Be kind, please just be kind
First, I know I haven’t posted anything in a long time. I just really felt it necessary to make this post, both because it’s a good reminder to just be kind, and I really needed to get it off my chest since I’m too shy to say anything to the ones making the comments.
Today I went to my crossfit class, which I’m starting to get more and more in to. Before class we usually foam roll, mash muscles and stretch. Today in this start to class there were two people by me that were having a conversation, and I’m not going to say specifically what their conversation was about. To make this a little easier to follow I’m going to use a few labels; Alvin, Simon and Theodore.
So Alvin was telling Simon about Theodore, who neither of them know personally and I also do not know Theodore. Apparently Theodore ran a certain distance in a certain amount of time that Alvin felt was really slow, even for a girl. To be clear, Theodore is a male and Alvin is a female. Alvin kept bashing how slow Theodore’s run was and how Theodore should feel soooo embarrassed. Simon seemed to agree and was saying Theodore was going to have a rude awakening because he is going to be going through basic training and, if that specific run was that slow, Theodore is going to have a rough time.
Through this whole conversation I just kept doing my mashing and foam rolling and stretching, being silent. What I should have done was tell them not to judge Theodore. They don’t know his story. Maybe that distance is the longest he’s run in one shot. Maybe that time is the fastest he’s run that distance. Maybe he had something terrible happen in his life and he’s trying to get back on track. You don’t know him or his story. Even though Theodore wasn’t there, that doesn’t give you the right to talk poorly about him. It just makes it easier for people who don’t know you to make bad judgments about you.
Anyway, there’s my two cents. Just be kind to people who might be trying to change their lifestyle. Everyone starts somewhere. Don’t knock them down, encourage them and show positivity.
