"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
Someone told me once that the world is not a place to be trusted. That I ought to fear it, avoid it, hide from it.
I refuse to think like so...
I believe in humanity, and in what we are capable of. I believe in the good in the world. I choose to see the magic instead of the darkness. Oh how the world could be if we simply saw the good and trusted life's plan and believed. But instead, I consistently see the belief fading into the shadows. And someday, I hope, I can stop the madness.
I feel the goodness around me, and the inspiration whispering in the air around all of us. Of course we are confronted by the sadness and the evils. Yet the way we choose to see these things defines us as people; as human beings. It doesn't take much to brighten someone's day. In fact it takes the smallest fraction of effort. And with a few simple words, you could change the way someone sees the world.
For a long time I believed the terms in which I defined myself were identical to those which others used to define me. Life is not always easy for a young woman. Life is not always easy for anyone. But we carry on. Day after day the sun rises and gives us a second chance. This chance can be used however we wish, whether that be to strike up a conversation with someone you have never taken the time to speak to. Or hugging an old friend, or apologizing for all the tough times, even if they weren't your fault. Or simply looking at the world around you and choosing to see the sunshine that day. We don't deserve yet another chance, we never have. We take them for granted every day, yet they keep coming. To waste such a gift is to waste life itself, and to lose sight of what it means to live and not simply survive. Tell someone what you really think, or how you feel. Confess your biggest secret. Take a leap of faith. Believe in life again.
We are interdependent because we were made to be like so. My leap of faith is to see the goodness and the light in every single person's heart. Some may say it is naive, some may say its overly trusting, and some may say it can only end in disappointment. I say that humanity is good. If everyone waits on the person in front of them to take a step in the right direction, we will never move forward. I step forward in the direction of the light and the glimpse of magic that only few seem to stop and look at anymore. Slow down, appreciate the world around you; because it was made for you to believe in.
Everyday is a gift, and every gift was given by someone who believed before you did. Continue the giving.
