humanity
For better or for worse, relationships reveal the core of the human condition.
No Shelter, No Peace
In New York City, it is easy to spot them. Whether you step out your front door, walk down a crowded sidewalk, commute by the bustle of public transportation or drive in the luxury of your own car you will pass them by or pause to offer some spare change or a bite to eat. Some will be tucked away in the alcoves of the shadows of towering buildings nestled against tattered cardboard used as makeshift beds, couches, and living quarters covered by newspapers, blankets and sometimes nothing at all but the only clothes they own. Some push shopping carts that appear to be crammed with junk to the common passersby, but for them it is filled with their whole life.
By Kim Joseph 5 years ago in Humans
Lost in Service of Others
Selflessness was not something that came naturally to me as a child. I grew up in a rural area more poor than middle class. Selfless? There didn’t seem to be enough for me and my family. What did we have to give? I remembered the boxes with powdered milk and the donated Christmas gifts. Those Christmas gifts were a highlight though in all honesty even though along the way I was transformed into a proper grinch. When the gift receiving stopped, I stopped believing in the possible joy that could be felt during Christmas. I’d watch my mom making dishes and rationing out our food to give to people who were less fortunate, which at the time didn’t feel like a possibility. Homeless, drug addicted, abandoned folks all received the meals I felt we deserved to eat for tomorrow. It would bring me so much anger and impetuousness at the time. “Why are you helping these people who don’t want to help themselves?” It’s sobering to recall these words I’d muttered more than once throughout my childhood but I do believe in allowing ourselves some grace. I mean, that still was my macaroni and cheese.
By Go Strongwill5 years ago in Humans
My Bus Driver Guardian Angel
There have been very few instances in my life when I felt myself close to death. There have been brushes, indeed. When I was eight years old, I had run back to the local water ice truck to buy a rainbow cone. In my haste, I tripped and fell directly in front of an oncoming car. To this day, I am not sure how I survived. Was my body small enough to fit between the wheels or did the driver stop in time? Regardless, the woman driving the car insisted on taking me home and refused to take ‘no’ for an answer. I suppose I was lucky two times that day. First, not to have been run over by the car and second, not to have wound up on a milk carton. The closest that I feel that I come to departing this world coincided with what should have been one of the happiest times of my life, my engagement to my wife, Bonnie.
By William Gold5 years ago in Humans
Open Letter to Brene Brown
Dear Brené, Thank you for taking a moment to read my letter. As I am reading page 232 of Rising Strong, I felt this immense feeling to write you. I have been wanting to write you for a long while, since I started reading your work. The shame gremlin kept me at bay, "why would she even read my letter?" But I also realized I wanted to be heard, to connect, and the uncertainty of results is something I have been working on (being imperfect.) So today, I decided to take a chance, and share with you my journey to dare greatly, to discover my gifts of imperfections, and to rise strong.
By Yu-Shan Chen5 years ago in Humans
Taken for Granted, Generosity
I take for granted the generous actions and thoughts of my family and especially from strangers. From opening the doors for me, especially when I had a lot of things in my arms, the people of my college were nice to keep the door open even when I didn't notice.
By Jen E Star 5 years ago in Humans
dilute as afterthought
"I'm a cop. It's what I do. What I am. Really." He says this as a declaration, but his tone drifts towards the open ceiling. Gets lost in the ambient music. Sweeps along the course of the black iron beams and drowns in the roar of the forced air. The heat.
By Haze Medley5 years ago in Humans
Be a Samurai
“In a world of princesses, be a samurai,” the saying goes. But what does it mean to be a samurai? Perhaps, we have a pre-conceived idea of what a samurai is. We might picture a man dressed in armor carrying a large sword and killing his enemies willy-nilly. But there are more to the samurai than we think.
By D. D Bartholomew5 years ago in Humans
Just words on a page
The screaming was endless. All day. All night. Day after day after day. Her door never opened aside from the masked nurses going in and out. I didn’t know whether or not she had family or friends outside. I didn’t know if she had a mother to tell her it would be ok, a friend to make her laugh, a sister to take a shift while she showered or (somehow?!) caught a moment or two of sleep. What I did know was that in here, she had no-one. Thanks to COVID, visitors to the hospital were forbidden, even in the maternity ward. Thanks to COVID, leaving your room was basically forbidden too. We were healthy but the world outside was not.
By Amanda Walker5 years ago in Humans
2021
As we all know, 2020 was one hell of a year from Covid-19, to an almost year-long quarantine, to a lot of us being for forced to sit with ourselves and reintroduce who we are to our being. During that time, I’ve learned a lot about myself that I had seemed to lose sight of, growing up. This brought parts of me I had long forgotten to the light, exposing a lot of poison and pain I’d been carrying on my chest. In this new year, I want to recognize these faults and rise from them.
By Savannah Diggins5 years ago in Humans
Crayon Pencils
Do you ever revisit old memories? Things you could have done so much better? I feel that I am dual--that there is a part of me that really cares about people and there is a darker self that just doesn't. I also believe that the things that we are accountable for stay with us forever. Our thoughts become habits, even as young children. One specific memory stays with me and it is something that every once in a while I return to as my beacon for being a good human.
By Tess ESCOTO5 years ago in Humans
