Dipping Down to Pettiness

My gosh, is it ever tempting.

I’ve got a lot of critical thoughts about a lot of things. And when I’m ticked off I tend to quickly make it obvious. My first instinct is always to speak out against any harm with which I’m met. But I’m learning to focus that anger into more productive channels.

Social media gives the illusion of a shared understanding. A genuine connection might actually exist in the real world, but it’s nearly impossible to see the true extent of unity from a small example (280 characters, for example) of our thoughts and feelings. Thoughts and feelings that are, usually, fleeting.

Avoiding quick, reactionary outbursts and dipping down to pettiness is going to be a lifelong lesson. But the thing I try to remind myself is that some outlets I choose for self-expression (like Twitter) actually don’t do anything productive. Those quick expressions of hurt aren’t effective at finding and uniting with the people who might support me in person.