The rise of social media has handed everyone in society a megaphone. Unlike cheerleaders on the sideline, though, rarely are the chants positive. 

Does the Super Bowl halftime show not feature your favorite artist? Complain about social media. A waiter takes too long to serve your order? Leave a bad review on Yelp. If anything remotely political happens anywhere on Planet Earth, or even in space, take up your device to either complain or defend the policy. Unfortunately, the news media rarely offers a reprieve. Turn on the news this week to be overwhelmed by coverage of people dying in the pandemic, followed by coverage of the baseball lockout, followed by news about Russia and Ukraine. All of the news stories are worth covering. Political actions need to be critically analyzed to ensure that they are the best for the country. Having a favorite band or music genre is a good thing.  Food should be delivered on time. In a vacuum, there are very good reasons for why each of the above topics should be covered and or analyzed. However, the constant stream of negativity builds until it can feel like the only perspective on life. But there is still much to celebrate about life.  The importance of remembering kindness and joy is one reason I appreciate that Kabookie week is still celebrated each year at East. It is a way to focus on being kind to others, even when the deck of life seems to be stacked against you. It reminds me of the power of a kind response or the value of generous acts. It is a helpful reset to choose to focus on positive things and to find silver linings, as opposed to simply focusing on the negatives. It is not always the easiest thing to do, but the most important things rarely come easily. Just a simple shift in mindset can allow us to refocus and amplify kindness in our world.  

This article appeared in the February edition of The East Vision.