Faith in Humanity

Rhonda Smith, MSW, LCSW

With social media and news at our fingertips, it is easy to get caught up in all of the negative circumstances going on around us.  Facebook posts cutting each other down at every turn, our kids being bullied on Snapchat and Instagram, the media and the constant destructive criticism of a person’s character.  How can we remain positive with all of this going on all around us?

I saw a post on Facebook recently which said “I think I am going to take a break from Facebook for a while, I am starting to lose faith in humanity at this point.”  That post got me to thinking.  How can we keep from letting the things around us bother us in our core, when usually they have nothing to do with us personally in the first place.

Social media is what we make it, isn’t it?  Society as a whole is so big and seems out of our control.   But the truth of the matter is that it IS totally in our control – one person at a time.  We are only in control of ourselves.   I get to decide whether I will let that lady’s post about her ungrateful husband affect my mood.  On a bigger scale, I also get to decide if the people standing around in Wal-Mart chatting in the aisles will make me so angry that I storm out of there without purchasing what I came for, then go home and kick the dog, only to have to return to the store again anyway.    Who did I hurt by getting angry at complete strangers?  I only hurt myself (and possibly the dog).   Would it have done any good to blow up and yell at those aisle talkers, or mutter under our breath (but loud enough for them to hear) as we worked our way through the crowded space?   Nope.  We are the ones who look like a fool.  Not to mention, when we are outwardly rude to others, it spreads a little more of that negativity around, making it difficult for those watching us to have faith in humanity.

I want to be the kind of person that makes society have a little more faith in people.  One way to do this is to not allow the negativity to permeate who we are in our soul.  It can be easy to get a sour attitude when things aren’t going our way, but we have to remember that things aren’t easy for anyone else either.  Our job as human beings is to help one another navigate this life on earth, eventually getting to a much better place in the hereafter.  We were not created to miserable on this planet, in our bodies, or in our minds.  We all have blessings that we must focus on and stop looking at the bad stuff that we all experience as the end of our world.   Treat each other with respect and kindness.   Stop allowing negative thoughts to creep into your soul.  Be the kind of person that makes others have faith again.

Rhonda Smith, MSW, LCSW, is a Therapist at South Central Behavioral Health Services in Laurel. For more information or to make an appointment with Rhonda Smith, please call 601-426-9614 or visit scrmc.com.