If you really want to help our messed up world, the best way to do it is not to shout your opinion on Facebook. After all, when was the last time you changed your opinion about something because of reading someone else’s Facebook post?

Do you want to know what you can do to help our messed up, angry world? 

If You Really Want to Help our Messed Up World

Stop talking and start asking questions. Stop shouting your opinion about things. Instead, start really listening to those who might have a different opinion than you.

The truth is, you don’t know what it’s like to be a person of another race living in our world today.

You don’t know what it’s like to walk in another person’s shoes. 

And this isn’t  just about the racial divide in our country. It’s about a whole plethora of issues.

It’s about sexual harassment…You might claim that someone who has been sexually harassed should respond a certain way. But if you’ve never had this happen to you, you don’t really know how you’d react. So instead of shouting your opinion, ask someone who does get it. And then listen–really listen.

It’s about grief…You might think you know how someone should handle their grief after the loss of a loved one. You might think they should be “over it” by now. But if you’ve never walked in their shoes (and believe me, you haven’t…because even if you have lost a loved one, your situation can never be exactly like another’s), you don’t really know how they’re feeling. So instead of talking, just listen.

You might think you understand the “other” political party, but maybe you don’t. Maybe that friend of yours who voted for the person you can’t stand didn’t vote for them for the reasons you think they did.

If you really want to help this messed up world, the best way to do so is to start asking questions.

Start seeking to really get to know those who are different from you.

I just recently finished a book by Katie Ganshert that’s coming out in April 2018. It’s called No One Ever Asked. It’s a book that hits on some really big issues, one in particular being racism.

In the book, one of the characters said something along the lines of, “Do they understand what it feels like to be a black man growing up in this world today? No, because they never asked.” The white PTA mom in the book who is from an affluent neighborhood didn’t understand the black teacher who grew up in poverty. Likewise, the teacher didn’t understand that this PTA mom who seemed to have the perfect little life had some pretty huge struggles of her own. They didn’t understand each other because they never got to know one another.

There was so much truth in this novel. It was beautifully written and definitely a must-read for 2018.

The truth is, we don’t understand each other because we never try to.  (Click to tweet this.) 

We’re too busy shouting our own opinions to hear the opinions of others.

Let’s change that in 2018.

About the Book:

Camille Gray is a PTA supermom whose life is turned completely upside down when her husband walks out on her. Jen Covington is an adoptive mom who is quickly learning just how hard adopting an older child from a country half way across the world can be. Anaya Jones is a first-year teacher battling racism in a school facing huge changes. As these three women are forced to get to know one other, they learn a lot about themselves in the process.

Katie Ganshert handled the tough issues in this book with a huge amount of grace. The book was eye-opening and beautifully written. I LOVED the title, No One Ever Asked. It summed up the theme of the book perfectly.

This book is a must-read of 2018.

*I received this book for free from the publisher, but all opinions are my own.