Cynicism*

I've decided to try a new thing for the next two weeks. I call it "positive regard". 

Whenever I catch myself judging people, the challenge is to replace it with genuine curiosity about their perspective. I never regret when I don't ask. And as I explained to Sonnet in one of our conversations, judgment is always my ego jumping in before the data is actually there. 

It's so easy to find someone to mock. These days I feel like the only people you're really not allowed to make fun of are furries. Everyone is open to some angle of attack, but people who dress up like animals are clearly vulnerable for aesthetic reasons, so they're off limits. Conspiracy theorists, libertarians, boomers, Christians. . . they're all being silly for less relatable reasons, so it's ok to laugh. 

What am I missing from those worlds?

I think in my heart I am very arrogant, and it's hard to be curious about so many things in a single day. I've found myself building little models of people, reducing them to simple types, and missing the obvious question: "Wow, you really think that? Why?"

This isn't exactly a new resolution. You could say I'm failing to reject cynicism over and over and over. 

It makes me sad <3

*future me