Recently a friend of mine was talking about her son and how afraid she was for him to grow up in this terrible world. She then proceeded to explain how as much as she loves him, she never wanted kids because she didn't want to have to bring one up in our current environment. She gave examples of the horrors including ones we are all familiar with; 9/11, mass murders of our children, numerous hate crimes, and more.
I turned to her and boldly said, "My heart breaks for those ongoing events, but I disagree that we are raising our children in a terrible environment." She looked at me like I had two heads. Part of the reason I went on my hug journeys was because I heard so many people who believed like she did, that our world was awful and people were terrible. I didn't even believe it back then, but those very same people told me I needed to live in the 'real world' and I would see how it really was. They thought I was naive and destined for a world of hurt. So, I went out to discover for myself just how awful people were. Ok, fine, I went out to prove to them that I was right and that people are good, kind, and loving. Over the course of hugging thousands of strangers and staying with relative strangers across the country with 99% kindness and love to report, I am thrilled to say, "I told them so." But, the story doesn't end there. The world isn't so black and white. People aren't either good or bad. We are all many shades of gray. I rage at the thought that anyone is treated less than simply because of who they are or what they believe. My heart burns with fury when our government decides that having access to guns is more important than saving children's lives. My skin crawls when I hear another one of my friends share their story of sexual trauma. When it comes down to it, I believe that both my friend and I are right. Yes, this is a terrible world to bring a child into - and it's the most magical place full of incredible beauty that our children have the opportunity to behold. Ultimately I understood I had a choice. I could choose to live in the world that proves to me how awful it is on a daily basis by looking for the crimes, traumas, and injustices (which wouldn't be hard to find) or I could choose to live in the world of magic and beauty by looking for the soft unfolding of a rose bud, the gentle smile of a stranger letting me into traffic, the heartwarming text of a friend that was just thinking about me. Perhaps it's because I make the conscious choice to look for the good in humanity, but I find that the 99% kindness and love isn't just found on hug journeys, but...everywhere.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorMelinda Lee is a mom of two adolescent boys, a devout student of all things spiritual, a recovering perfectionist, and immensely fascinated with achieving the unachievable. Currently writing a memoir about hugging strangers. Archives
February 2023
Categories |