Hello Beautiful People,
Part of why I wanted to start The Write Teacher(s), was to add some positivity back into the internet. Perhaps it sounds silly to some of you, but I was tired, tired, exhausted of seeing people just mindlessly type and tweet and tumble and post – all in an effort to slam. To slash. To generate slander and muck and guck and just be…mean.
And I don’t get that. I’ll never get that.
Why tear people down for what they have created. Have you written a book? A play? A musical? A screenplay? Have you ever been in the role of director? Producer? Can you draw a straight line with a ruler? Do you know how to operate a camera? Do you know how to sing? To play the piano? The trumpet? The guitar? The saxaphone? The flute?
Art, is osmething to be celebrated. You might not always understand it, you might not always like it, but I’ve never understood why there are some souls that just try to break it. Tear it down. I’ve never understood the folks who have never created something themselves, yet they try to hurt and hate on the creations of others.
What gives?
And so, part of the mission statement of The Write Teacher(s) is to promote positivity. I’m not always going to love every single play, musical, and film that I see. I’m not going to gush over every single song that I hear, or book that I read. But, nine times out of ten, there will be something in a play, musical, and film that I WILL love. Perhaps it’s not the star – perhaps it’s a kickass supporting character. Maybe it’s the genius work of the scenic designers. Maybe I hate the book, but I love the score. Maybe I love the cinemetography, but am a little less ethuesitatic about the script. I don’t know. It changes everytime. But here’s the thing, I write about what I love, and if there’s something I don’t like, I find a way to say that gracefully. And if that grace is not poissible, then the words don’t get typed. Because the world doesn’t need anymore hatred. Or negativty. And I’m not about to add to that, and neither is my team.
So, back to Cherly Strayed.
Here’s a quote that she said, one that I absolutely adore. One that made me admire and respect her even more than I already do.
Sometimes I’m asked how I deal with the haters. I don’t deal with them. I pity them. I don’t expect everyone to love my books. In fact, I frankly expect the opposite. (In the history of books, there isn’t one everyone loves.) But I must say I marvel at the ugliness it takes to gather one’s forces in the direction of what one loathes rather than loves—to go out of one’s way to say to a writer: YOU SUCK. So I send out a little silent non-God-connected prayer to the jackass who felt the need to share his or her jack-assed-ness with me.
There’s a rule, I believe they teach it to you in kindergarten…do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
It amazes me how, as adults, we forget that.
It amazes me how, as adults, we tend to harp on the failures of one another, rather than the successes. When did it become cool to hate one another? When did it become acceptable to spew hatred?
It amazes me how, as adults, we forget everything we were taught as little kids –
Be kind.
Treat others how you want to be treated.
Be gracious.
Love one another.
If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.
I’m in awe of women like Ms. Strayed, who have the courage to put their words and their work out there – and yet they do not falter when the haters try to take them down.
You. Go. Cheryl.
Live, Love, Learn,