Love Thy Neighbor

There is so much to be said here, with so many emotions that weigh heavy on the heart. It's hard to process and digest the events that are flooding our news feeds on the daily; each a stark representation of how our society is drenched in anger and fear. Finding the feel-good stories to cushion the blow of the hate and violence that exists is getting even harder to find. I'm saddened and I'm scared, and as a mother, I'm so discouraged. 

Two days ago, I was sitting on the floor with my oldest son listening to him talk about his fears of being judged. He had tears in his eyes, and he could barely look at me. It was clear that he had a lot on his mind, and I was thankful that he felt comfortable enough to share. 

The relevancy of this conversation hit me hard, especially now when visuals of judgement and acts of violence have been most recently elevated. In fewer words, I had to take the opportunity to help him see the bigger picture. I had to tell him that judgement from others is always going to be a component, whether it's someone judging you or you are judging others. We all do it to some degree and it's always going to be a thing. But it's a necessary part of growing up and it's a huge part of life that will only get worse as you get older. As you begin living your life and making decisions for yourself, there is always going to be someone that has an opinion and that tells you that your way is wrong. 

Knowing that this didn't help calm his fears, I also explained that one of the sole reasons that judgement exists is because we as humans have a lack of understanding about one-another; whether it be about race, ethnicity, lifestyle choices, religion, physical and mental abilities...the list goes on. And instead of seeking to understand, many (not all) chose to act based on opinions that have little supporting evidence. We aren't taking the time to educate ourselves and truly get to know those around us and unfortunately, this starts at an early age.   

As people, we must seek to understand, and we must ask the questions that give us more information before we make conclusions. And when someone judges us, we must remember that we can't let others' lack of understanding gauge our response. We can't let their lack of understanding impact the way that we feel about ourselves (a lesson that I am still trying to learn myself) and above all, we must be kind. 

Such a huge message for a nine-year-old brain to process, but desperate times call for desperate measures. 

I feel so overwhelmed because as parents, we are watching our society snowball. I know that hate, violence, fear and judgement have always been around and in the most recent days, it has become increasingly elevated.  I also know that as a society, we can and must do better. 

We must love thy neighbor.