My various online communities have been overrun of late by judgment, criticism and negativity. Planned Parenthood. Caitlyn Jenner. Cecil the Lion. Donald Trump. Gun Control. Hillary Clinton.
There are tweets, Facebook posts and blog posts shouting at me in in ALL CAPS, emphasized with way too many !!!!!!!!!!, and filled with a general spirit of bullying, closed hearts and meanness. There seems to be a near constant stream of high emotion that moves way beyond sharing an opinion to actually promoting hatred; fighting evil with more evil.
I find it all exhausting.
I will admit that I have, on more than one occasion recently, typed out an opposing or supportive message, but waited ten seconds (my rule for personal opinion) and then hit delete. I don’t want to contribute to the negativity. That is not the person strive to be. Everyone has a right to their opinion. I do not have to agree. And I do not have to trump their opinion with mine. I don’t have to be right and I don’t have to make anyone else wrong. For what purpose?
This morning, I had an idea.
I really enjoyed participating in the #100HappyDays challenge last year. It helped me stayed centered around joy and gratitude and possibility, no matter what else was going on in my life or in the world. I also got a lot of positive feedback on my photos from other people; they, too, enjoyed the reminders of life’s many good things, both big and small, that we often overlook in our everyday lives.
Today, I’m launching #100HappyDaysForEl2015.
If you’re looking for a little bit of joy each day and a brief respite from the online judging and meanness, follow that hashtag on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tumbler. Here on the blog I will post a recap every Sunday (I haven’t figure out how to stream my other social accounts, yet!).
I hope you’ll be inspired to a new awareness of your daily joy. Share your happiness with your community. Post it here in the comments to share it with me and mine.
Let’s make the world a more positive place one day, one moment, one happiness at a time.
