Some days I sit back and laugh to myself. We humans…

We humans think we are so complicated, yet we are so simple.

We humans think we are so intelligent, yet we are so easily taken advantage of, manipulated, or swayed.

We humans think we are so important, yet there are 8 billion of us on this earth, so we really aren’t all that exceptional.

We humans think we have right and wrong all figured out, yet we love to smear those lines into a margin of grey so large that we are never on the wrong side of it.

We humans love to forget our humanity.

The word humanity is from the Latin humanitas for “human nature, kindness.”  As a noun, humanity is the quality of being compassionate and kind. Yes, let that sink in; the very concept of being a human is embedded in kindness.

There are so many avenues for people to access hate, judgement, and polarizing ideologies. We let our thoughts draw that line in the sand where we sort people into friend, enemy, and indifferent. In our minds, we allow people to quickly turn from blood pumping individuals into ideas or profiles that can either be discarded or embraced. Suddenly people are no longer human they are objects, treated as we see fit.

I have been blessed with choosing the vocation of teacher for over two decades. I do not regret low pay, thankless hours, and emotional wreckage. However, if I had one wish for schools, homes, and communities it would be for everyone to feel the warmth and love that can come from humanity.

I would place more care and compassion into healing and supporting all educators. I would wrap my arms around families who are struggling with how to raise kids in this world and manage their own mental health. I would instill love into each student, so they could feel their worth and realize their potential. With each interaction, I would humble myself to see my own weaknesses and failures in the eyes of others, so as not to judge. I would recall my own journeys of resilience so I could bring hope into the minds and hearts of others. I would SEE those around me and the pain they carry with them, so that I may address them as the complete person they are, not the person who is merely placed in the way of where I am going.

Tomorrow you will go to work and have brief meaningless interactions with others. You will forget they may be a parent, sibling, or child that is carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders.  You will also pass those that are pleasantly seeking your attention through warm greetings or quick inquiries. You will dismiss or even ignore their presences because you have better things to do.  You will saunter through your day determining who is human and who is an accessory to life.  

My call to you is to humanize every interaction you can.  See that you are speaking and interacting with a person that is a mystery to you.  Regardless of what you think you know about people, you most likely know very little about them at all.  When you feel the need to judge, dismiss, or aggressively encounter someone be a human first.

Before being named at birth you were just a human.  Now that years have passed, I challenge you to recall what being human really means.  Maybe Mother Teresa says it best, “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” Treat each other as you would want to be treated and you have taken a giant leap into creating a greater humanity.