ALL of YOU Cheer up a Room by entering it : )

 

Lloyd D. Newell

 

“If you were arrested for kindness, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” commentator Michael Josephson once asked. He then noted something we have all experienced: “Some people cheer up a room by entering it, others by leaving it. What do you bring to your interactions with workmates, friends, and family? Is it encouragement, optimism, or kind words? Or is it pessimism, criticism, or cynicism?”¹

As beautiful and abundant as this world is, there often seems to be a shortage of kindness and optimism. Many of us are doing our best to stay positive and look for the good, but sometimes we may feel weighed down by the gloominess and rudeness around us. Indeed, it can be difficult to be kindhearted in what seems to be, at times, a cold-hearted world.

We need hope and strength, two of the great fundamental virtues that can shape our nature and our world. Even in the face of compelling evidence to the contrary, we can choose to believe that things will work out and that people, in their hearts, respond best to kindness. These are decisions of hope and strength; they are the power of positive living.