Man (or Woman) in the Mirror

So, I had a completely different post in mind for this Monday; however, after the police shooting in New York City over the weekend, this song will not leave my head, and I feel compelled to speak about this. I know this is a blog about money and personal finance, but there is a human being behind this blog who doesn’t think about money and finance 24/7.

I don’t speak about my religion much or at all here at Financially Blonde and it’s not because I am not proud of what I believe, it’s because I would rather let my opinions and behaviors speak for themselves. I am a Christian, and I could tell you that I am a Christian, but I would much prefer you to see Christianity in me than for me to have to tell you, just like I could tell you I have blonde hair, but I would rather you see my blonde and know it to be true.

There are many tenets of the Christian faith that I hold close to my heart, but the greatest is treating others as I would treat myself. I have met numerous people who claim to be Christian and then I watch as they treat people poorly. To me, this misses the entire point of the life of Jesus who is at the center of the religion.

What I love most about the stories of the life of Jesus is that he surrounded himself with people of varied backgrounds and beliefs. He was an inclusive person who accepted others for what they were, sinners, prostitutes, traitors, and this sort of inclusion is something we could all take to heart.

No matter what religion people practice, though, there is a common thread throughout all faiths about treating others well. I feel that we were all put here to do good for others, and it’s not always an easy task, but it’s an important one. I don’t understand why more people don’t embrace this life philosophy.

When I watch the protests and negativity that have taken hold of parts of the country, it makes me sad. It seems as though no matter how much progress we think we have made, at times it feels as though nothing has changed.

Change Starts with the Man or Woman in the Mirror

I love this song by Michael Jackson because he encourages change to start within you. How can we expect the world to change, if we can’t change ourselves? It’s hard to be the lone voice of reason in a crowd of insanity, but sometimes we have to make that stand. Bad things happen all the time, and it’s not for us to lament on the bad and make it worse, but to take the bad and turn it into something good.

There is a great quote by Gandhi, “An eye for an eye, only ends up making the whole world blind.” I don’t know if the recent police shootings have anything to do with Eric Garner or Michael Brown’s deaths, but I hope for something good to come from all of these tragic events.

A few years back, I watched an episode of Oprah and she said, “Be mindful of the energy that you bring into a room.” If you have positive energy, you will change things for the better, if you bring negative energy, you impact people negatively. This point is true for your physical presence as well as your online presence.

My Holiday Wish

My Facebook and Twitter feeds feel as though they are filled with lots of negativity lately. We need to look in the mirror and choose to be a face of positivity. I hope that more people will remember this, especially since we are right in the middle of the holiday season.

This time of year is supposed to be one of hope and new beginnings as we leave one year and embrace another, and I hope that more people look in the mirror and start making changes within them. Instead of adding to the negativity, think about how you can increase the positivity.

When I look in the mirror, I see a good person who tries to help others and bring positivity into their lives. It comes from my faith, but also my life philosophy. I hope at the end of the day, this is what other people see in me. If not, I will continue to work harder on myself to make sure that I am a face of positivity and not negativity to the world around me.