Faith in Humanity

I am finishing my coffee and getting ready to head to work this morning. As I was making my way into the kitchen something powerful hit me: The words, “I am not giving up my faith in humanity.” I wasn’t even thinking about anything of importance. I began brewing my second cup of java and while standing in the middle of the kitchen the words echo once again and tears began to cloud my vision. I understand why these words link together. I am seeing so much negativity in social media…the snippets of news I hear along the day…the comments made by friends and family. I hear from one ear the necessary things and discard the rest. BUT, I am not influenced by what anger and fear have to say. I believe in the human spirit. I believe in humanity. I truly believe that things escalate when we continue to shed light into the darkness.Think about how France and the USA are now embracing each other in ways that for years they have not done so. I remember visiting Paris years ago and not being welcomed kindly when I spoke in English…but when I switched to Spanish I was served with friendliness. Think about the amount of people these issues have touched. Think about how we are fighting one cause together. I don’t like the word “fighting” but for those who are military or completely determined to beat the shit out of someone else the word brings masculinity. I get it. Things break. Our hearts get fractured from all the violence and crimes. And then, that fracturing begins to slowly heal. Oh my God, when does it stop, right? Well, I am still NOT giving up my faith in HUMANITY. The moment we lose faith the enemy wins. That simple!I know I am a bit naïve. Okay, maybe too naïve, but I have to believe in the core of my spirit that things happen to bring humanity back on track. We have to stop the freaking labels. We have to diminish the bigotry and racism. We are not black, white, brown, yellow or pink. We are not our religions: Christian, Jewish, Muslim or whatever. We are breathing beings trying to find our way in this planet. We are roommates trying to set boundaries on what the other person needs to feel comfortable. AND even roommates have turmoil in their living arrangements because we are all different: personalities, beliefs, culture, etc.I am not giving up on humanity. I am going to go to work to read countless files of folks who are mentally ill, traumatized, and purely in extreme need of help. You want perspective…walk into a place that has lost hope. Walk into a village that has little water. Walk into a place that has thousands of folks living in filth. Walk into the lives of children without parents. Walk into a war zone of folks fighting all in the name of their God. It’s senseless, yes! It’s disgusting, yes! It’s truly demoralizing and it tears into your fears of what another human is capable of doing with hatred. Alienation, hatred and hostility do not disappear alone. These emotions begin to dissolve and suppress when we shine compassion and love to them. I don’t have the freaking answers to why these horrific acts of humanity happen. I don’t truly understand all the hatred. I don't get the reason we hold on to issues without forgiving. But I have to promise my spirit that until my last breath I will not give up on humanity because I believe in us and the power of community. I believe in a higher power that brings us together. I believe in you. Together we can commit to bringing love and aid to others…not my judging or rejecting what’s happening...or criticizing another's faith. We bring it home into our spirits by truly empathizing and realizing that what happens over there is also part of our stories. May you have a beautiful day…and may you realize that you have the power to change the world one heart at a time!