Heart

In the midst of global chaos, I have seen our humanity shine. I have seen consideration for the less fortunate. I have seen food banks open in light of school closures. I have seen attention given to the elderly. I’ve seen courage in the face of despair. I’ve seen our heart. It doesn’t look as bad as I thought it would. We still have hope. We still have joy. We still have fight. We still believe. We still have love. It is a heart filled with love that cares for the needy, and feeds the homeless, and nurtures the sick.

The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart. – Helen Keller

Urgency

I think we’ve lost our sense of urgency. Our reaction time is delayed and its not until an emergency happens that we react. We are desensitized to the loss of human life. We are conditioned to expect the worst, simply because that’s all we’ve experienced. We've borderline lost our humanity, and that alone should trigger our sense of urgency. Children are dying in US sanctioned concentration camps. People loss their lives on a Saturday morning trip to Walmart, and we are acting like this is business as usual. Truthfully, maybe it is, but it shouldn't be. The alarm has sounded. We've got to do better. We need to recalibrate our sense of urgency.

Release

The totality of the human experience can be described on the spectrum of love and loss. We are blessed to experience love and often devastated by the loss of it. Sometimes, it seems like we experience more loss than love. Count it all joy. For every tear, there was a smile. For every moment that feels like you can't breathe, there was a moment that left you breathless. Love and loss are two sides of the same coin. Cherish the love. Release the loss. Let it go. 

Power

A friend of mine asked me, what's your superpower? I'm a Marvel fan. So, my mind immediately started thinking of all my favorite superheroes. I'm not an Inhuman. I am not genetically engineered. I didn't have any freak accident that bestowed me with any superhuman abilities. I'm not a billionaire with an iron suit. I'm just me, and you are just you, but we do have power. Power by definition is the ability to do something in a particular way. It is the capacity to direct or influence the behavior of others. Power is a ripple in a pond. Power is a kind word. Power is a hug. Power is a word of encouragement. Power is a prayer. Power is a gesture. Power is an action. You have superpowers. Are you using them for good? 

Below is a link to custom superpower tees: 

https://squareup.com/store/totally-unique-tees

Wonder

I was a very inquisitive child. I always wanted to know why something existed. I thought things should have a reason for existence and that there should always be a reason why. I believed in facts, not fiction. Ah, the wisdom of youth. Life has a way of teaching hard lessons. Everything can't be explained and sometimes the "why" comes later. Truthfully, if you live long enough sometimes there is never an explanation. Sometimes, we are left to wonder, and accept things we just don't understand. The universe is a wonder. The human body, and how it functions are a wonder. The brain is a wonder. Nature is a wonder. Learn to appreciate that sometimes you won't have all the answers. Know that it's ok to not know the "why." Find peace in knowing that there are many other unexplained wonders, and there is beauty in simply not knowing. 

“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.” - Socrates

Lamentations

First, they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out— 
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— 
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

- Martin Niemöller

This was poem was written by Martin Niemöller, a German pastor who did not immediately speak out against the Nazi regime and eventually found himself in a Nazi concentration camp. The above words can be substituted with immigrant, African American, Hispanic, Muslim, and LGBTQ. Being silent is being complicit. We need to stand with one another because our turn is coming. This administration is targeting everything that is different. They are targeting immigrants, black and brown people, and anything that does not fit into their Euro-centric America. Just because the mob has not knocked on your door, or burnt a cross on your lawn doesn't mean that they will not eventually come for you as well. Be sober. Be vigilant. Stay woke. 

Affinity

We live in a world where "living social" consists of various forms of social media. We hit "like" buttons instead of giving compliments. We "share" posts instead of having conversations. We take a screenshot instead of taking a photograph. We have an affinity for intangible things. Cash has been replaced with plastic. Books have been replaced by tablets. Paper and pen have been replaced by a blank screen and a stylus. And yet, we wonder why we have lost the "human touch." We are desensitized to basic human emotion. We have emoticons for that now. Even bullying has gone cyber. We no longer have an affinity for the things that make us human.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity."

- Albert Einstein