In the wake of the tremendous upset last week, followed closely by another storm a little smaller in scale, it is easy to feel swept down with the negative. My immediate response was to close down all social media, to avoid the drama, and I know I wasn’t alone in that. Focusing on the bad is the knee-jerk reaction, but with it comes the opportunity to miss out on all the positive. There is so much out there, so many wonderful people and wonderful relationships to be had.

So I have a few things that I am going to try to remember:

To first and foremost, be kind to one another
We are a team, a family, and with that comes the realization that there will be disagreements and squabbles. Not everyone is going to get along all the time. But these people are my friends, my adoptive family, and at the end of the day, they love me, and I them.

To support one another
M/M is a small genre, and we get enough flak from those outside who may not understand. Be there for one another in whatever ways you can. The last thing this community needs is to be undermined by its own members.

To remember to give the benefit of the doubt and never make assumptions
There are always going to be evil people in the world, but closing myself off to others will only hurt me, in the end. The good outnumber the bad. It’s understandable to feel wary when trust has been broken, but being suspicious of everyone won’t save me from getting hurt. It only ensures that I could miss out on something truly incredible.

To value equality
I’m not just talking about marriage equality and civil rights (although, of course those are important topics). I’m talking about basic human equality. The m/m genre has been accused of being cliquey and a little high schoolesque. Man, woman, gay, straight, new, experienced—we are all authors, readers, people, and we should treat one another accordingly.

To embrace differences
We all have something unique that we bring to the table. We should celebrate our diversity rather than trying to categorize people into labeled groups.

To always consider the feelings of others
It is so easy to take an egocentric view of the world—to get caught up in how things look to us rather than what the other side of the story might be. Something said flippantly or in haste may have more serious ramifications for others than originally intended. While I believe that we should be free to express our feelings, sometimes those feelings hurt the ones we love more than we realize. It’s important to stop and consider how they may interpret what is being said.

And above all

To love one another
This needs no explanation.

What would you add to the list?