Playing Nice

Snarkiness is the kudzu of the digital age, an invasive species we claim we never saw coming, even though it was our own puffed-up cheeks that scattered its seeds to the wind.

So, what if we cut each other a little slack today?  I mean, what would it really cost us to just play nice?

I understand how good a little snarkiness can feel as it rolls off the tongue, that temporary, sweet taste of superiority as it steamily seeps from our perfectly pursed lips.  Frankly, it would be helpful if cynicism had the calorie count of, say, a slice of carrot cake.  I think people would live differently if meanness came with a caloric price that ended up pooling on our hips or puffing up our muffin tops.

"Straight from the lips to the hips" wouldn't be such a bad thing, in this case. Heck, I would even consider doing some planks or sit ups, if I thought it would help.

About a decade ago, the Pike Place Fish Market made waves in the business and education worlds, offering an employee model that focused on four simple tenets:  Be there, play, make their day and choose your attitude.  My awesome sister in law Tatiana even helped businesses learn about and practice these tenets, ideas that eventually found their way into the local teacher-workshop scene.

(I can practically hear the sneering now, cynical lips curling up at their edges at the quaintness of such a message.  And yet. . . . )

While I'm pretty sure I'll never master tossing a 40-pound salmon across a room,  I do know that my life has been more enjoyable and more engaging because of my belief in and practice of those four tenets.  At the end of the day, I hope I will choose the afterglow that comes from practicing corny, back-to-basics decency over the tarry goo that comes from snarkiness.

Snarkiness, after all, is a non-contact sport, an attitude that can only be perfected from the sidelines.  Sloppy as it may be, I'd prefer to live in the thick of my small life, erring on the side of mostly playing nice.