Many people would be loath to admit to having the thoughts and feelings I plan to discuss. I suppose that I cannot really blame them. The world today is a mass of confusion running on clumsy feet moving in too many directions at once. I do not claim the ability to change the world myself. I am but one person. The world is populated, though, by a plethora of one persons.
The more that are willing to step away from the norm to do what is needed, to do what should be done, the sooner that what we strive for will become the norm. It is not anything remarkably difficult or even troublesome. Perhaps more than a few will even come to enjoy it. All I can do is mention these thoughts and live them myself in the hope that more will come to do the same.
There are so many things to be said, picking one over the others to start is not an easy task. I suppose kindness should start the list as it would probably be the one most overlooked. Simple kindness is not a hard thing to show. Small things like holding a door for someone can have a very large impact on somebody’s day. Personally I think my day is a little better when someone is willing to take that small step to make life that much easier on me. It restores faith in the human race.
Let’s deviate from kindness for a moment to examine that phrase human race. This planet is populated by one race of people. Though we are all of one race we have many differences. They range from physical appearance to ideals. Why is it that there is so much animosity among this race? Would it seem a bit ridiculous to kill a neighbor just because he or she liked the color blue? I think that seems more than a bit drastic. Is it really that different to want to go to war with another country just because they have a form of government different from ours? This planet is certainly large enough for all of us to have room to live. All that is needed is enough tolerance to let others live the way they feel is right for them. There are basic truths in existence. Our lives here are not eternal. This is not speaking religiously, purely physically. No matter how much one conforms to the norm there will always be some things that differ. No matter how different one feels, there will always be others that feel the same. There are feelings, ideals, emotions, beliefs, and faiths that ultimately bind every last one of us together into the Human Race.
Let me say that again, we are all ultimately bound to one another in the Human Race.
This planet is made of one people. We should act like it. One of the largest problems is that we place too much stock in our own creations. I speak of countries, borders, governments, and nationalities. We have advanced so much from the earliest of mankind that we have returned to ignorance. We truly believe that one country is better than another when in reality there is no country. The countries are simply imaginary constructs we have brought into existence so that we can be unique. Americans have taken it so far as to divide the country into states to further show uniqueness. What should be realized is that we live on a planet. This planet is our country. When a war is fought we kill our own kind. It all seems so senseless if given a good look through the eyes of reality instead of the glasses of our imaginations.
To get back to the point of this writing, there are a few simple things that we as a race should do. First off is to be kind to one another. This includes common courtesies like please and thank you as well as helping those in need. I am not saying that we should all spend our lives doing nothing but building shelters for the homeless and sending food overseas to needy people. I am saying that when the opportunity presents itself to help another person, take it. Kindness alone is not enough. Politics would be a prime example of the way honesty has been devalued. I challenge each and every person in the Human Race to lie no more than once a month. It would be foolish to think that dishonesty could be completely wiped out. I have no such delusions. If, however, we could each manage to tell no more than one lie in a month, how much better would the world become? Trust would not be a problem. People could be more open with one another and many disputes would never even take place. There is no reason for us to accept dishonesty as a fact of life.
Who decided that the Human Race must be closed-minded? People in that state cannot listen to reason unless it is something they already agree with. If we could get every person to truly open their minds for just one day, the world may change drastically. Imagine a world where there is no fear of war because hatred is practically nonexistent, a world where nobody is looked down upon because they are from this country or that region. I can only hope that at least part of this will occur in my lifetime. Perhaps one day somebody truly influential will realize that the things mentioned here are true and that the price to pay to make the world a better place is so very small. I know that I am not that person. I have not the ability to change peoples thinking. I am simply trying to start the Human Race to question the current state of the planet and the way we live in it.
The entire reason that things are not changed is because people feel that because they are but one person, they cannot make a difference. If every person that felt that way all tried at the same time to change the world, life would be much different. All we have to do is work as a team. We are one race. We must work together. The sooner we realize this, the sooner our children will actually have that better world we constantly wish for but never truly strive to achieve. I challenge every member of the Human Race to take off the glasses of the imaginary world for one day and live that day in the real world by the virtues that we pretend do not exist.
Jarek Shadowwalker
Member of the Human Race