Three months left in 2022 and it is saddening to see that after all of the endless rhetoric about ‘life being short‘ and loving each other, etc., human connections are growing further apart, and families are becoming more estranged. Is the pandemic to blame? Of course, not…well, not completely. The pandemic, I believe, is what brought out what we, as people, are really made of. Covid, and all that many of us went through as a result of it, exposed the vulnerabilities, true intentions, and who those around us really were.
Now, approaching a new year, some of us are seeing people in our circles differently, some of us continue to navigate our way with blinders on; if we are honest, some will never admit to being the culprits of the latter, and still, some don’t even give a damn! The crazy thing in all of this to me is that none of this is new. Many of the people who appear different now haven’t changed. They are exactly who I believed them to be (for the exception of 2 that I personally know). They are simply unable to hide behind their pre-Covid selves. Some now see those who have always been transparent as a threat. They want to attack the character of those who either have always moved differently from them or who are now moving differently because of the real changes they are attempting to make; seemingly bitter that others are able to see them for who they truly are. I call these the privileged. These individuals appear to be the ones who always judge others based on what they think and see, yet they hate that others may judge them based on the same criteria or even what they actually know. HYPOCRYTICAL ARE WE?
Hypocrites rarely see themselves for what they are. From my personal experience, they are usually people who don’t listen to those they claim to care about. I mean, LISTEN WITH THEIR HEART…TO HEAR THEM…TO FEEL…EMPATHIZE…TO SEE WHERE THEY CAN HELP. These are usually those people who listen to gain information for gossiping purposes or to simply “be in your business”. I believe that when we care for someone…when we want them to know and feel that we genuinely care, we listen with our heart. When we allow someone to ask a question, tell a story, or express their feelings, we must listen intently…with the purpose to comprehend…to show we care. We have to listen as if our heart has ears.
What has this to do with Covid? EVERYTHING! There’s no mystery that there has been a lack of communication in relationships since the beginning of time; especially in romantic relationships. Covid however, exacerbated this with the shutdown. The pandemic required people who lived together to sit in the house together and actually communicate…or not. In addition, those bonds that we thought were unbreakable weren’t at all shatter resistant when loyalties were tested. Some people were no longer able to hide their already diagnosed mental illnesses, while others developed mental health issues due to the many struggles they had to endure.
Even after witnessing the destruction from Covid, there still remains that group of people who continues to hide behind the mask of I’VE GOT IT ALL TOGETHER, THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH ME, YOU’RE NOT PERFECT, I DON’T NEED THERAPY, ETC. These people are those same people who will never understand your story and probably will use it for gossip because they were never listening to you in the first place. Their heart has no ears. I am no longer offended nor surprised by these people because I have also learned that they are miserable, usually faking happiness, and determined to misunderstand anyone who disagrees with them or calls them on their bs. They aren’t trying to understand themselves, so understanding others is not on their agenda.
With there being exactly one week left in SUICIDE PREVENTION AWARENESS MONTH, I am more determined than ever to continue to advocate for those who have no one who is truly using the EARS OF THEIR HEART to listen. Many of us have friends and family who are failing to HEAR us; therefore, missing what ails them. The suicide rate is steadily increasing, yet rather than becoming better friends, spouses, mates, siblings, children…better people in general, we are vastly becoming worst. Many of us are mistaking SELF LOVE for SELFISH. While losing family and friends at alarming rates, some of us seem to not be affected. Instead of looking in the mirror and facing demons, there is a great deal of self-medicating…WE CANNOT HIDE FROM THE DEMONS. God brings us to this place to face our demons together in order for us to seek therapy and heal together.
Coming from someone who genuinely cares, people care when others listen to them. We need people who just want to hear our joys and hurts, our concerns and our successes. We are not always looking for advice nor a handout. When you ask how we are, please allow the ears of your heart to hear us when we speak. Some days we are ok, some we are simply existing, and others we are fighting hard to find the will to survive. For me, no matter which one of these days I am facing, I trust that God will continue to open the ears of my heart that I may be able to hear the cries of others who need help to keep surviving in this cruel world.
Mind, Body, Spirit
MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS!!!
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Dying to be Perfect 