Be Kind Or Be Quiet

Welcome to A New Life podcast with Pamela Jean, where it's all about empowering women to empower more women. Get ready, friends, to create a new life. And here is your host, Pamela Jean.

Hello, friends, and welcome to A New Life podcast. I'm so glad to have you here this week. So tomorrow, friends, tomorrow is election day, November 3, 2020, election day. And I don't know about you, but I am ready to move on from the current narrative of what's happening in our country, what's happening in our state and our community. I'm tired of the negativity. I'm tired of the anger, the hate, the resentment. I'm just really, really tired of it. The one thing that I have noticed is we as a society, as a country, we have lost the ability to agree to disagree. We've lost the middle ground. It's either you think one way or the other, and there's no middle. And stop and think about that for just a second. There's no middle ground. Why? Why can there not be a middle ground? Why can't we agree to disagree on certain topics and still meet in the middle and still show love and kindness and support instead of all the hatred and anger? I know that people who have lost friends, lifelong friends, over a different viewpoint, families that will not be getting together for the holidays because of political viewpoints, really is. Is it worth that? Is it worth that? You know, a saying that I try to live by, and I started saying this to myself many years ago, and it's called be kind or be quiet. And I started saying that more as a way to make sure that what I'm saying to other people and how I'm reacting to other people is always out of kindness and love. There are many times where something happens and I don't feel very kind. Like if someone cuts me off in traffic, I'm not going to lie. I'm not very kind. During that time, I usually want to say some things that are not kind. Or if you see someone who is acting strangely or dressed strangely, I want to comment on that. But it's not kind. What good is that going to do? How will that serve myself or serve the other person? And I learned when I was growing up as a little kid that if you don't have something good to say, then don't say anything at all. How did we lose that as a society? How did we lose that as people? I just. I have a hard time understanding how we've lost our middle ground. And when did it happen? You know, tomorrow we are going to elect a president. We are going to elect a president. Now, it may be a re election and it may be an election. One of the two things are going to happen and you might feel passionately about who you voted for and that's great. As Americans, we have that right and that is a beautiful thing. But if your candidate doesn't win tomorrow, I want, I beg you to please, please pull up your bootstraps and start doing the work. Start doing the work of no matter whom is in the White House of rebuilding our country, rebuilding our communities. Because is it really worth the division that we have? Is it worth the hatred that gets spoken every single day in my world? It's not worth that. I don't want to lose friends over who ends up in the White House. You know, I love social media just like everyone else. What a beautiful way to be able to see what's happening with my friends and my family, to see who has, you know, who has children who, who dressed up as what for Halloween and just to stay in touch with people all over the country that otherwise I would lose complete contact with. I love social media for that. I love social media for a platform that I, in my coaching community, I'm able to connect with women all over the country. What an honor and a gift that is for me to be able to connect with so many people in such a beautiful way. But I don't like social media for the negativity that it has brought out in people. I have seen friends of mine speak such anger and hatred towards another person that I can't even believe that that's who posted or shared that comment. And I beg you, I charge you with this before you type anything into social media, anything at all. First of all, is it kind? If it's not kind, then be quiet. Then rethink what you're about to type or what you're about to say. Words hurt. Words last forever. They leave scars. The second thing is this. Can we agree to disagree? Can we agree to disagree by allowing so many different people in your life with different viewpoints is how we get to grow as human beings. I don't see eye to eye with everyone that I'm a friend with. We think differently. We have different values. I have friends who are Jesus followers. I have friends that are not Jesus followers. I have friends that are Republican. I have friends that are Democrats. I have friends that are black. I have friends that are white. I have friends that are gay. I have friends that are straight. But it is in my belief that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves, love our neighbor as ourselves, we are all not going to see things exactly the same. And that is okay, my friends. Embrace other people's differences, embrace their different viewpoints. See what you can learn. See what you can learn about yourself. Because I'm here to tell you how you think is not 100% right and how someone else thinks is not 100% right either. And I believe the truth is really in the middle. It's each person from each side coming from one direction to the other and meeting in the middle and agreeing to disagree. It's so important that we agree to disagree, friends, and here is a bigger, a bigger challenge for you. Before you type something on social media, today, tomorrow, next week, whatever, if it is not something that you would say to a person standing right in front of you, then don't allow the anonymous factor of social media to bring up a courage and a confidence for you to comment with hate and anger. Because a lot of things that I have seen people post and share are things that I know they would never say if that person was standing right in front of them. And friends, we're better than this. We are better than this. And if you feel so strongly about something in the political spectrum that is not being handled in the way that you feel it should be handled, then run for office. Get involved, do something. Don't just hide in front of your computer and comment and spread the negativity. The negativity has got to stop. You know, gratitude, gratefulness, positivity that changes lives. Getting involved, becoming educated. Educate yourself on what is true. Educate yourself on what are facts. You are smart people, we are smart people and we're better than this. So let's take a step back, if you will. If you will, please take a step back with me. And before you comment on anything, whether it be on social media or whether it be someone standing in front of you, be kind or be quiet. That's number one. And as a Jesus follower, you know, Jesus asks us, tells us, commands us to love thy neighbor as we love ourselves. Love your neighbor. See what you can learn from your neighbor. We all have great gifts that we can teach and share with other people and we just have to be willing and open minded to listen to what we can learn from other people. It makes me sad that our country has been torn apart because of politics and people in charge and people that are supposed to be leading us in our daily lives. And friends, ultimately we have one leader of our life and that is our Lord and Savior. That's who leads our lives. We are better than this. And I know, friends, that no matter what happens tomorrow, whoever's elected, whoever becomes our president, we all have work to do. We get to decide are we going to tear that person down? Are we going to build that person up and support whomever ends up in office? We get to decide that are we going to continue the negativity or are we going to turn it around and be positive and make the best? Because we're not all going to get our candidate in the office. That's not going to happen. We all don't get to have our candidate in the office, but whomever is in the office, life is going to go on. Tomorrow, the next day, the day after that will still come no matter what. But after the election and after the winner is declared, that's when we all need to get busy and support and love and encourage and learn and live our best lives. Friends, gratitude changes the attitude absolutely 1,000%. And if you choose to keep filling your life with negativity and things that are not positive, I'm telling you, it will wear on you. It will wear on you physically, it will wear on you mentally, and it absolutely will wear on your life's success. So friends, I hold you all close to my heart. I thank you so much for listening and I hope that we can come together with no matter who wins, be kind or be quiet, be supportive, get involved and get back to the great people I know that we are meant to be. Thank you so much for joining me. Make it a great week and I will talk to you next week.

Thank you for joining us today on a New Life podcast. We will see you next time.

Sam.