Status: Human
I had a post all written for today, and I scrapped it. I knew it wasn’t right, even though I couldn’t put my finger on the reason why it was wrong. So I sat down at my laptop again, and tried to find the thread of what I really needed to share with you.
And then a simple Facebook post by a friend hit me so hard that I knew what today’s message was supposed to be.
That we are all human, together.
The post contained a video of a homeless man explaining how some people treat him as they pass him by. Yes, he is asking for money, but from what I could see he wasn’t being aggressive, he was just holding out a cup.
His ability to eat, and sleep somewhere other than the street, was dependent upon the generosity of others. He talked about his inability to get a job because he doesn’t have a phone or an address.
But what hit me hardest was when he cried, explaining the way that people say cruel things to him.
I’ve always been blessed to have a roof over my head. I don’t know what it’s like to be homeless, but I’m guessing that this man has seen, and lived through, a lot of things. I can’t begin to imagine what it must take to make him feel sad enough to cry, what kind of cruel statements people must make to him on the street as they pass him by.
And I wondered also what kind of pain that person has to be feeling, that they can treat another human being, who is so obviously hurting, with such disregard for his humanity.
What kind of wound is in their heart, what lack of feeling, that they can be so untouched and unmoved by the sight of another person, who lives, breathes and cries that same way that they do, that they would go out of their way to treat them horribly.
And I realized they were both hurting.
It struck me in a way that it hasn’t before that although pain is a uniquely personal experience for each of us, it is at the same time a universal experience for all of us. That pain is a guaranteed experience for all of us at some point, and that the person who is causing another pain is just as in need of my help and my notice as the person they are hurting.
That’s a hard thing for me to accept, because the very human part of me wants to see the guilty punished.
But if I am going to be a healer, a peacemaker, a force for kindness and a refuge for those in need of whatever I have to offer, then I need to be willing to share my knowledge with those who are hurting regardless of their actions.
Because in truth we are all hurting, and we have probably all hurt people to some degree.
To hurt is human, and to hurt is human. May we be willing to heal all who are Status: Human.
And may we make a difference in the world today.
— Dr. Alan Barnes
@maddrbmusings