Week 12: I Have A Question

 

  Do you care? Like really, do you? When you see someone is it about you or is it about caring for them? When you encounter someone do you really want to make sure they are good, or  do you ensure your own safety first? Can you simply do both? I wonder sometimes when dealing with people on the daily basis. The nature of my job, as well as my personal life is to make sure everyone else is doing good, without much focus on myself. Is that healthy though? Should you give all of yourself for others or is it selfish to put yourself first? There are people in life who give so much of themselves that they don't have much left over at the end of the day. The person who comes to mind when I think of this is the icon, DMX who passed on from us April 9th, 2021. 

  It is well documented the struggles the superstar faced throughout his life. While carrying all that pain and struggle, he put the people first. X even took on other people's pain and made it his own. Earl Simmons gave so much of himself that he didn't really have time to fix his own problems. In his passing we see how many people DMX influenced and inspired over the years. One person sacrificed himself for the betterment of society. Is there a right or wrong way to do such a thing? Can we balance our love and compassion for others, at the same time manage our own mental health? 

  

 There are so many layers to caring. Lately we see people on social media attaching themselves to issues, making it hard to decipher if they really care or if they just want to make their brand look better. For me you can tell when it is genuine. If you walk amongst the people on a normal week day without a tragedy happening then I can believe you. Opportunist are all around us. Major corporations who've never supported the people or social causes are beginning to open their pocket books to act like they care. Is this fake love better than no love at all? Are we okay with pretending these companies care about equality?  When their products were flying off the selves, did they acknowledge people getting killed in the streets by the powers of white supremacy? There's a lot of questions I have. 

  Can we care without expecting something in return? Can you care for a criminal who grew up in poverty just as much as you care for your favorite celebrity? Is there an organic way to start caring after you've been called out on it? These are a few questions I pounder over when the pressure is applied to make people empathetic to topics that they've never had to deal with first hand. The ability to care for someone you've never met before comes second nature to some, for others it's like pulling teeth. Can we retrain our minds to care for complete strangers?

  The next time a trending topic about how a group of people are being neglected, I want you to consider how you really feel about it. What is your intent when you speak on the people? Are you moved enough to do something about it? Will you encourage your friends and to join in with your efforts to make life better for the people? Can you find balance in loving and caring for others, while you make sure you are doing well yourself? 

“Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” - Martin Luther King Jr.

“You can't speak for the people unless you're able to walk amongst the people.” - DMX

  "Never believe that a few caring people can't change the world. For, indeed, that's all who ever have" Margaret Mead.