#teachourchildren

"While you might be enjoying some tasty black-eyed peas as a New Year's tradition, here is another use for those peas used by freedom seekers and those that were helping them in their quest for freedom......"

Black eyed peas dropped on trails or near the river's edge were a warning sign that it was not safe to move about. The peas indicated that patrollers, slave traders and others looking for runaways were in the vicinity and that there were 'too many eyes watching' or 'too many people looking for runaways.'

Yesterday I was at Indigo, a bookstore, and I was standing in line waiting to pay. A little girl and her mom were standing beside me. I’d say the little girl was no older than 11 or 12. She spotted two packs of pens and went over and grabbed them. They were those pens that had little sayings at the top, like “today's the day!” or “keep smiling” type deal, the ones that are so cheesy they make you cringe. When she brought them back to her mom, her mom told her she liked one pack better than the other. When the little girl asked why, her mom said “Because the sayings on them are positive.” The little girl chuckled a little and said “Yeah well I’m not positive”, put the “positive” pack away, and kept the other ones. 

At first, I wanted to think “okay same”, but I caught myself.

This girl was 11, maybe 12. 12 years old, and laughing about the fact that she’s “not positive”. 

We’re teaching these kids all the wrong things.

We’re teaching these kids that being “cold-hearted” is cool.

We’re teaching these kids that being “cynical” is cool. 

We’re teaching these kids that being “bleak” is cool.

We’re teaching these kids that being “negative” is cool.

And it’s time to stop.

Stop hiding your compassion. Show the little kids watching you that it’s okay to feel emotional, no matter what that emotion is. It’s okay to be warm, and filled with empathy. Being cold-hearted is detrimental to both you, and those around you. You don’t need to hate everyone to be “cool”.

Stop hiding your trust. Show the little kids watching you that it’s okay to lay your trust in people. It’s okay to open yourself up to people. You don’t need to hide your true self to be “cool”.

Stop hiding your excitement. Show the little kids watching you that it’s okay to get excited about a new Marvel character, or a concert coming to your city. It’s okay to be excited, over big and small things. You don’t need to be indifferent to be “cool”. 

Stop hiding your positivity. Show the little kids watching you that it’s okay to think things will be okay in the end. It’s okay to believe in the good in people, in the world. You don’t need to be pessimistic to be “cool”. 

These kids are growing up in a digital world. They are growing up with so much hate in their lives, the least we can do is show them that hate, anger, and sadness aren’t the only emotions. There is happiness and compassion, and most importantly there is love.

So next time you’re in a public space and are about to say something about how “negative” you are, or how you “hate everything” etc., look around. I guarantee there is a young child watching you, looking up to you. Mention something about the store you're in, the weather outside, the night sky, the flowers outside, anything, something that you love. I promise you will also feel better because positivity is so much healthier than negativity. 

Negativity does nothing but weigh you down. And most importantly, it doesn’t make you cool. It doesn’t make you funny. Being self-deprecating, hateful, and angry all the time doesn’t make you cool. It doesn’t make you funny. And it doesn’t work. It won’t get you anywhere. It won’t get you happiness.