A thriving tree grows sandwiched in between slabs of cement buildings in the middle of a concrete metropolis. There's not an inch of soil and not a single other tree in sight. Yet it’s growing despite all logic that says that's not a place for a tree. A tree whose roots are shared by both buildings. Both buildings keep it alive somehow.
The world is aching and has been aching for a long time. Wounds destined to re-open. Wounds that don’t heal despite the passage of time.
We question whether our actions even do anything at all to heal those wounds. How do we heal a world slashed with scars old and new? It seems insurmountable to heal them when most are bursting at the stitches.
We feel helpless, enraged, and deeply sad. The word that comes to mind is humanity. With all it’s good and all it’s evil. However, if we look closely, the word "unity" is spelled within “humanity,” yet it's hard to see it reflected in the world— past, present, and future.
But the unity in humanity is there, it's always been there if we look closely. At a glance, it would appear there is no unity left. For looking left and right all we see is pain and suffering. How is life to thrive between slabs of cement? Is it destined to fail?
But like the tree surprisingly growing in an unexpected place, so is life. So is light. The light we give ourselves and others. The light of our humanity.
When catastrophic things happen in places, other than our own, sometimes it isn't easy to see that they're having an impact on us, too. But they are. We are the human race, after all, just one race. We are all connected whether we choose to see it or not.
That's why stories and moments that bring us together are so important. How else are we to feel that sense of connection with another human being who is different than us? How else should we discover that we have a shared humanity? How else can we create a better world? For if we change the present, we change the future.
Somehow we must find the strength to lift each other up using the unity within our humanity. Even if it’s buried down there, we must bring it into the light. As Elie Weisel said, the opposite of love is not hate. It's indifference. Indifference is what we have witnessed for a long time and are still witnessing. Indifference is what we must overcome.
Humanity is a web. We are all interconnected with threads that make us human. Even though things that happen to others in lands far away might seem like they don’t affect us, they do. For if a thread gets pulled on the other end of the web, it will eventually make the whole web weaker. It’s loss will be felt throughout.
It’s both an intricate design and a simple one. The web works both ways. When a thread gets stronger, the web gets stronger. The only way to strengthen the web is for each of us to make our thread, strong. To help others make their web strong too.
There is and has always been a lot of pain and suffering in the world. Wounds that opened many centuries ago and still have not healed. There is a lot of grief and we must hold space for that. We must also stand up for what’s right.
We cannot pretend that others will take up the responsibility for us. We cannot turn a blind eye to what’s not directly affecting us in the present. Because life is a circle and if not now, then somewhere down the line, it will inevitably affect us.
On the other hand, hate will not achieve anything. We cannot fight hate with hate. I do believe in a better humanity. I believe goodness can defy the odds just like a tree can grow without soil in between concrete buildings. But it starts with us as individuals and grows with us through our communities.
But to achieve that we must strive for better leadership. Stronger empathy. Unrelenting unity.
“The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.” ―Elie Wiesel