Sometime in the last month I reached some sort of limit and declared that I want more sweetness in my life.

That’s when I realized that I must be sweeter!

Be the sweetness you want to feel, right?

"Puppy Love" ©Patrice Federspiel

What does it mean to be sweeter in the world?

What does it feel like to be sweeter?

Sometimes sweetness is an overt action, like buying a coffee for the person behind you in line, or giving a driver easy passage to merge in front of you on the highway.

Other times it’s more an act of omission.

It’s sweet to be patient when the person in front of you at the checkout counter is counting their change.

It’s sweet to NOT roll your eyes when faced with anything you see as utterly ridiculous.

It’s sweet to not speak when speaking only serves as a volley in a useless, unnecessary argument.

It’s always sweeter to give everyone — including yourself — the benefit of the doubt.

"Seriously" ©Patrice Federspiel

Choosing sweetness isn’t always easy, and it certainly isn’t always at the top of my mind.

Still, sweetness is my new barometer; it's the antithesis to anger and resentment.

I want to live in a world of kindness and sweetness.

Just think, we get to choose sweetness with every breath, with every action, and with every non-action that we take.