It's Nice Until It Isn't
I am so tired of hearing the excuses.
I am so tired of hearing, "It must be nice....".
It must be nice to live a life of privilege.
To be able to be ignorant of the color of the person's eyes who just died because they were so hungry that death was more welcome than the fight for life.
To have the freedom to whine about another hard day at work to someone else who had a hard day at work and to commiserate and find solace in one another so you can wake up and do it again tomorrow.
To bitch about the living conditions just outside of your neighborhood and the price of health care and the status of the educational system and the damn bank account that always hovers around zero.
To complain about the person who believes that and raise an eyebrow at the person who is placing items you would never buy on the checkout counter in front of you and the person saying things on t.v. or behind you in line that you would never say.
I will tell you from experience - it is only nice up until the point that you are aware that it is not nice.
Suddenly a life of privilege and people dying from hunger and the conditions of health care and the challenges of people around you are not "nice".
They are no longer reasons and ways to escape from life but reasons and ways why I must take responsibility for life.
It is hard. (And oddly, the more challenging it gets, the closer it gets to returning to "nice" - but a far different version of "nice".)
To start small, to start somewhere, to act instead of whine - that is all I can do.
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A disclaimer: I do not pretend to claim for a second that I am unfortunate. I do realize how unbelievably blessed I am in life to have these freedoms. I do not believe that my hardships are measurable in comparison to those in different situations. I DO want to emphasize, however, the challenges that arise with living a life that is contrary to societal expectations, that challenges even the most fundamental of most beliefs. To live outside of right and wrong? To be constantly aware of the hardships and blessings we face as humans? To maintain this awareness while raising the kids, maintaining the household, going through life without a permanent lost look on my face? It is a challenge. One I feel blessed to face.
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I will hit publish on this as soon as I am done typing to ensure my true feelings are not lost in the electronic world once fear of what others think sets in. Obviously this is much deeper than my more recent posts but it too is what is going on in my life alongside 21 Secrets and art and yoga and laundry.
It is also a hint as to where LifeUnity - the new page, the newsletter, and so on - is headed. (Though with a lot more humor sprinkled in). :)
I would love to know - is there anything of which you are aware that is a challenge for you right now?