I truly believe post-pandemic, as a society, we have lost our humanity. I know what you’re thinking, there are good people in the world. And there are, more good and then inherently bad. But I am not talking about good or bad, I am talking about our ability to connect on a human level and see each other as human. I fear we are becoming more alike to the devices we use everyday. More robotic and less empathetic. How everything has truly become more complicated. For example, if you want to start working out, you need to go on amazon and buy all this equipment and then tour through all the gyms for the affordable memberships with the most perks and then buy all the matching outfits….
By then you won’t even want to go anymore.
Not realizing you can start working out by just going outside for a walk.
Seriously, when did things become so complicated? Everything moving a mile a minute and everyone feeling lonely and disconnected even though we have the ways to connect on our fingertips. It can make any conscious person completely depressed. Like it doesn’t take a loss of a job or a loved one. Our day to day life. Okay, that sounds negative and harsh. But let me explain and overthink some more.
I AM HUMAN AND AUTOPILOT IS NOT MY SAFE SPACE
I need rest and the American hustle lifestyle is not something I practice. Like seriously, is there even an American dream anymore because this country is not made for the working class to prosper [sorry, back to the topic at hand]. My rest days are different based on how I am feeling. Some days I need a recharge day, literally to lay like a vegetable and catch up on sleep. Other days, I am being turbo timmy and completing my whole to-do list. But lately, I need more rest days. Maybe it’s due to the daily dose of A&D (anxiety and depression), low vitamin D levels or just mainly stress from the autopilot of work and life. Thank God I have traveling as a way to wake me up from the rat race and keep me grounded to what is important. I really want to simplify life, disconnect but be connected in the right ways. Using technology and not letting technology use me. To be in the world but not of the world [John 17:10-15] .But then the addiction and comfort of doom scrolling comes back and the cycle continues. It’s crazy, I can learn from my mistakes but strangely it doesn’t stop me from making them again. Does that make me human?
I AM HUMAN. I CAN DO IT ALL, BUT NOT ALONE.
I need true community, not just people around me. People that see me, hear me and understand me without me having to feel like I’m over explaining or defending myself. As someone who God has chosen as His strongest soldiers, life can kick my —-, if know what I am saying. It’s so important to have people around me that I can trust, rely on and lean on when the weight that I am carrying is too heavy. But unfortunately and more times than not, people that have been too busy to help, answer a phone call or come and see me. The hand I have stretched out to help another, has never been polished or rested or shown true gratitude by the recipient. Have we all just gotten to wrapped up in this pursuit of accolades, money, and being too busy to not see the way to receive is to give? That the way to heal is through relationships not avoiding them? We need each other, I mean, we are human of, course.
I AM HUMAN AND SLIGHTLY DELUSIONAL.
I too have to practice a certain level of delusion to get by because my reality is not enough to keep me going. Is that me not looking at the present moment? Is it me not being grateful? Is it me not praying enough? But what is reality but merely what we create in our minds. Think about it, a family, two parents and three children. All the kids grew up in the same environment but one became a lawyer, the other a drug dealer and then another, a stay at home parent. That’s the beauty about life, we are all looking at the same thing but experiencing it differently. There is some truth to the phrase “delulu is the solulu” but only when it coincides with ambition and action. It’s not magic, it takes faith and hard work.
I AM HUMAN AND I AM FIGURING IT OUT
Can we give a little grace? Let empathy join all of our conversations? With all the books, videos, and podcasts in the world ; there is no complete blueprint on how to navigate today’s ever changing world. I don’t have all the answers and therefore I won’t always make the right decisions. And that’s okay. Trying is still an acceptable way of showing up and the pressures placed by society to have the house, partner, kids, dog, career all before the age of 25. My friend, I am almost 30 and I only have one of those things. Barely. I’ve learned that as long as my basics are covered (shelter, food, clothing, etc), everything else is on my terms. Because once I started listening to what other people said I should have or should be doing by a certain age, the A&D was running rent free in my life. The only thing I HAVE to do in life is cover my basics, serve God and enjoy life. I am allowed to grow and change. As the years go by and the experiences I have undergone, I am allowed to change my beliefs, priorities, boundaries and values. It is not a please society or a partner or my family, it is for me. To make sure that everyday, whether good or bad, I can look in the mirror and still see me.
You are human. We are humans. Don’t let them make you forget that.
Go to the mirror and look at yourself, what do you see?, then come back and read this blog.