Strengthen Your Faith in Humanity

Some thoughts on how to human

You know how they say rules are meant to be broken? Well, I have a rule that isn’t. It’s one that I made up, but it’s one that works best when EVERYBODY abides by it… together.

It’s a rule that just makes shit better, and one that (in theory) should get easier over time. That rule?

Take every chance you get to discover, strengthen, or restore your faith in humanity.

You see, people need to believe in themselves to thrive, and people can’t truly believe in themselves as people if they don’t believe, fundamentally, in other people. Jay-Z said it best: “If everyone’s crazy, you’re the one that’s insane.”

And, with that said, here are a few of the simple things that make me feel better about being a human with the rest of you:

• When strangers let me smile at their baby on airplanes

• When a double-digit underdog pulls off an upset

• People acknowledging the proper hierarchy of parking spot allocation in crowded lots based on who has been waiting the longest

• When I see white people doing the Electric Slide

• Seeing teenage boys hold the door for teenage girls at the movies (related: seeing Red Vines licorice and not Twizzlers)

• When people remember to give you your lighter back

• When pastors preach with the 1PM football game in the mind

• When restaurants have free WiFi (related: waiters and waitresses that already know what channel "the game" is on without you having to tell them)

• When people don't put meetings on your calendars for Monday morning or Friday afternoon

• Parent-teacher conferences

• When people with full buggies let people with just a few items ahead of them in the grocery store checkout line

• Seeing a garage sale sign in my neighborhood

• When Super Bowl MVP winning players grab their babies, kiss their wives, and say they’re going to Disney World

• Seeing people pay it forward in drive-thru lines (related: when you don’t get charged for extra sauce)

• When people rally around a good cause online and raise a lot of money in a short amount of time

• Kids begging their parents to let them spend the night together

• [YOUR TURN _____________ ☺️]

For Lack of a Wetter Bird, find a reason to strengthen your faith in humanity today.

What are some things that make you smile? Send ‘em in, and spread some good news today!

P.S. - While writing that Jay-Z quote above, it made me want to write about him more. I’ll have an article over on Grits & Gospel about his music next week.