A friend of mine who’s a musician posts his schedule on Facebook each week. I see it. I hit the like button. And I scroll on.  Last week, I noticed two shares on the Facebook post, and I thought he was not asking anyone to share this, but two people did. That’s nice to be supported. So why didn’t I support his upcoming gigs and share it? And this idea was hatched.

Why aren’t we supporting one another? I know that as people get older and busier, it’s harder to find the time and energy to go out to bars and see bands perform, but a simple acknowledgment or share on Facebook doesn’t take much to do. So why aren’t we doing it?

Videos and posts go viral because someone hits that share button, and millions share it through the power of the Wizard of Oz or some other wizard. It just took one person to do it.

I see beautiful artwork posted by a friend that she created. She also has them for sale. I hit like or love and moved on, never thinking of promoting her artwork to my Facebook friends. It just never dawned on me to do that. Here I am writing this blog and asking people to share it if they like, and I’m reasonably sure there’s only a tiny amount of people reading it now. That’s okay. I’m not griping about that. I know it’s good stuff; eventually, it will catch on. A few share it, and that’s where it stops.

We have this culture now where I’m sad to write, holds great importance on harsh and sometimes vulgar music or art or silly things that do not mean much in the grand scheme of life. Yet, the popular vote shows that’s what many people like. I’m not going to be one of those people who criticize others for their tastes, but I’m too much of an educated and wise person not to notice what’s going on.

So how do we support one another?

1. Listen to family and friends and pay attention to what they like and find interest in it, even if it’s not your bag.
2. Show your partner, family, or friends that you support their project by being there to share in it. Go to the classroom drama play during work hours. Take the time off and go.
3. Speak kindly about your family or friend’s passion, hobby, or whatever when you are talking about it. Don’t lie and pretend you support it and then complain or make fun of it to others.
4. Offer to do something to unburden someone we support so they can free up their time doing what they need to do to be happy.
5. Share social media posts from your friends promoting their band, art, or business. Let’s help one another be successful. There’s plenty of money for all of us.
6. Take care of ourselves so we have good health and energy to support others.

I hope I’m wrong, but sometimes I think inattentiveness stops us from not supporting one another. That could mean something as simple as being somewhere else in your mind when someone shares their life, passion, job, etc.  It could also mean not being able to discern that insecurity rules your life. Either way, it’s not supporting each other.

People think nothing of putting on Facebook how much they love and miss someone they’ve lost, but is the same public support happening when that person was alive? I don’t think so. It seems taboo or something to publically display acts of love or good honest support for others. Why? Do we think it makes us vulnerable to scrutiny or ridicule? Why is that? I love seeing couples’ photos with great big smiles. It shows happiness, and don’t we all need more images of happiness? Sometimes I think people would rather see a train wreck photo than their friends’ couple photo. Does it mean we’d rather see things with good shock value?

Try this for one day. Listen to others around you that you’re close to and see what excites them. Once you know that, support it. As long as it’s not something weird, creepy, or illegal. Then you have my blessing not to support that.  It takes very little time to learn what someone loves. Just listen for it.

Thank you for reading this. I want us to be better people for our happiness and others too. ❤

To Supporting One Another,

Francesca