No matter what happens in life, one thing stays the same:
I will always believe in humanity.
It doesn’t matter how many times I hear about people being casually cruel in their lives, whether it be through bullying, pettiness, mocking people, or something else that significantly impacts someone’s life. I will call this person out and advocate for better behavior and treatment of others. Most of all, I will work to make the world a better place. I will do all these things, but I will not lose my faith in humanity over this.
How often people hurt others, themselves, or me doesn’t matter. I will cry, scream, mourn, and hurt. But I will also comfort the person who was hurt, or I will comfort myself and seek support. I will do all these things and more, but there is one thing I will not do:
I will not cast off all humanity as bad.
It doesn’t matter how often people choose greed over generosity or selfishness over compassion. I will yell and criticize people for valuing property and things over humans, and I will not back down on my beliefs for a better world, but I will not think nor believe that everyone feels this way.
And it doesn’t matter how many atrocities humanity commits; it will never shatter my belief in humanity. It is my conscience, my values, and the core of my beliefs as a person that everyone is inherently good. The day I stop believing in humanity is the day I stop living my truth. Even when I die in this life, I will have died believing that we were capable of such goodness and that many of us did act upon that goodness within ourselves.
I know this may sound hard to believe. There are times when the negativity in the world is so overwhelming that I can’t breathe. I know there are times in my life when I just wanted to slam my fist and say, “Enough is enough.” I know there are times in my life that I wonder why I, or anyone else, is still here, why we’re allowed to do things that hurt ourselves and others, why we continue to do these things when we should know better and do better.
But I also know that I’ve seen the goodness in people. I’ve seen kindness, and people reaching out to others. And I’ve seen people dedicate their jobs, their hobbies, and part of their lives to helping others and making the world a better place. I’ve seen people do more good than harm. More than that, I’ve seen people who try to do better, be better, be happier, and shed brightness. I’ve seen people who truly care about others. I’ve seen people care, period.
It can be hard to believe the best in humanity when all you see and hear is the worst. But if you look around you, you will see that is not the case. People are doing good in the world. Some people are showing kindness and compassion to everyone and everything around them. Some people care.
No matter what happens in life, I will always believe in humanity.
I believe we can do great things and be the best versions of ourselves. The moment I stop believing in humanity is the moment I lose my humanity myself. And I refuse to live like that.
Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash
