you really don't know what people are going through
Be Kind
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Be Kind 〰️
We come across people who smile and laugh and post happy photos, and we have wonderful, uplifting conversations with them, without knowing that silently, behind this calm, well-rounded exterior, they're experiencing a heartbreak. Right before your encounter they cried their heart out, wiped their tears, and presented their best self to the world. They move past you, leaving behind joy and positivity, when internally they carry so much grief.
Those people aren't two-faced, they aren't hiding behind a facade, they're not people pleasers, they are not being inauthentic. They are using every last ounce of their energy to be positive, because what good will negativity do? for them or for you?
Because being positive is hard. It's easy to sulk, it's easy to spread negativity. It's easy to cry. It's easy to be sad and stay sad.
What's not easy is to force yourself to live your life, is to not let the pain steal your current joys and rob you of making memories. What's not easy is to contain the hurt and not let it affect anyone else.
There's a catch to this all. We expect these people to be this way all the time, to perform at their best. So when they falter, or their patience slightly dilutes, or they do something that doesn't quite meet your expectations, don't come down on them hard, don't meet their minor fluctuation with a fierce vengeance, don't pinpoint and notice every tiny misstep. Remember, they're battling with all their might to not let it affect you, to not only survive, but to leave on a higher note. So when you add to this battle, when you push back on this pursuit of staying hopeful, it's more hurtful than you think.
Before you honk at the crazy driver in front of you, or before you get annoyed at your friend for taking too long to reply, before you give someone a passive-aggressive greeting, just pause for a second. Give everyone the benefit of the doubt, always choose to be kinder in your ordinary conversations. You never know when your ordinary day is someone else's biggest heartbreak.
