There is so much turmoil in the world today. 2020 has certainly shown us that anything can happen. Sometimes it's difficult not to allow the constant chaos and struggle, the unrest, to swallow us whole. Illness that reaches far and wide, financial crisis, rioting, war, poverty and hate. They seem to engulf us to the point that as we lay our heads on the pillow each night, we often find ourselves dreading the what-ifs of tomorrow.
And now, as the presidential election looms, the constant clanging bell of differing political opinions is the cause of even more inescapable anguish. With heavy hearts, we've watched friends become enemies, watched family members become distant, and watched strangers accost one another on social media with precious little regard. Perhaps we've even been guilty of occasionally being the aggressor, ourselves.
Staring at the screens in front of us, we devour everything the media offers. Our fingertips poised in political battle to debate those who share opposing beliefs. Ready, aim, fire. All the while, the seemingly harmless and silent blink of the courser making it much too easy to forget that on the other end of our sharp-tongued, short-fused rant ...sits a person. An actual, living, breathing real person. A person whose heart beats just like yours and mine. Someone who laughs and cries and feels deeply, just as we do.
It has become increasingly and alarmingly easy to lash out at others, stating whatever we think or feel at any given time, to whomever we choose. To glove up and jump in the ring so that we get our point across. But at what cost? It's crucial to remember that at the end of the day, though we may not see eye to eye we, as humans, are much the same. We yearn for the same things. Acceptance and compassion. A safe place to live and work, to raise our families. We fall in love. We grieve over loss. And we each hope our days, however many we are given, will be filled with good things. With beauty and joy and love.
I guess my point is this... Life is short, friends. It just is. "None of us is getting out of this alive", as the saying goes. I believe there is so much good in this world. We just have to encourage that good. Grow that good. We cannot be complacent. We have to want the change we crave, bad enough to BE THE CHANGE. Every. Single. Day. It will take time, and we will certainly stumble and fall. We all fail sometimes, but we have to climb back up on that horse and try, try again. We are all in this thing called life together. Let's look out for one another. At the end of the day, it's what matters most. It's everything. So, please always know this. Whether you are republican or democrat, whether we always agree on things, or if our ideas and opinions don't always mesh. It's okay.
You are my friend, and I am yours...
Comments