Summary

The article discusses the author's perspective on being sweet, emphasizing kindness, creativity, and positivity as key components and refuting the idea that sweetness equates to naivety or weakness.

Abstract

The author of the article presents a personal viewpoint on the underrated quality of sweetness, particularly in adults. Defining sweetness as a blend of kindness, creativity, and positivity, the author argues against the misconception that sweet individuals are pushovers, instead suggesting that sweetness is a sign of a tender heart, understanding, and resilience in the face of life's challenges. The article illustrates sweetness through anecdotes, such as creating a playful race on Melbourne Cup Day with toys, and emphasizes that being sweet is not about pleasing others at one's own expense, but about approaching life with a positive and gracious attitude, even when dealing with adversity. The author encourages readers to embrace sweetness as a way to bring lightness, warmth, and joy into a world often marred by negativity, advocating for a perspective that values acceptance, learning, and spiritual growth over bitterness or vengeance.

Opinions

The author believes sweetness is a positive and multifaceted trait, encompassing kindness, creativity, and a positive outlook.
Sweetness is misconstrued as weakness or naivety; the author refutes this, suggesting it is a sign of strength and forgiveness.
Personal anecdotes are used to demonstrate the author's sweetness and creativity, such as organizing a playful toy race on Melbourne Cup Day.
The author equates sweetness with grace and understanding, and views it as a choice to love and remain tender-hearted despite life's hardships.
"Sweetness" in adults is often underrated or frowned upon; the author argues for its value in contrast to a tough or unyielding demeanor.
The article conveys the author's deep acceptance of life's circumstances, viewing challenges as opportunities for growth rather than reasons for self-pity or resentment.
Embracing sweetness is presented as a way to counteract the harshness of the world, promoting friendliness, thoughtfulness, and beauty.

How to be Sweet (or it’s okay to be sweet)

Are you:

Angel-like
Angelic
Child-like yet mature
Always Good-natured (nearly always, close to Saintly anyhow)
Always Thoughtful (nearly always, close to Saintly anyhow)
Close to Saintly
Supportive of everyone but with clear boundaries

If you are any of the above, chances are that YOU are sweet. Sweetness may be in the “eye of the beholder” as is anything, but to me, being sweet means that you have a cheerful, understanding, patient, tolerant and kind and creative personality. People say that I am sweet.

The nicest compliment that anyone has ever said to me personally, is:

“You’re a beautiful lady that wherever you tread, flowers spring up”

My close friends like to say to me that I am “sweet” and I used to think that being sweet might mean that I am a “push-over” or naive or gullible, but gradually I have come to think that “sweetness” is a character trait made up of Kindess, Creativity and Positivity, and Demonstrated Friendly Affirmation of wholesome other people and situations. Maybe an example is: where somebody else may run a Jumble Sale for the Red Cross using plain old boxes or Tupperware to collect the money, I will set up a huge red piggy bank.

On Melbourne Cup Race day in Australia, I took my talking horse toy and a plush cat and set up Kitty Gray riding Colonel Mustard, in a “sure win” race of their own. Here is the email that I sent out.

Hi everyone

Our mascot horse, Colonel Mustard is now in training to win the Information Management Cup ahead of the 5th November race. Place your hay or milk and our Golden streak and Ms Kitty Gray will do their best for IM to win big on the day.

Best hoof forward, Celine

Some may look at these as childish and think “Grow up” but I like to be creative and I let my imagination paint unusual “live-motion” pictures which may and do entertain or interest others. In other words, I like to have a bit of fun, at the risk of some staid stuffy people taking things the wrong way. Hay, what’s wrong with a neigh to brighten up the day?

So, is “sweetness” in an adult under-rated, even frowned upon?

I think that Yes sometimes it is. The use of the word “Sweetness” may sometimes be interchanged with “Goodness”, and many people may believe that it’s better to be tough and assertive or not compromising (not “a goodie two-shoes”) and certainly not sweet (like when I won a box of Wobbly chocolate bars and threw them on the table at a work meeting, saying “I’m throwing Wobblies”). Being sweet does not mean that you are always trying to please others, even at the expense of caring for yourself.

It’s about HOW you do things.

The Urban Dictionary’s top definition of sweetness, related to a person, is this:

Kind, gracious and endearing as opposed to bitter, hard and harsh. Sweetness in a person indicates that their heart is tender and understanding. Sweetness probably also indicates that a person has been and is forgiving. This is because it is usually the unforgiving and the vengeful that have a chip on their shoulder and carry an edge about them that can be sharp and hurtful. They are hardened by life’s difficulties. Sweetness is cultivated by choosing to love in the midst of a harsh and many times hateful world.

Well, I love this definition. I have led a very challenging personal Life in a frightening World where I faced one harsh thing after enough, but I have treated it all as “learning curves” or as opportunities to refine my coping strategies and my values and systems (mind-set and beliefs and responses), while staying as positive and grateful as I can be, and definitely not judging others as “lesser than me” or as totally unforgivable.

I am glad that my Life has taught me to have a deep acceptance of circumstances, which does not necessarily mean liking things, but means not feeling overly sorry for myself or holding grudges, but instead looking to restorative justice and building up my own spiritual self.

I wouldn’t say that I am angelic, but I would describe myself as “good and kind” if push came to shove. If I am sweet, well, that is okay with me. Please join me in being sweet, by being creative and imaginative, light-hearted and warm-heated, and original. Sweet people are the icing on the cake, when it comes to lighting up our World with friendliness, thoughtfulness, and beauty and pleasure, amid the frontal assault of our “maddening world” where so much horror and distress is prevalent. Sweet people are not naive or gullible or vulnerable (necessarily) but like to introduce colour and the unusual or the wonderful into Life.

Thank you for reading this.