But that's life, they say. Welcome to the real world, they say. It's only the least of it, they'll tell you. But isn't that the problem?
Everyone is too busy "getting ahead" that we never stop to think, notice, or encourage the ones that are in the very shoes we once walked in. Are we too egocentric that we fail to realize the very muck that we once overcame came can be, and probably is, someone else's reality today? And are we too good, too superior, too experienced, to extend a hand back into that shadow of our past to pull someone else out?
Has humanity lost their since of compassion? Have we lost our generosity? Our empathy? Our ability to hold each other up, be each other's crutches, lift one another, comfort one another, and just relate? While we're striving to get "ahead" others are crumbling beneath our strides. While we reach to put mounds of food on the table, other's are just hoping for the scraps.
Where are we fellow humans? What have we allowed ourselves to be? And what in the world is so fantastic about being "ahead?"
Can we ever get far enough ahead? Can we ever accomplish contentment?
My gut says no.
**Side note**
I grew up in a humble family. Not a lot extra, but enough that we were fed, had clothes, and could play sports throughout our adolescence. There were times my parents broke under the stress of financial burdens. Times where we weren't sure where our food would come from, or how we'd make it to the next paycheck. But somehow we always made it.
My mother was the woman that taught me about life. With a flick of the wrist and a little make up, she turned her daughter into a woman who could live and thrive off of a small budget. She raised a woman that could create a home out of a small house; who could look like a million bucks from thrift shop finds; and she taught a little girl what it meant to be strong, supportive, feminine, and happy.
With $10 in her wallet, my mother could turn a boring Friday night into girls night. An evening known for virgin margaritas, facials, pedicures, and the movie Practical Magic. Some of my best memories come out from under a dollar store mud mask, and department store nail polish. And guess what? All of this rooted from when we were behind.
**End**
So naturally when I ponder about the likelihood of finding contentment, I am a bit pessimistic when said contentment is the result of getting ahead.
Rather, a different notion wisps around in my stomach, fluttering my heart, before finally managing to escape my being.
Contentment is found in humanity.
It's found in relationships that nourish and strengthen us. It's found in people that challenge us, motivate us, and push us to better ourselves and our lives. Contentment is found when we are capable of reaching beyond ourselves and into the lives of others where we find our missing pieces.
As individuals we fail because of our weaknesses, and we succeed because of our strengths.
So why is it such a noble idea to unite together, under the commonality of our humanity, and succeed as one? To get ahead as one?
That's what I believe the Human Worth Project is all about - restoring the very essence of our humanity and our ability to relate to one another.
This post is serving as a redirection of my blog. From now on I hope that both my writings and life can center around the very purpose of reestablishing human worth. I have made a personal decision to dedicate my life to this project. To seek and restore the worth of those around me. And while simplifying our lives can and will free us to bless and invest in others. We face an exception - Humans. People. You see, relationships are messy. They are complex, complicated, and just down right exhausting.
But have you ever felt like life just got the best of you? Yeah, me too.
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