With everything that is going on in the world right now, it can feel like the walls are closing in on us. Everywhere you turn people are angry and frustrated. Politics are being shoved in everyone's faces and there is so much judgement and blame flying around that it's hard to imagine things will ever get better.
Going to the grocery store used to be a rather fun social outing for me, since I have become friendly with almost everyone that works at my local grocery story and I always seemed to find myself chatting with strangers while I went about my shopping.
Now I see so many instances of fear getting in the way of our humanity. People who won't walk down an aisle if anyone else is in that aisle, people are unable to have a conversation or exchange pleasantries because they are all trying to stand so far away from each other, so afraid someone else is going to "make them sick." I wondered how we got here, where we've been lied to so much that masks and social distancing are becoming the "norm" and our humanity is taking a back seat.
Yes - I just said it out loud (well, I wrote it). I believe we are being lied to - about almost everything.
And as long as we are not being told the truth, I believe we are battling each other on the shakiest, most unstable foundations . . . and I wonder how long it will be before it all comes crumbling down. I pray every day for the "truth" to come out - whatever the "truth" may be.
In the meantime, I try to keep to myself and just go about my own business but sometimes that is a challenge - when faced with a situation where more humanity is needed.
While standing in line outside the grocery store several weeks ago, I absent-mindedly walked forward while looking at my grocery list. When I looked up and saw how close I was standing to the gentleman in front of me, I immediately apologized. He looked at me with a somewhat vacant look in his eyes and said, "I just lost every single thing I own in the fires, the last thing I am worried about is you standing less than 6 feet away from me." As I told him how sorry I was for what he was going through, his eyes welled up with tears and then mine did too. He looked so sad, so defeated and in that moment, I felt so helpless.
As we stood and talked, the gentleman stepped even closer and then he dropped his mask, explaining that he couldn't breathe with it on. I told him I didn't mind and I dropped mine as well so we could hear each other better, and we continued to talk while we waited to go inside. He was such a kind man and my heart truly ached for what he was going through. I listened as he told me how long he had lived in his house (decades), how many cherished memories he had there and how much uncertainty was swirling around him now. (Where would he live? How would he "start over" at his advanced age? How could he begin to put his life back together?")
When the line moved enough that it was time for us to both enter the store, I told him again how sorry I was for what he was going through. When I asked if there was anything I could do for him, he said "Being treated with compassion was the greatest gift you could have given me today - for that I thank you."
For weeks now I have been thinking about this gentleman, wondering how he is doing. Each time he comes into my mind, I send him love and hope that he is finding his way.
I know there are a lot of people who may be flipping out right now - convinced that if there is a new "hot spot" in my area that it's probably my fault - and all I can say is "You are free to believe that." You are entitled to think whatever you want. It is not going to stop me from being myself though. What someone else thinks will not stop me from trusting that there are times where operating from my heart is more important than following the "rules."
As Dionne Warwick (and many others over the years) have been singing:
What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It's the only thing that there's just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
No not just for some but for everyone.
I look forward to the day where we ALL know the truth and we can replace all the fear and blame with empathy, compassion, kindness and understanding. In the meantime, if something isn't adding up, please don't be afraid to question it and look a little deeper.
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