humanity

For better or for worse, relationships reveal the core of the human condition.

Society
Humankind, we have come so far from where we began all those years ago. We have joined together to build with common purpose. Look around at what we have accomplished so far. Great monuments and testaments lay in our wake. We must always ensure that those monuments honor who we are and where we want to go.
By John Ames Birch7 years ago in Humans
Empaths, Not Victims
It’s no surprise that so many with the gift of extreme empathy chalk up their sensitivities to a “curse” when you can find countless information on the downfalls of being an Empath. There are articles galore telling you how you will “attract Narcissists,” how you will “feel others' pain,” or how you will feel “alone in society.”
By Kristin Wilson7 years ago in Humans
Generation 'X'...'Y'...'A'-nxiety
It’s OK to be happy for fuck’s sake. It’s OK to not have a depressing back-story to tell. It’s OK to not be on meds, in therapy, or “going through something.” When did anxiety, depression, self-hatred, fear, and a whole other slue of conditions become second nature to our society? Everyone “has it,” or “has something” these days. Everyone posts about it, talks about it and lives it on a daily basis.
By Holy Smokes7 years ago in Humans
Reflections on Ambiguity
"In transitions, we must learn to be still. Being still is, in part, about learning to be comfortable with ambiguity" —Janet Rebhan,
By Alaias 7 years ago in Humans
The Eternal Force of Compassion
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”- Dalai Lama Although violence and war have often marked the history of human civilization, there have always been people who have sought to highlight the positive aspects of humanity. One of these positive elements—and the topic of our article—is compassion.
By Alonzo Echavarria-Garza7 years ago in Humans
The Power of Silence
Be noticed by doing nothing! Have you ever been in a situation that was conflicted, but did not seem to have any viable conclusion? You may have had an opinion, but it would not have changed anything.
By Suzanne Scott7 years ago in Humans
“This Isn’t Your Safe Space!”
Recently, in a Facebook group that I am a part of, a brave soul bared her heart and spoke out about the struggles she was having concerning her emotional relationship with food.
By VT7 years ago in Humans
The Fixer: A Selfless Helper
There are people in this world, with me included, who live their lives by fighting the problems of others. In a world that is broken and searching for relief from the difficulties of everyday life, we walk through wanting to be the knights in everyone else's stories.
By Keane Neal-Riquier7 years ago in Humans
Just
Alone... alone. So absolute. So basic. Say it again... alone. How can that be? We are surrounded by people day in, day out. Those people interact with others, and that brings more into our circle. Still... alone. So deafening.
By Heather Houston7 years ago in Humans
Belonging with Strangers
Arrived in Drumnadrochit last night to find I was invited to share a very special birthday moment with someone I had just met. The backpackers lodge has just been taken over by new management (and their adorable baby), they had prepared a birthday cake for a member of the staff, and just as I arrived in the kitchen, they came in to light the candles. I was asked to join in the celebration with the other staff singing "Happy Birthday." I felt uncomfortable, out of place, and yet it felt nice to be celebrating for someone and nice to be singing, brining a feeling of value to a complete stranger. From the moment I arrived, I felt related; like I was an old friend. Sometimes, life has a synchronicity that is unexplainable, filled with genuine connection and pricelessness. We find ourselves in a significant moment at the most unexpected of times or places. Last week I happened to be in a shop making sounds with a singing bowl to be met with a return ting. Doubting myself, I made the sound again; and sure enough, there was another ting in response. Looking around, I couldn't see anyone. Baffled but curious, I began to play a short tune with the different bowls and a responding tune followed. Finally, I saw a younger man, hidden behind some merchandise, smiling at me and holding tiny bells. We continued to play our shared music for a while. It was a wonderful moment. At the backpackers lodge yesterday evening, the theme was connection, be it mother to baby, manager to staff, staff to guests, stranger to stranger... the real human to human moments that touch the soul and remain lasting memories.
By Alaias 7 years ago in Humans
Vulnerability
Part of my life turning upside down was learning I have both a rare health condition called Transverse Myelitis as well as Multiple Sclerosis. Neither condition can be cured, the Multiple Sclerosis may or may not get worse, and I now need to help sustain my current health by injecting medication. Having been someone who has never relied on chemicals to heal my ails, has anxiety over not feeling in control of my body, and has a strong phobia of needles, it has been quite a personal challenge. The process of finding the right medication has been trial and error, and the first brand of medication, unbeknownst to me, was progressively making me very unwell. I was not aware until it hit acute crisis in July. I had to be immediately taken off the drug (and another) to bring me back to safety. It was quite a shocking experience, especially to learn that the medicine I was being asked to trust was more harmful than the illness I was doing my best to manage. I had been asked in consultation how things were going and did not know at the time that the medication was making me so unwell. In the process of the change, I also discovered that the medicine had been hugely limiting my physical capacity each day. My quality of life had been reducing. It has taken a couple of months of very tough struggle to pull myself back from the brink, it was an incredibly awful experience. I've changed to a different drug (albeit taken more frequently), but I have begun recuperating and cannot quite believe the remarkable difference. This first stage of the travel (aside from the art project) was to support my recuperation and also to learn my natural capacity now that I was no longer affected by the previous medication. It has been a gift, widened my awareness; and in the end, I am so fortunate and grateful to still be here in this life to experience it. It brought me to reflecting on how much we as humans are vulnerable on our own. When we are born, we need to rely on something external to be nurtured, nourished, and safe, else we are easy prey to the indiscriminate. Unlike other mammals and animals, we are born incapable of looking after ourselves in a self-protective way and this continues for "years" as opposed to weeks or months. We are truly at the mercy of our environment. As we grow, we need guidance to learn what is safe and what is not, how to conduct ourselves in order to survive (and during this time, we need those who are doing the guiding to be in good standing themselves, else we may not get all of what we need to grow, survive, and thrive). We are vulnerable to misinformation, projected fears, emotions of others, mistakes, manipulation, to being attacked, and to neglect and other forms of abuse without having the ability to stop it, walk away, and keep ourselves safe. Most of the time, we don't even know that we are not safe. As we age, we have to use our experiential knowledge and natural instinct to keep us safe. If we become sick, there are many forms of treatment from holistic to pharmaceutical, but we need to rely on information given to us by others to tell us what is best; we can't just innately know... We can try and see for ourselves, but sometimes that's safe and sometimes it isn't, sometimes we don't know something has affected us dangerously until much later. As we become older and less able to understand and discern what is supportive for us, we need to rely on others yet again to keep surviving because we are vulnerable. We need to rely on others.
By Alaias 7 years ago in Humans
The Heart of It
It seems more often of late that wherever I turn I find a heart offering from the universe. It got me thinking about emotion—what is it? How does it affect us? How does one capture and express it? Dictionary definition: Emotion is a strong feeling deriving from one's circumstances, mood, or relationships with others. A sensation. An instinctive or intuitive feeling as distinguished from reasoning or knowledge.
By Alaias 7 years ago in Humans