I think that most of us can agree that in today's world, modern people do not make it easy for themselves. You have probably heard most of these already, and perhaps have even thought about a few of them or said them:
"I can't be happy with what I've accomplished. The only thing that matters are the things I haven't done."
"I want to say something, but have to keep my mouth shut because I will receive more criticism than support."
"I have to yell because as a (fill in the blank: female, male, gay person, etc.), I am a representative of my group and I absolutely have to say something, even if it's already been said."
"I only support certain beliefs because everyone else is too, and I don't want to be left out."
"I have to be my own person because I just have to." (Which begs the question: are all of these "individuals" really fulfilling their title by doing something that has become popular in recent years?)
"If I conform, then I'm a clone. But if I don't conform, I'm a freak."
"I am the only person who has any idea what is going on in the world."
I especially love those "if-then" statements. In this day and age, we face two basic issues: either people are ignorant enough to be happy, and don't see the problems, or they are so neurotic and serious about things, and are completely informed. We are told on a daily basis to "stand for something." People are encouraged to post things, to take pictures, to rant, to rave, to scream....or just sit back and let someone else do it because, you know, if you don't yell about things then you are more civilized than those other people are. We have preconceived notions about people from the moment we look at them or hear about them.
"Well, that person is gay/straight/black/white/male/female, so he/she must be......"
And don't tell me that "only other people think that". Everyone thinks that at some point.
So, I want you to say the next three words to yourself, very slowly:
I AM HUMAN.
I am human, you are human, we are human. Individuals, yes, but we must face the fact that no matter how different you may appear to be, we are all the same species.
Technology and society keeps convincing us that we should separate ourselves into groups, and then separate ourselves from that group. And hey, you don't have a group to belong to? Well, we just formed a group for those people!
We all belong to at least one of them: child, teenager, adult, senior citizen, female, male, black, white, Asian, gay, straight, girly, goth. They change and evolve as we grow. We leave some and join others. We may form our own. And we think that we can only belong to certain groups.
But....
What if I told you that the biggest group is one we all belong to?
HUMANS.
We must start recognizing that we are all humans.
We all have flaws.
We fall in love and are loved.
We make things.
We destroy things.
We distance ourselves, and cling to people.
We are marked by a certain culture, location, belief system, or race.
We judge others.
We are judged.
We speak up.
We stay quiet.
We have strengths.
We have weaknesses.
We dominate.
We are defeated.
We create solutions.
We create problems.
We want to make an impact....
Even if it is not as big as the impact others have made.
I know that at least three of the above have applied to you. It's because you are a human. (Unless you are some type of reading animal, in which case, congratulations on your new skill!)
Celebrate being a human today. And the best way to do that is to keep doing what you always do: wake up every day and go about your business.
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