He put a ring on it. 😊💍

via IFTTT

Being Offended Never Solves Anything

Some interesting things have been going through my mind as of late. As I do my daily web-surfing, I'm always compelled to learn as much as I can. I don't usually go on the internet for entertainment, I do so because I feel I have so much knowledge to gain about so many different subjects. I mostly do research on health, psychology, philosophy, religion, etc. A few days ago I seemed to have fallen down a "web-hole" into a very sad and depressing part of youtube. I started watching so many things that made me angry, such as the extremist millennial groups that call themselves "social justice warriors," religious bible thumpers and confrontationists, animal cruelty promoters, and so on. Once you are lured into watching a negative video out of curiosity, a few things happen. The first is that you get angry and feel the desperate need to comment and prove it wrong. Then you get tons of even more negative responses that are directed at you personally. After you've had enough, you move on to videos that you do agree with, but the negative video suggestions keep popping up in the "suggested videos" sidebar until you go through and manually click "not interested" a dozen times. You decide you're tired of getting so many hate comments, so you delete your first comment altogether, then get messages from people telling you that by deleting your comment, you proved yourself wrong. You've gotten yourself into a game where absolutely no one wins.

I have some very strong beliefs, as well as many unpopular opinions. I believe that a whole food plant-based vegan lifestyle is the most compassionate and healthful way to live one's life. I believe that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true gospel restored to us on the earth today. I believe that there are secret societies out there who seek to slowly take control of the population through political and psychological conditioning, which can be overcome if we educate ourselves. And also, I believe the law of attraction in that all we are now is a result of what we have thought. Our thoughts control our reality. I'm a philosopher. We tend to believe things on a large scale much of the time.

As I was thinking over these things, I realized that when it comes to negative videos or web posts, if people were to just ignore them and never share them or comment on them, they would gain no attention and cause no conflict. I've learned especially by watching multiple videos of angry social justice warriors that it is your choice whether or not something offends you. If I was angry enough to leave comments on videos I disagree with, that is MY fault, not the person who made the video. Freedom of speech is a wonderful and necessary thing, but by reacting to something negative with even more negativity, I'm only fueling the fire. Therefore, since negativity is what I chose to put out, I will only receive more of it, mainly in the form of more hate comments. That is how the law of attraction works, and I see now that if I really what to defend the things I believe, living by silent example is the strongest way to share my message. If people ask me about any of my beliefs in real life, I still love friendly and healthy discussions, and love to share what I know in order to help other people find the same joy that I've found. But it's clear to me now that arguing, especially online, never convinces anyone of anything. Do I really expect my comments to completely change the mind of the person opposing them? Nope, that just doesn't happen.

I realize that one thing I believe in very strongly is Jesus Christ and his teachings. In my daily life, I should be behaving and speaking in the ways that he would, with kindness, understanding and love. Jesus wasn't desperate to get in the last word, nor did he seek out arguments. Just by mentioning Christ, I know that there will be people who automatically become uncomfortable, but still, treating others with kindness, understanding and love should always be the way to live one's life, whether you believe in Christ or not, and that is what I'm striving to do from now on.

All in all, I've learned that being offended never solves anything, but our attitude determines everything. I still plan to research and learn, but if I come across something negative, I will learn from it and move on without comment. If I receive a harsh or contradictory comment, I won't respond.  I won't actively seek out negative videos or articles, nor will I choose to focus on things I don't believe. Instead, I'll focus on all that I DO believe. I'll make videos about things to help people, I'll talk about my passions, I'll live my standards, and I'll strive to uplift people and be a friend to all. If people disagree, that's totally fine. It's a human thing to do, and no two people can ever fully agree on everything. I believe that we are all brothers and sisters and are worthy of love, and no trivial differences of belief are going to distract me from that anymore. Thanks for reading, everyone. Be good to each other. :)

-Sarah (Lady Luna)

Chicken-less Noodle Soup! Vegan Recipe