As a human having resided on this planet for quite some time, I have become witness to the race as a whole. Having also had the privilege to interact with people from all walks of life, I am still surprised with the actions and behaviors some humans portray. On my early morning daily walks I meet people, some regular walkers like me, some strangers and I always smile and wish a good morning to everyone. There are a select few who choose to ignore me or fail to make eye contact, some of these few I see everyday and it began to bother me.
I would conjure up thoughts about my appearance or that perhaps they were having a bad morning and I didn’t deserve a response back. But does repeated ignorance deserve a second thought? It took me a long time to understand that regulating my thoughts plays a huge role in my reaction to one’s behavior. It took an even longer time for me to come to terms with the fact that I cannot change another person and similarly another person’s action shouldn’t move me either.
Someone’s bad behavior and insults have really nothing to do with you, it’s something personal within themselves and only they can fix. The bigger problem here is that a sensitive vulnerable person will no doubt take this behavior personally, when in reality it has nothing to do with them.
Coming to terms with one’s flaws and seeking avenues to heal are important to begin to break the barrier. Yet it is the hardest thing to do. A cycle of unfortunate, unconstructive and damaging habits develop that are hard to break and before long you become a toxic, grumpy and a disliked individual. You lash out because it makes you feel better in the moment, but in reality you need to look inwards at what it is that is really disturbing you and get to the root cause.
Of course I have not so great mornings, we all do! But I don’t let that affect my greeting of a ‘good morning’. You will begin to feel a little different if you just regulate your thinking, slow down your nervous system and become aware of your actions. To feel good inside one must learn to seek validation not through others but within yourself. But first we must realize that it is not about anyone else, your problems are yours and you are the only one that can solve them. Healing your insides is not an easy task, but to make your life less morbid and more fruitful, one must try. Just like your happiness is in your own hands.
So now, on my daily walks, I still smile and wish good morning to every passerby, even the ones that choose to ignore me. I realized, my mood shouldn’t shift just because someone’s manners didn’t follow them out of bed that morning. My habit won’t change because somebody is having a bad morning. It doesn’t cost anything to smile and what a delightful act it is to wish someone a good morning!
We have to remind ourselves to go back to the basics and become compassionate humans first. We need to understand that every person on this earth is burdened with their own set of problems. The way I see it, you have two choices, either add to them or, if only for a minute, let them forget they have them.