I have a short story that I would like to share that will act as supplemental material for the third episode of RJ’s World Lens! You can check out the third episode on March 18th at 5AM EST, but this story will provide some context to a particular part of the episode that makes mention of art and the importance of both the artwork itself, as well as the artists behind what we enjoy. Back in August of 2022, when my work with 757 Uplifters was relatively new and I was still sorting out ways to promote positivity and community, I was walking around Military Circle Mall in Norfolk, VA (before its closure in January of 2023). I was doing self-reflection (which is actually a regular process that I feel everyone should do periodically) and shopping around for items to treat self, but I also hadn’t been at Military Circle Mall in forever.
I was experiencing a lot of personal change and development, doing leadership and thinking about my life and why I enjoy bringing good to others. There were times in my life where I didn’t know where I stood, as far as my relationships with the people I knew, with my family, the kinds of people I wanted in my circles, the kind of person I truly wanted to be…but I started focusing on the times I felt good and did good. How it made me personally feel, and how it has made other people feel. I wanted to make it a point to then focus on that feeling of warmth, and if I could not give it, then I wanted to try my hardest to not be detrimental to others. As I’m thinking about such things, as well as gaming (I was looking for a GameStop that used to be in the mall), I stumbled upon the art that really spoke to me.
Humans And Negativity Bias…
The artwork, posted by dat_artist_yokomeetri on Instagram, was something that I just happened to stumble upon at a time that was very important to me! I used to be stuck in a very weird place, mentally, back when I was utilizing social media in ways that wasn’t productive or worse, in ways that was damaging to my psyche. I used to get stuck doing “doomscrolling”, even unintentionally, because even when I wasn’t actively looking for negativity, I did not unfollow pages that didn’t serve my interests, and as a result, I would sometimes see some of the worst of humanity, being honest.
Even so, I was growing in my personal life, so I knew there was a disconnect…my community organizing has me regularly meeting people who are utterly delightful and people with big hearts, who want to help their families and other people. While I knew (deep in the back of my mind) that what we see on social media doesn’t show the full picture, I truly began to understand as I did events and lead/organized groups of people…I know that people are not as horrible as social media can make people out to be.
Now, I’m not saying horrible people don’t exist. That’d be a lie, but humans do tend to focus on the bad or negative. One of my main inspirations for starting 757 Uplifters was that people (especially nowadays) get inundated with bad news. I knew an older gent who straight up listened to hate radio all day, every day…but he was nothing but nice to ME, personally. Whatever his assumptions (if he had any), I did not match them…and before he passed away, he gave me some of his tools, since he trained me on using tools when I used to work with him. His actions (which were touching) furthered my belief that humans are complicated, and I want to use my work to make some good stories. I know he would enjoy what I am doing now, and the world will never have too much good news! Be the change you want to see!