run. pray. - America

The Yellowstone post is coming soon, but I really wanted to share my running experience from last Saturday, because it made my heart happy. 

It is no secret that the world is in utter chaos. For the past week, I've done my best to cut ties with the media. My heart was bleeding in pain after last week's events. The media, yes social media as well, is constantly shoving negativity down our throats. Last week, I let the media win and allowed it to fill my head and my heart with "the funk." I couldn't get all the violence and hate out of my brain. It was driving me nuts, and I needed to fight back. 

 I was raking my brain for ways to show my understanding and my love to EVERYONE. How could I impact my local neighborhood? One thought was to carry a stack of post-it notes and a pen with me, walk around downtown or in different areas of Greenville, and pass out notes that said, "I'm sorry. I love you," to every single person I encountered. Unfortunately, I never did it. But, maybe soon, I will. After the storm passes, our community will still need the reminder.  

 So, I prayed for peace and healing, not only for me, but for the world. I prayed for guidance, so that I could do my part.

 I checked my email and Facebook messages (I was only checking Facebook for messages - not reading posts), both of these keep me updated on weekly group runs I attend on Saturday mornings, and I had a decision to make. Meet up with the Nerd Herd at Furman, or meet up with RWB (Red, White, Blue) at the zoo. Without hesitation, I chose the RWB group - it just felt right. 

 RWB is a group of veterans and civilians who come together through physical activities to enrich the lives of veterans. Since my mom is a veteran, I joined the group a few weeks ago, sort of as an honor to her and every other veteran I know. The group runs with an American flag. On Saturday, despite the tragedies America was (and still is) experiencing, I felt really proud to be an American. The look on peoples faces when they spot the flag is priceless. It's like it triggers this prideful light inside of them. Many people say thank you while others just smile and bask in the glory of the red, white, and blue. 

 I made it a point to say good morning or hello to every person I passed on the trail. Not one person had a negative response. Not one person ignored me. Every person smiled with hope and said hello back. They appeared happy to be acknowledged. They appeared grateful. And, if they were like me, they needed the kindness of another human. 

 Sometimes, the smallest efforts make the biggest impact. Who knows? Seeing that flag and being acknowledged could have made a big difference in someone's day, so they were nicer that day, and so their niceness passed to others, and maybe, just maybe, that nice cycle continued and made a big difference in a lot of lives.

 Every day is a good day to start a nice cycle. 

Comments

  1. UnknownJuly 13, 2016 at 6:53 PM

    I love you sweet soul sister ❤️ Beautiful post!

    ReplyDelete
  2. ngcmommyJuly 16, 2016 at 10:22 AM

    Yes! I want to do some random act of kindness thing again. It makes my heart happy!

    ReplyDelete

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