Paradise Found

Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about putting positive energy into the universe, which I realize is nowhere near a novel thought. Quite the opposite, in fact – tons of people have written tons of stuff on the topic, so I’m not going to pretend I’m breaking any new ground here. However, making a conscious effort to do so more consistently is having a not small impact on my life, for the better.

In theory, it seems simple – put good energy in, get good energy back. You get what you give. Basic stuff. Yet in practice, the results are far from basic.

Let’s begin by saying, I don’t really believe in regret, as a concept. Yes, you can look back on things and wish you’d done them differently or better, but I think for the most part we are all making the best decisions we can in the state of mind we are in with the information we have. At the time. Acquiring additional information and / or perspective later on says nothing about what you would or could have done at that given time.

With that said, the times in my life where I most feel like I could have handled things better occur when I feel I could have been more considerate and less in my own head. For example, perhaps I’m rushing to an appointment and forget to say good morning to the doorman on my way out the door. Or perhaps I forgo making small talk with the nice lady with her mini poodle in the elevator, because I’m preoccupied with finding the perfect “going for a walk” song on my iheart radio app.

These aren’t major things. They’re super small, and seemingly inconsequential in the grand picture. But in my opinion, they aren’t, really. You don’t know what other people are going through – what battles they are fighting. Maybe the doorman just had a 12-hour shift and is late for a family dinner back at home. It’s possible the lady in the elevator is lonely, and her poodle is the only thing keeping her company.

Obviously, I’m wildly speculating here, but you just never know the impact your presence, your conversation – or lack thereof – has on others. You could make or break someone’s day in an instant. But you’ll never know.

From my perspective, it seems like a safer bet to make an effort to be friendly, if possible. Of course, you might be having a not-so-great day yourself. The effort might be a struggle. But somewhere out there, the probability is likely that someone else is having it worse. You have no idea if your words will make a difference. So you might as well wish a stranger, or a friend, good morning.