Human Season

January 7, 2019

Greetings from the patient zero,

You hear someone sneeze and if you are in the same room you say “Bless you.” Which means; “Stay away from me, you disease, I don’t want to catch what you have.”  You can see right away why you say “Bless you.”  Saves on fist fights at the coffee pot.

I don’t know if it’s on the calendar, but I hear people say throughout the year that it’s ‘cold season’.  It’s like a roving holiday, arrives unannounced and you often don’t get to shop for it or decorate properly.

It is interesting to see how cold season changes the culture around you.  Suddenly we are obsessed with washing our hands.  A few less self-conscious souls will wear masks. (Whether you intend it or not, it is a fashion statement.)  We whip out hand sanitizer at any provocation.  Strangers are wiping down each other’s stuff with Lysol.

You know there are myriad ways to stave off the possibility of a cold.  Loading up on vitamin C or garlic or ginger or oil of kiwi bird.  Some wackos put Airborne tablets on their eyes when they go to bed at night.  Of course science supports all of this.  I saw it on Facebook.

None of it is bad, it is a good idea to try to keep yourself, and others around you, healthy.  It’s a noble endeavor really. 

It occurs to me that every day there is this other potential that we don’t think about as much.  Where we are carriers of something infectious and we are often so careless about spreading it, and being affected by others in this way, it’s a wonder that the CDC hasn’t gotten involved.

It is your spirit, your attitude.  It is the expression of you that you chose this morning, the one you will carry throughout today and share with everyone you meet.  And they will share theirs.  And all of us will be changed by this interaction, this transmission.

I’ll pause here and underline that we choose our attitude.  We can also change it during the day, so what you woke up with isn’t necessarily fatal.  You can be saved.  Of course, if you woke up with a smile on your face, and that’s what you’re following, then you can save the rest of us.

Your perspective on today, how you are going to feel about the things you see and the experiences you have, is a conscious thing.  Because we are not someone’s pet, we get to make that selection, and if we are intentional about it, that choice stays with us all day.  It will matter to us, our happiness, and it will matter to the people we meet.

This won’t make WebMD or the headline on CNN, but here’s what you should be aware of: it’s Human Season.

Start with you.  If you ask yourself what you want from today the answer may vary but I’ll give you my examples.  I want to be happy.  I want to feel fulfilled in what I do, to sense that my work, my writing, my connections with people, matter.  I want to make a positive difference.  I want to have fun.  I want to love and feel love. 

I have a list of things to do, I’m purposely leaving that to another Monday.  I am talking about what I want, as a human, from today.  If I want those things, seriously, I need to choose my thoughts, my philosophy for the day, to arm myself against the chaos that waits to disrupt my dreams.  If you don’t choose your attitude, someone will give you theirs.  The human experience is pandemic.

I read what gives me a smile or makes me laugh.  I think of the people I care about. I run.  I listen to music that lifts me up.  I ask to be inspired.  I pray for strength to hold on to this. 

There is something in being human that demands we express ourselves, to be known, to be remembered.  I want that to be positive, lasting, significant.  And I want it to matter to the people I meet, for it to be a positive infection. 

How does this look?  We chose how we are going to be, and now if we care to, we can share that with others.  Be honest, we are going to share it regardless, unless you stay home under a blanket. (Even your absences matters, so that makes an impact too.) 

We can be kind and encouraging.  We can express interest in others, be curious, be open and available.  We can help, or just listen, or celebrate with those whose joy won’t stand alone. Even when it’s inconvenient or not in the plan or on the To Do list.  We will be people of influence regardless; choose what kind of influence you will be.

When someone says “Bless you” after you sneeze, it often is an automatic exchange.  You sneeze, expressing, literally, that you are possibly not well.  Someone witnesses that, and in a few simple words, say, “I hope that you get better.”  The meaning gets diluted with use and pretty soon we don’t care when we say it or hear it.  Just don’t infect me, please.

Don’t let the rest of your life become that automatic.  Don’t become comfortably numb.

If you are in line at the airport you are not likely to know the person in front of you is hurting, or sad.  There is no ‘sneeze’ to tell you, and so even if you wanted to wish the person a better day, or in some way exchange with them, the moment passes and that’s the way it is. 

Nah.

Let me tell you it is always Human Season.  We are always, every day, experiencing what humans experience.  Joy and pain and triumph and defeat.  Every last one of us is somewhere on that spectrum.  Put yourself in the spread of humanity.  

A few weeks ago my brother suggested a phrase that encompassed how our Mom raised us. ‘Be a good human.’  Don’t read past that too fast.  Locked in those four words can be the answer to your own wellness and that of the people you meet.

There is risk when you touch someone.  You could catch what they have.  But if you start your day by choosing who you are going to be, and you choose strong, compassionate, proud, positive, powerful, it matters.  You don’t walk away in fear when you meet someone scowling.  You offer them what you brought to the exchange.  I’m telling you it will matter to them.  You will save humanity.

This other thing happens; you go out into the world with this energy, the belief and intention to be the best you can be and somehow share it with the world.  And then you meet someone else who had the same idea.  And that exchange, that passion, those moments and the ripple that comes out from it, is when God looks down and says. “THAT’S what I’m talking about!” 

Hope this finds you spreading yours,

David

Copyright © 2019 David Smith