what's it going to take?

For years I have skirted the same issue, always choosing to avoid it to some degree. I have had deep conversations about it with friends but never logged a single thought like this, but maybe now is the time.

I have written about conditions similar, such as Americanism and selfishness but it just doesn’t seem like I have given this topic enough thought, mainly in written form. The issue at hand is the singularity of self. It is so much more than just pride, or arrogance, or ego; it is at the heart of every human regardless of life experience. Each one of us experiences it on some level and has to deal with it, but defining it is probably the most difficult for me…so here goes.

You and I travel each day through life. Each day we go about our daily routines and work hard to get through…to the next day. I don’t mean to make it sound so depressing, but going back and reading about the ruts we get into makes me realize that those same ruts are more than just chosen paths; they are comfortable and keep us from moving outside them. Our routines are truly extensions of who we are deep inside. If you could truly see deep within yourself to your soul you might ask yourself why you don’t do more.

Beyond my faith there is something called humanity. Outside the lines of what I believe in are people just like me who are just trying to make do, just trying to scratch out a living and just trying to get by. There are hundreds of thousands of people who share thoughts with me, think similar to how I do and manage through desires with the same struggles that I face. I don’t seek to bring mediocrity to the sorrows of many, I understand and can relate to many of them, but who are we kidding here? Do we really think that in our worst conditions we are somehow the only ones that suffer? And when we are standing on the mountain top, do we really think there is only room for us? I’m not sure you would like the answer if you could look deep inside.

It has become apparent to me, just by watching men and women interact with each other, that we are wired to be in concert with one another but societal influences pull us apart. With that said, we must work tirelessly in order to fight the ego. I can hear you, your reply to that is telling me that it’s not that easy. My reply is telling you that you are right, but that won’t stop me from trying. There has to be more than just skating through this life consumed with what I want. At what point do we stop living for ourselves and truly begin living for someone else?

It’s more than being a spouse or a parent. It’s more than being a neighbor or a friend. It’s more than everything you’re doing right now. It is the challenge of a lifetime and it can not be viewed as some singular event that can be tackled next Tuesday.

You and I must embark this very moment on an epic journey which will take us to the ends of the earth and beyond. You and I must learn to see past the outer shell of each others humanity, past the flaws, past the mistakes, past the scars, past everything to the very core within all of us.

We must seek to understand each other at the deepest level and then move to the next closest person to us and seek to do the exact same thing. For all of us, this must continue exponentially without end, for without a deep understanding of each other, we will never know peace.

And without peace, we will continue fighting.

We will continue hating…

Hurting…

Destroying…

Is that really what you want?

I know I don’t. I know there’s something better and I know that together we can find it and experience it. But it’s going to take some work.

It’s going to take some encouragement…

Some positivity…

Some building up.

It’s going to take some love…maybe a lot of it.