It's safe to say that today, the world is out of control. It seems like everywhere you turn there's another catastrophic natural disaster, inhumane crime, and injustice among people and the planet occurring more rampantly than before. With many people claiming that we're now living in 'The last days of time' as detailed in the book of Revelations in the Christian religion, and the widespread belief that the Mayan prophecy of 12/21/12 would bring about an apocalyptic event for humanity, it seems that many are behaving as if the end is near. Although I'm not one to believe every end-of-the-world prophecy that I hear, the current chaotic state of the world's affairs led me to do some deeper reflection on my life; its purpose and meaning. While riding home on the trolley (activists take SEPTA too lol) I asked myself, what would I do if I knew how much time I'd have to live on earth? How would I live my life? What would I do differently than I'm doing now? I came to the conclusion that essentially, I would be more caring towards others. I would open my heart more, not in a romantic way, but in a genuine compassionate stance towards humanity, because it seems at the core of our societal issues, we have forgotten to love one another.
Where I live, the community is filled with tension that seems to hang in the air and permeate every corner of urban black life. During a simple walk to the store, I'll happen to witness people cursing each other out, hear someone blasting the most violent-misogynistic music, and see people interact with one another in a very guarded, disrespectful and aggressive manner. For awhile I struggled with labeling those people as simply apathetic, violent and complacent until I challenged myself to see beyond and realize that the current state of the black community is a direct result of a history of oppression that has been continuously perpetuated and allowed to exist in America. While my knowledge and experience in social justice activism is still developing, I know that if we don't care about the state of our communities, the future of our children, and not only our own wellbeing but that of our neighbor as well, then nothing will ever change.
From this conclusion on recognizing the extreme importance of love, I began to think of what I could would do to make a difference or bring about the change that I want to see and the idea of inspiring a love movement was created. My goal is to inspire a love movement, and not some commercialized bs that you show your feelings for someone through material gifts, but real open and honest efforts that aim to build unity through understanding, compassion and celebration of the beauty of diverse peoples working in solidarity. No matter the movement or cause, a wise person said a threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, and I believe the future of our planet and race depends on whether we can recognize the humanity in each other and not let our differences divide us. Make no mistake, I believe that any relevant struggle for equality and justice requires vigilance, determination and resistance, which tactics may not always be the most civil or non-violent. However without the essential element of love(be it for the cause or for your people), what makes the fight worth it? Right now I'm thinking of doing a series of simple yet revolutionary love act challenges that I will practice and ask others to practice as well to promote unity and maybe build to something larger. The challenges would ask people to do one act of kindness for someone else a day, even if its simply meditating on positive thoughts for someone else's situation, because thoughts and words have the power to heal.
I don't know when the world is going to end, but I do know that I don't want to die with any regrets and if I have the power to make a difference in this world, however big or small, that helps to make the world a more loving place, then that is a life well lived. ~Peace, love and liberation
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