It seems like acceptance has been the theme of these past few months. Acceptance of self, of others, by others, and of life as we all struggle to make it through. And these are just some thoughts I've written out as time flew by in the chaos:
Addiction: The fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, [person], or activity. Example: "He needed a cup of coffee to wake up in the morning and a few beers to sleep at night." Synonnyms: dependence, craving, habit, compulsion, fixation, etc.
Equality: The state of being equal, especially in status, rights, and opportunities. Example: "The organization aimed to promote racial equality within the workplace." Synonyms: fairness, justness, impartiality, nondiscrimination, etc.
There is no category of people which does not host its fair share of good, bad, and somewhere in between. A person's ethnicity or gender cannot determine their worth any better than the choices they make in life, for equality is a fact of our nature. It simply is. Societally, however, equality remains an issue of independance. For what is considered good, bad, and somewhere in between is different for everyone, and equality as a right is the freedom to express that without punishment.
Just as the individual pieces of a puzzle fit to make a picture, so the individual people of this world fit to create a species. Without contrast, our eyes would only see a meaningless blurr depicted in the puzzle. Similarly, without deviation, humanity would never evolve. We do not have to agree with someone, understand them, or even like them in order to accept that they too, are a piece of this puzzle. And they are neither more or less important than we are. Progress is achieved through diversity, no matter how we perceive each others' uniqueness. And nature adapts through variation as much as history is made through change.
We all know this, yet petty judgement and blatant discrimination remains an integral part of daily life. Whether it's gossip in the workplace or police harassment of the homeless, it seems people discuss who and what they hate than anything they might love. Picking at each other incessantly like a hoard of ravenous crows, we bicker and backstab and push aside, wondering all the while why nothing seems to get better.
None of us is innocent, but I don't get it. I always admired the strengths of a person over their weaknesses, even if I didn't understand. Though people may seriously injure us, resentment only prolongs that pain and spreads its suffering. We cannot put out fire with fire. Likewise, we cannot heal pain with pain.
Specifically, the stigma surrounding addiction and mental health issues amazes me everyday. Not because I have experienced both for myself, but because we live in a society which worships and riots for equality almost religiously. Even insanely. Equality, unless one struggles or copes in a way that has been deemed dangerous or unacceptable. We all need something. There is not a habit formed on this planet which cannot be taken to the extreme, and there is no substance in existence that is inherently good or bad all by itself. Like a weapon, it is the intention of the person who weilds it that determines the consequences of its use. And it is up to each individual to decide if and how they need to quit. Judgement, hatred, and fear only exacerbate the very problems we hope to solve, or at least wish would go away already. As in war, any resolution reached through discrimination leaves worse scars than the original affliction. We cannot go on this way, but in order to truly accept another for who they are, we must first love ourselves for the same kindness.
No one likes to be judged.
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