Take a step

Today is kind of a surreal and somber day for the students that go to my high school. It's also an eye-opening one. Sadly we lost one of our school's population to teasing and hurtful words. What has the world come to when we're loosing so many of our youth and population in general to such a simply changed thing? Why can't people look beyond themselves and reach out? I'll admit I'm still working on that myself. I have my good days and my bad days. But I'm ashamed to say that I have been a jerk to people in my past and I regret it. There are times when you just can't take it anymore and you snap on someone; you know what I'm talking about, you've been there too. It's hard to take a step back from what's happening to you and think about what someone else may be feeling or going through in their life at that moment.

I was thinking this morning about ways that I could work on how I treat other people in my life. Mainly the ones that just get under my skin. Those people who just grate on your patience, you know? I was thinking about how everyone is a child of God and I took it literally. What if, when someone says something to me or does something to me that I deem to be ridiculous or rude, I thought of them as a child. A innocent little toddler perhaps. How much harder would it be to snap on them? How much easier would it be to treat them with kindness? I'm not saying that we should think of them as children in order to feel superior to them or anything of that nature.

On facebook there is an event coming up called Erase the Hate. I encourage everyone out there to join the cause and get out there and erase the hate. Do you know how much could actually get done in this world if we didn't hate? Do you know how amazing life would be? Do you know how happy we would all be? We may not agree with choices made by others but we should not hate them or whatever just because they make a choice we don't like. It's not our place to judge those people around us. Let's all put away our gavels huh?

Take a step...right now...take a step towards understanding. Towards love and peace. Have some faith and reach out. Smile to those people you pass in the street, store, hall. Say a kind word to someone. Stand up for someone. Be a hero. It's not difficult once you start. It just takes that one step to start running. Everyone has to start somewhere. Being a hero gets easier with every heroic act you commit. You can do it.

I'm starting now. I swear to do my best to brighten people's days. There is a scripture in the Book of Mormon that perfectly sums up what must be done. It can be found in the book of Mosiah, "are willing to bear one another's burden, that they may be light; Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort..."