Current news is full of stark reminders of the temporary and fragile state of everything around us; including us. First responders killed in the line of duty, a tornado that decimated homes and took innocent lives with little warning. It takes very little paying attention to have the realization of loss and unfairness of tragedies like these to be known.
We see people hurting and we want to help. Especially people right here in our community, our own country. They are like us. We relate. We feel a sameness that spurs us into seeing them as real and the connection made through that relatability makes it easier for us to feel their pain and reach out to help.
We are connected. We care. We are also misguided and falling short when it takes a tragedy close to home, a big news story pushed into our narrow focus of the pain of people who look like us, who speak our language, or who live within our borders to wake us up and make human suffering real.
Tragedy on our own land is terrible; but it is not more terrible than any other. There is no contest on whose suffering is the greatest; or the most important. One person’s suffering is not made less important by location or nationality or lack of media attention.
I dream of a world without empathy borders. A dream of a world where we not only care, but we reach out to help others regardless of their location on our planet. I dream of a world where all humans are actually regarded as valuable, regardless of the color of their skin, the language they speak, or the government that rules the land they were born on. I dream of a world where we don’t go back to sleep refusing to see or care about people we can not see, or sit back and wait for someone else to do something worthwhile to care for the people who don’t look, talk, or live like us.
If it takes a local tragedy to make us see we are connected to people we don’t personally know, then can we take that and expand it to all humans? All geographic areas? All ages, genders, nationalities? Can we not see all humans as valuable and worthy of our care, compassion, and our courage to help? While we are sending love, prayers, resources and encouragement to those that are easier to relate to, can we also include those that we have (up until now) not spent much time thinking about? I know we can’t be everywhere at once physically. but what about energetically? What if just including all of human suffering in our good will would be enough to start to open the gate to healing everywhere and breaking down empathy borders?
I am an American, but more than that I am a Global Citizen. I am a woman. I am a mother, wife, daughter, friend, aunt, business owner, volunteer, leader… but who I am is deeper than that. Who I am is an incredible miracle of matter come to life housing a loving soul and a connection to others, to nature, to life; all of it; everywhere. That miracle of matter come to life is temporary, so while I am here, I will use this physical state to express my loving soul and connection to all that is without borders. All human suffering matters and is connected to us that are human.
Who are you? Are you truly being who YOU are? Are you a global citizen who simply doesn’t know how to reach out to those you can’t see? Would you like some help?
