Merriam-Webster dictionary defines humanity as, "the quality or state of being human". It also defines humanity as "the quality or state of being humane". For me being humane suggests kindness, goodwill, and compassion for others. It is the feeling of warmth I feel when someone pays it forward, or shows a random act of kindness to a stranger. It is the feeling of pride I feel when a community comes together to rebuild after a storm or to honor lives lost through a candlelight vigil.
There are many moments that touch our lives, and when we allow ourselves to hold on to these moments and search for more, we radiate goodness to shadow over the fear, the anger, the hate. When we contribute to daily acts of kindness, we emit positive energy to flow through others. When we listen to needs of another human being, regardless if those needs are similar to our own, we have the ability see the world as they see it. We have the ability to understand that anger can be a mask for pain, fear, or insecurity. We have the ability to recognize that we do not have to agree, but can accept where another is coming from. We do not have to react or even respond, nor do we have to form an opinion, or place judgement. Allowing ourselves to sit with our emotions, instead of reacting to them requires observance of own thoughts, self talk, and patience. It requires self discipline especially when we feel that knot in our stomach that makes it feel personal. I say this with the hope that during tragedy and suffering, we can shift our focus from blame and judgment to find the power of goodness within our humanity. We all need to feel pain and allow it to run through us just as blood runs through our veins. When we shield the pain with anger and blame, we do not allow ourselves to grieve, we do not move forward to heal, we stay stuck, numb, and limited in our growth. If we allow ourselves to be vulnerable, to soak in pain, acknowledge our powerlessness, and find acceptance, our strength will be limitless. We learn about history in order to avoid repeating the mistakes of our past. This includes expanding human insight. We need to see the humanity behind every individual of every race, religion, and culture. We need to see the humanity behind every label such as a criminal, addict, mentally ill, sociopath, psychopath, homosexual, transsexual, transient, terrorist, etc. We need to do this to see the person behind the label, to de-stigmatize certain labels, to separate behavior from character, to separate illness from character, and to separate individual from the whole. When it comes to a person who initiates hostilities, we need to understand the motivation behind that person's thoughts and actions in order to de-escalate a situation, defuse plans, capture and detain, and prevent future violence and crime. In order to protect as many innocent lives as possible, I repeat, we need to understand the motivation behind the individual which means seeing them as a human being and to avoid classifying to a certain group. If we can change our perspective, we can prevent others who are vulnerable to being targeted as aggressors, we can stop alienating each other based on superficial remarks, and we can role model for our children what humanity really means.
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Authorfinding greatness in the unimaginable.empowering others.addiction advocate.living simply, contently, passionately. Archives
April 2016
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