Being nice can be a double edge sword. There are times when being nice has got me in situations where all I can think was, “Why was I so nice and why am I getting treated so poorly for being nice?”

We are all taught to be “nice” at a young age. Most of us anyways as some folks are just evil from the onset, or so says my opinion.

Naughty and nice are also known as bad and good more or less.

A lot of people tell me how “nice” I am. Often I’m perplexed as to why they tell me that. It took me a while to realize that not everyone treats other humans with respect and civility and that it comes across as being nice to many.

I really have to question if I am so nice, are there really that many naughty folks out there? People who don’t smile at others, help out a stranger, give someone the extra change at the store they are short, have compassion, let someone get in front of you in a long line, hold open a door or even just respect their fellow human beings.

We are all made up of the same stuff just in different packages.

Teaching the boy to be nice but also teaching him to be cautious is a fine line to walk. Children are innocent and naïve and I find it hard, at times, to find that delicate balance of being nice and also watching out for weirdos. I’m teaching him to trust his gut feelings about people because I know I won’t always be there for him.

He is a genuinely trusting soul. He understands and has a healthy respect for people who are rude and that make him feel unsafe. But he, like me, believes for the most part, the majority of humans are good.

He loves animals and has no real fear of dogs. However, he has learned that not all dogs are “nice”. Some dogs are downright mean and will bite you. He feels these dogs weren’t shown “how to be nice and to love”. I explained how sometimes some dogs have had people be mean to them for so long, they don’t know any other way to be. He always feels there is a way to find a way to show them that not all people are bad. It’s heartbreaking to watch when he learns that they are so conditioned by the “dark side” that they can’t be won over.

He recognizes the same in humans. He asks me all the time why people can’t be nice to each other. I have to be honest and tell him I just don’t know. I could give thousands of excuses but the bottom line is sometimes they have been so hurt or so conditioned that they can’t come back to this side of happiness. It’s a painful lesson.

So my hope is that maybe today we can all be a nice person because I know there are so many that need to experience genuine compassion and someone being nice.

Keep Hope Alive!