A Seat at the Table
Hello all,
Welcome back to our beautiful, chaotic, and messy shores. Thank you so much for taking your time and energy to sail these violent seas back here, to me, this week…I appreciate it more than I could ever truly express. I hope you’re feeling happy, healthy, and well. Personally, I have been a little bit emotional this week. However, I don’t mean emotional in the way that I can’t stop crying, but in the way that I’m feeling such strong feelings of both empathy and sympathy. Every morning I have been doing something that usually isn’t in my morning routine…which is praying. I know talking about the things we pray for/about are a bit taboo, but sometimes I like to tip the ice bergs in these waters if you know what I mean… Lately I’ve been praying for everyone, people I know, people I don’t know, people I love with everything in me, and people that I loved that I no longer hold communication with…literally everyone. I’ve started doing this because of the conversations I’ve had with some of the people in my life that are closest to me and hearing the things they’ve been going through, and also because of the things I’ve witnessed this week and how bystander effect is truly a real thing.
I had dinner with a friend a few days ago and we stumbled upon conversations of feelings and situations we have recently been going through. During this conversation, we interestingly started talking about how the empathy and sympathy for other’s in our world has kind of just…vanished. As we continued talking through situations we had just endeavored, literally within the same week, I came to a tearful eye-opening…Instances of indifference, discrimination, etc… have become all too common amongst ourselves as a society. Whether it be the online harassment faced by some individuals or the marginalization of certain communities, this conversation was a true highlight of the absolute pressing need for empathy and sympathy in such a cruel world. If you think about it, all of us are truly not as indifferent from each other as we’d like to think… My question is, when did everyone start lacking these simple feelings for one-another?
Before we dock from sailing these seas, there’s one more thing I’d like to talk a little bit about…the bystander effect. The other night I was driving home and happened to witnessed something truly stomach turning, maybe not to all, but to me at least. Not really knowing what to do, I kind of just waited as I was alone and as everything seemed to happen so fast. After noticing the situation calmed down a little bit, I addressed it because truthfully, I know if I didn’t it would be bothering more than it is right now…However, the thing that gets me is how many other people drove by, how many people could have saw from a distance, or how many people I read comment “I seen that…” on a social media post regarding the situation and none of them really helped. Think about this also…it is psychologically proven that people are more likely to take action to a situation when there are few or no witnesses…
In every interaction, a chance to connect,
Yet indifference prevails, as we neglect to reflect,
The pain and struggles that others endure,
Hearts broken, that we could each mend,
Only if our own feelings weren’t so insecure.
Thank you so much for taking your time and energy to sail these beautiful, blue, tearful sea’s with me this week…I appreciate you, your heart, and your mind more than I could every truly express. Surf along with me further this week as I have a one more thing planned…
With great love always,
M.H. John