Be a ripple!

In today’s current world, I have to seriously wonder about the state of people’s hearts. It doesn’t seem like there are many happy ones lately. It is so easy to get caught up in the “go, go, go” of life and get sucked into the nastiness that so many are spreading. That’s exactly what Satan wants. The title of my blog page is Be Happy with Melissa. This is a lifestyle blog so I mainly talk about my life….big shocker! Haha!

I didn’t choose that name on accident and I didn’t choose it because I am always happy. I’m a work in progress. I chose it because ‘’be happy” has been a mantra of mine since I was in high school. I remember writing it on notebooks in class and making a sign for the inside of my locker. It has stayed with me over the years and I even remember writing it down on a sticky note when I had a desk job. It’s a reminder for myself to look for the good. Hence my tag line of, “Finding JOY in everyday life”. I didn’t pick those lines because I’m good at them.  I picked them because I need the reminder for MYSELF.

Social media seems to play a big roll in how people feel. Social media is everywhere, so I guess it makes sense. During this past election, I had to unfollow or hide so many pages and posts that people made. I didn’t unfriend anyone, I just hid posts that some made that were hateful. Every time I got onto social media, my heart would race from people just being mean. I don’t really care what “side” you stand on politically. I’m sure you have your reasons for your “side”. But I was shocked at all the name calling and plain old hatred towards one another. I just wanted the election to be over so people would start acting a little bit more normal.

Many people in the world today are just so angry all the time and it feels like some of those people just want to puke that hatred all over everyone else. Whether it be a political post or any other number of hot button topics. I couldn’t stand it. It literally hurt my heart. It would make me feel sick. Maybe I should’ve said something but that probably would’ve just fueled the fire.

I needed the break from the mean and the ick so I started to follow more “feel good” pages on social media. I still need to unfollow or hide a post every now and again but it’s a lot better than it was. I really enjoy feel good stories. Why??? Because it makes ME feel good. When I feel good, it’s easier to spread the happiness.

BE A RIPPLE!! If more people did a random act of kindness, that little ripple could grow to become huge waves of happiness! I was reminded of this tonight. I was scrolling through my social media pages and one popped up from my towns page. Someone bought the County Sheriff his tacos tonight and that caused a chain reaction of good and positivity. One act of kindness. One person. Not many people. ONE. How many people were impacted? I’m not sure, as the post did not say. But I do know that those people had a good and positive reaction. I know from the comments that it impacted someone deeply. If those people feel better, they might somehow keep the ripple going by doing something nice for someone else.

I’m not saying you must buy food for someone at a fast food place. I’m not saying you need to buy anything at all. A few weeks ago, someone on our towns page mentioned that they saw some workers outside in our extreme heat wave. They took them some lemonade. It made their day! They couldn’t believe how such a small act caused so much joy for the recipient.  Another day, someone took a police officer a cold bottle of water while he was out patrolling. Made him feel appreciated.

Even just smiling and waving at someone can dramatically change someone’s mood. Try it!! I bet it makes you feel better, too. The next time you are a retail store, even if the cashier isn’t the friendliest, be nice and smile. I’m sure they’ve had a long day of cranky customers. I worked retail for many years. I’m telling you, when you get a bunch of cranky customers in a row, it can really mess with you. A customer showing compassion, smiling, and being nice can be the jolt that is needed to shake off those past customers and get that smile back on their face.  Make it your mission to make every cashier that you come in contact with smile. And if you are scrolling on social media and you see something controversial…..don’t click on it. Just don’t do it. Keep scrolling and say, “NOT TODAY SATAN!!!!”

Be a ripple. Spread the happiness. Find JOY in everyday life.