2018-10-23 · Poetry
It's no wonder to me why society can be so alien and foreign. We see others only worthy of love and respect and kindness and forgiveness and salvation and trust and charity if they're on our friends list or in mom's old phone book somewhere. Somewhere. The place you left your keys and your ideals and your inner child. Somewhere. The place your career, hobbies, and family will go some day. Somewhere. The place with greener grass and none of your problems. Somewhere. The place that often just means anywhere but right here. Right here. It's the only place where you can ever potentially remember what it means to really actually literally love thyself. We'd prefer waking up in the morning, looking in the mirror and hating our economy, our climate, our in-laws, and ourselves. So we take it upon ourselves to love our neighbours the same way we do but sometimes don't love the most significant people in our own experiences and lives the brain behind the eyes, the heart within the chest. It's violent, judgmental, defensive, and offensive A tribal sort of doctrine deep within our own values That decides who gets the right of way, who receives our holiday presents, and who sleeps outside tonight. So if you're gonna love your neighbour as you love yourself promise me you'll do both wholeheartedly and not haphazardly half disastrously pretending to give a damn when a stranger's down on their luck and struggling to cope. Spare some change, they say. Must be deranged, without delay. Somehow nobody wants to talk about how messed up that is. Because if our anthem asks a God to keep our land glorious and free Then why aren't we working harder to deserve any sort of blessing? We are all beautiful human beings worthy of dignity and compassion. Often times, the saddest part about it is that through blame and guilt And shame and anxiety we forget to give ourselves the chance to be self-loved, self-confident, and self-assured. Sure, it's a little cliche but Gandhi's known for saying that we should be the change we want to see in the world. I don't know about you, but a world with more love and respect and less hate and violence sounds pretty darn good to me. Maybe it's out there. Somewhere.