“Trending”… you see this word all the time. It’s what’s happening NOW. It’s what people are talking about and what they want to hear about. It’s what’s in style at that moment.
“Trending” is what people want to see, what people want to do. Social media has brought us a world of “trending” and it’s here to stay. This ever so fast world that’s trending, telling us what’s important and what other people think is important.
But have you ever wondered about things that you’d like to see become a “trending” item? Things that you’d like to bring back in style? Are there things you’d like to make staples in your environment in which to raise your children and live your life?
Here are a few things I’d like to see become trending…
- Manners – All too often I see people who just don’t have any manners. I don’t know how to say it differently. The way they behave towards others just isn’t nice. They have bad table manners, they constantly interrupt people, they don’t think of other people, they are always out for #1 and they treat even their “friends” in a cold way. It’s as if young people don’t learn manners anymore.
- Morals – What’s happened to morals? We live in an age where you become unpopular very quickly if you have morals and you have the audacity to say it! I am not in any way saying your morals should be the same as mine. I am not saying that anyone needs to live their life based on what someone else thinks their morals should be. The definition of morals is: A person’s standards of behavior or beliefs concerning what is and is not acceptable for them to do. But it seems that people no longer live with standards of behavior or beliefs. People don’t have a mental list of do’s and don’t’s. Everything is okay to do and I do mean everything. And, of course, children watch their parents and take on the patterns of beliefs and behavior they see before them. What will our world become when no one has morals? Who will our children look up to?
- Respect – This is a big one for me. I’ve seen young people do some things and if I had done those things to my mother, I…well, let’s just say, I knew better. I respected her. I respected that she was my mother, but I also respected that she loved me and she was doing what was best for me. Young people today just don’t have respect for their elders. When I was young, young people helped older people. Even if you didn’t want to listen to their story for the 50th time, you did it. Because they were older and they deserved respect. And what about respect for our Country, our Military and our Veterans? Where has it gone? Where along the way did someone think it was “their right” to burn a Flag, to not show respect for our Flag, to not show respect for our Military, for our National Anthem? How did respect for our Country become the opposing side of “rights”?
- Trust – People don’t trust anyone anymore. When I was growing up, it was a pretty common thing to hear, “Trust until you’ve been proven wrong”. That motto saved many relationships (business and personal) and provided a foundation for mutual respect. But now, people are afraid to trust others. They’ve been hurt too many times and don’t want to repeat the same mistake.
- Patience – Another big one for me. I was inside and standing in line at a restaurant the other day. There was an elderly lady counting out change to pay for her order. Behind her was a young man about 16-18 years old. He was making hand gestures like “hurry up, hurry up!” and tapping his foot. I heard him loudly whisper, “Mam, I’ve got to go!” Of course, it didn’t speed her up–I don’t even think she heard him. But that one snapshot was indicative of who we’ve become. We don’t have patience for anything. We rush through everything and we think everyone else needs to rush. As I’ve become older, I’ve taught myself to have more patience with everyone…even 16-year-old know-it-all young men in a restaurant.
- Common Sense – Oh, yeah. Isn’t this a thing of the past? It is so strange that search engines have replaced us using our common sense. Laughing. Everyone, kids and adults alike Google everything now. Can’t figure out something? Google it! No one reads a map anymore because GPS takes us everywhere. It would take too much common sense to read a map and GPS is faster anyway!
- Loyalty – “Loyalty is not just a word, it’s a lifestyle”. I love that quote. I love loyal people. Those people who stand up for you when you are not around and who support you through good and bad times. I’ve been known to say before, “I’d rather have loyal employees than employees who were the highest SAT scorers, Harvard-educated employees. Loyalty compensates for lack in about every other department. I want to be a loyal friend and have loyal friends, I want to be a loyal employee and have loyal employees. I want to be loyal to my family members and have them treat me the same. That’s who I am. And I am grateful for that.
- Integrity – This is doing the right thing when no one is looking. It’s easy to do the right thing when everyone is looking at you and expecting you to do the right thing. But what about when no one else is around? If doing the “not right” thing would make you more money, move you up the ladder, help you get ahead, would you do it? Many people do. Those without integrity. I pray I have integrity.
There are more things I’d like to see make a come-back, but these are the major ones. What about you? What would you like to see become “trending”?
Blessings to you!
Charity