Every day I wake up thankful, happy to see a new day and hopeful that it will be a great one. Every day I see, hear, and read things that make me sad, angry, and even afraid...things that make me worry. I worry about the future...my own and the future of those I care for. I worry about my country, I worry about the future of mankind in general. I am afraid that the world is moving towards a place from which it will become unrecognizable to me. I worry that the evil in the world is quickly overpowering the good. When I was a child, I thought that my life would be amazing when I grew up. I had such hope that things could only get better, that I would grow up and leave, escaping the abuse and making something of my life. Well, I did grow up, I did leave, and despite many setbacks...I'm doing ok. I never dreamed that the pitiful state of humanity would be the one thing that I can never escape.
Every single day, I see, hear, and read things that make me cringe. I wonder how people ever conceive of doing the horrendous things they do to each other. Murder, assault and all types of violent acts, rape, abuse, neglect, bullying, drugs, theft, burglary, etc etc etc. Not to even mention war and all the horrific things that go along with it...the ramifications of chemical and nuclear warfare scare the absolute crap out of me. I am especially affected by stories of child abuse; be it physical, mental, emotional, or sexual. This is partly because of my own experiences, but mainly because the idea of hurting an utterly innocent child in any way is just unfathomable to me...what can a defenseless child have possibly done to deserve to be hurt?
But what concerns me the most right now is hate. Hate, and fear. Ignorance. This is how Merriam-Webster defines hate in noun and verb form:
a : intense hostility and aversion usually deriving from fear, anger, or sense of injuryb : extreme dislike or antipathy : loathing
: to dislike (someone or something) very strongly : to feel hate for (someone) : to find (something) very unpleasant
1: to feel extreme enmity toward
2: to have a strong aversion to : find very distasteful
I personally have an extremely low tolerance for any type of hate; racism, hatred based on religious or political views and beliefs, hatred based on sexual orientation or preference, sexism, ageism, or anything else ignorant people hate based solely on the fact that it is different to themselves. I seriously don't understand the amount of energy, time, and resources people put into hating and persecuting whole groups of other human beings...the amount of themselves they dedicate to tearing down others rather than building themselves or others UP. Hatred breeds more hatred. Every time you participate in a hate-related act, whether aggressively or passively, you propagate the hatred. Every time you laugh at a hate-related joke, or repost that hateful FB story or meme, you are promoting the act of hate. Every time you see, hear, or read something hate-related and just accept it as ok....you are passively promoting it. Every time you use a word that slurs someone else, even when you think it's 'funny', you are being hateful. Yes, YOU are part of the problem.
All that energy, all that time and effort wasted. Imagine what that kind of passion would be capable of accomplishing if it was turned towards something good. Amazing. Imagine a world where people helped each other become better, where all people worked to improve their lives and the lives of those around them. Imagine a world in which our differences are a beautiful thing, instead of something to hate or fear. What if we took the time to learn about other cultures and other religions, and saw the beauty in every face? What if we realized how different beliefs, opinions, and ideas could combine to bring forth incredible knowledge and change the world? What if?
What if we stopped hurting each other, and started healing each other? Maybe I'm incredibly naive to wish for this, but I'd rather be naive and have hope than give up and accept that this is the way the world is. I've been through too much, overcome too many struggles, to simply lay down and accept that things will only get worse. So, I'm asking you, whoever is reading this, to take a moment and think about WHY you have hate in your heart. Where does it come from? When did it start? Does it really make sense to hate millions, or even billions of people, simply because they are different than you are? Only you can answer these questions for yourself, only you can understand why you feel this way. All I'm asking is that you actively think about it.
I also want to ask one more thing...tomorrow, do something nice for someone. Not for someone you already like or love, or know well....but for a stranger or someone who maybe you've never gotten to know because they are different than you. Smile, say hello, have a conversation, give a compliment...but try. Because nothing will ever change if WE don't change as well.
Peace and love to all.
