usually when we think of the word “spirit” we think of cheerleading.. maybe even spiritual things…

today its about something different; like someone’s happiness. how lively & alive their personalities are. i work with two of the most live people in the world.. so high energy. an energy that myself & most of my other coworkers aren’t used to, to put it lightly. to be blunt, its pretty annoying. on the flip side, most people think that those with low energy or depression (and other mental disorders) is quite irritating as well.

as a whole we aren’t very direct about how we feel, but our actions give the implication that neutrality is key. it means acceptance. you are neither here nor there, but you are tolerable, which is clearly all that matters to most in this world. not loved… tolerable.

yesterday while i was on my way home i realized that telling someone to calm down, relax, whatever can easily kill someone’s spirit. it can cause them to start believing that it isn’t ok to feel certain things or be who they are, and who are we to tell anyone that they cannot be excited about that? how horrible does that make us for trying to put someone in a box just because it pleases us and makes us comfortable? maybe we should tap into that. put ourselves in someone else’s shoes and try to see things from their perspective instead of being so close minded that we inadvertently break someone down in the process of keeping our comfort zones intact.

i also realized that high energy is so… weird? (and keep in mind i stared at the screen for a while trying to think of what word to use & i’m sorry if that offends anyone) to me is because i was always taught to keep things contained. my darkest secrets AND my wildest dreams. then i was encouraged to spill my guts and not feel bad for how i feel, but THEN i said too much and now its back to keeping things contained for the most part.

i said all of that to say that unfortunately, we are taught either directly, by observation, or through experience to tolerate.. to “put up with.” not to love. we are taught to be closed off and “strong” (stubborn), not to be open and vulnerable. we are taught to use defense mechanisms and that putting others down gives them the thick skin they need to live this life… and it seems that we are just now finding out, or just now acknowledging, that all of this can really kill someone’s spirit and really reduce their quality of life. so much so, that it kills them.

so now with this realization i have made the choice to start trying my best to be more open minded and accepting, no matter how uncomfortable it might be… and i really hope that you readers can try making the same choice which can help end bullying, stop stigmas, and save lives.