Just Be A Good Human!

Simple advice for complicated times.

My last posting (about being kind) was inspired by a bumper sticker.

This one, by a phrase spotted on a T-shirt.

We seem to be living in rather tumultuous times - yet some things remain quite simple.

(The T-shirt? I spotted it on a fellow from Australia who was interviewed by Michael Gray Griffith, host of Cafe Locked Out. Gray Griffith has been travelling around Australia for I'm not sure how long now - a year or more?? - interviewing fellow Aussies about what's going on, & has been going on, for the past 3 years. Find him on Facebook, or go to this site. A lot of the interviews he does are very inspiring! And no, I don't necessarily agree with all of his, or his interviewees', views on every topic.)

So.

The times are a little on the wild side.

Ya think??

Things seem very (very) unpredictable.

Sometimes it's hard to know what to do.

How to behave.

What (or whom) to believe.

I think the advice to just be a good human is very sound.

I've decided to use it as my main "new rule" - until such time as another, better one comes along.

One thing I like about this simple rule?

It doesn't matter whether or not you trust mainstream media - or the mainstream narrative about all the bamboozling stuff going on in the world these daze.

Whether or not you're vaccinated.

What your skin colour or culture or sexual orientation is - or which religion you belong to (if you belong to one; not all of us do).

Whether you consider yourself left-wing, right-wing … or no wing at all.

"Woke," or decidedly un-woke.

It's independent of whichever brand of groupthink to which you might happen to subscribe (seems like we're all subject to one sort or another!)

It can be adopted by every single one of us!

And in these times, in which being divided (& conquered??) is at fever pitch, this is surely a good thing.

General H. Norman Schwarzkopf is said to have once said

“The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it.”

& no, I'm not exactly in the habit of quoting military types!

Keep Calm & Carry On

I used the "Keep calm and carry on" graphic up top, since staying calm & not getting all freaked out seems like a fairly sensible strategy in these dizzying times.

Full disclosure?

I don't always manage to feel calm.

Sometimes, to be honest, I get feeling a little freaked out!

Heh heh. A little humour often helps, no??

I just try to keep those unsettled feelings mostly to myself, since I don't think flying off the handle is going to be of much use to me. Or to anyone else.

After all, our feelings come & go.

Moods pass!

Nothing is guaranteed.

The future never is!

Meanwhile, this also seems like good advice:

My own fears, or anyone else's.

Just being a good human is sound advice I'm going to do my best to abide by.

One day at a time.

One minute at a time...

p.s. here's a tiny example: there are 2 people I see most days as I walk along the busy street in Toronto I walk along most days, doing errands. I usually give them each a twoonie (Canada's $2 coin). You & I might disagree about whether or not this is a good idea - but never mind. It's something I choose to do. It feels good to me. One of the two is a woman, who has expressed gratitude to me that I say hello & speak to her in a friendly way. Most people ignore her. Treat her as though she's invisible. This is one very small thing I can do to just be a good human. Heck! One can acknowledge a person's existence/fellow humanity without making the choice to give her/him some spare change. Right? Smiles & friendliness are still free! (Let's also acknowledge that if either of these people struck me as in any way volatile, dangerous or intoxicated, my behaviour would be different.)

p.p.s. after all, too, as I’ve said, & posted about here, Conversation is the Whole Darn Karmic Enchilada! Words really are important. & so are our voices! Hmmm. Also, courage!

A Few Quotations That Can Be Helpful in These Unique Times

I'm not going to get carried away with this, this time, the way I so often do. 🙂

“Do you have the patience to wait ‘til your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving ‘til the right action arises by itself?” – Lao-tzu

“Be careful not to do something permanently stupid because you are temporarily angry, stressed, scared, tired or hungry.” – Karen Salmansohn

These next 2 I coined for myself, in particular circumstances the details of which are not important:

"Stay on the path. Don't look down."

"Cut your losses. Go where the energy is."

Finally, here’s something I say to myself decently often - since it often seems to help:

"I don't have to figure that out right now."