

Treating everyone with kindness and being intentional in sharing kindness with others.

Acknowledging others and truly seeing them.

How can I help you right now?

Just leave a comment or email me and let me know how I can.

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