New Mantra
This year I've had the privilege of being exposed to some of the most prestigious places with people of status and power. I've also had the privilege of entering some of the most stressed and weary communities while communing with the extraordinary people that inhabit those places.
From the third most violent neighborhood in the city to the Governor's office….
The home of someone living in a city dump in Guatemala to my graduation ceremony at an elegant hall within my university….
Sitting on the street with a homeless ex-con in Toronto to sitting on the beach at an all inclusive resort in Mexico….
Standing in the doorway of the home of a woman who sleeps with a machete under her pillow our of fear to standing in a grand entryway of a home in one of the wealthiest counties in the United States….
It is hard for me to process the contrast between some of my experiences. How am I supposed to react to going from a place everyone would want to be to being somewhere no one wants to be? How are the norms and values different? Or are they the same?
Either way, at the end of the day, I return to my cushy life with a house and family, friends, an excess of food, a car, and dresser drawers plump with clothes that I picked out and purchased. I've grown up in an upper-middle class family in a city known for its wealth. I've never questioned where I would sleep that night, if I would eat a meal that day, or if I would be safe walking on my street. My parents have a wonderful marriage and have provided for my brother and I physically and emotionally. It's the American Dream with the picture perfect American family.
While I have been to some desolate places and met some defeated people I have no idea what it is actually like to face desperate circumstances. I only get a glimpse. It's hard sometimes to go back and forth between two extremes as guilt will settle in for the life I have always known and will return to.
I just graduated with my bachelors degree and began my first professional post-grad job. As I've been contemplating my career and what life after college looks like, I've been thinking about what the theme is of what I am passionate about; what is the common thread of what I am dedicating my life to?
Going into, not just my career but, my calling, my purpose… I have identified a mantra: I will not accept that the circumstances in which one is born should dictate what is available for them in the future. In addition maybe even, I will not accept that the choices one has made should dictate what is available for them in the future. Instead, I will bring hope and healing, through Jesus.
I often think about how easily I could have been born into the life at the Guatemala City dump, or into the gang-ridden slum of La Limonada, or a dark skinned family in Colombia where caste systems would deem me "untouchable," or into poverty with parents who grew up in poverty after their own parents grew up in poverty… I could have just as easily been born into these circumstances that I have seen which limit those who do live in them as to what they can achieve or attain. I am not any better than anyone who has experienced these things, but I was born into a white, upper-middle class family, in the United States and these things alone had already given me an advantage from the moment I was born.
And that sucks.
Parents in poverty wish their children had access to better education. Those living in bad neighborhoods dream of one day moving somewhere new. An ex-convict struggles to find employment, as their past decisions hinder marketability despite positive growth and change. When asked the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" a child in the Guatemala City Dump responds with, "a garbage truck driver," because that is the most prestigious job someone in his community can obtain. Refugee and immigrant children living in the United States are said to be "doomed" by the schools because they do not know enough english to achieve good grades or take the SAT or ACT.
These cases are all real and none of them are acceptable. My mantra addresses this, which has given me purpose, and the things I am passionate about, which is breaking down barriers and empowering others to be the best version of themselves; bringing hope to the lives of others.
Like I have said, I am privileged and have everything I need and could hope for at the tip of my fingers. That doesn't mean I should feel the guilt I sometimes feel or that I will stay in my status group and ignore injustice that exists. Instead, I have viewed my privilege as a platform to reach out to those who are looking for, not a hand out but, a hand up. In the process I want to show others in my status group that they also have the means to join and help others. It's not just about empowering others to have a brighter future, but empowering others to help fellow human beings.
All I know is that once I was exposed to these things I haven't been able to ignore them. They're not just sad stories in the media or in movies or TV shows but realities for many. Especially when you get to know these people and develop relationships with them these injustices become more personal as you have faces of friends to put to them.
When Jesus was crucified his blood and resurrection put us all on even playing field. He made access to the God, who made us and chooses all of us, available to anyone. Not only does that put us all on equal playing field but we are also coheirs with Christ, the Son of God, to the Kingdom of God. All of us. Anyone that surrenders to Jesus. That homeless man you walk past on your way to work, the child covered in dirt on the UNICEF commercial, and even the men on the news on trial for killing a pastor's pregnant wife all have access to God's Kingdom and have the potential to be a co-heir of Christ with you because of Jesus. So do not accept a mindset that these people are doomed in this life, because God loves them dearly and you should too.
So as I head into my career, bringing in experiences from humanitarian work in Latin America and addressing urban poverty in the U.S., I've come to realize that I cannot accept that the circumstances in which people are born into or the choices they have made should have the power to dictate what is available to them for the future. This has already been a common thread woven into what I have been involved in and needs to be carried through as I continue forward.
What about you? How might you include more of this in your life? Instead of accepting the injustice that occurs in the world, how might you take a stand? How might you reach out a hand to help someone up. I think anyone that has helped someone breathe a little easier, even for just five minutes, has contributed to something great. The more I think about this mantra the more I understand that it is not unique to me, but it is expected from all of us. The beauty of it is you really don't even have to have great material wealth. Some of the most beautiful acts of kindness I've seen have been from someone who has seemingly nothing offering everything to someone else. It's like in Mark 12 when Jesus tells the disciples that the poor widow who gave only a few coins gave more than the wealthy who gave large portions of money; the rich gave out of wealth and excess but the widow gave everything. That is a true spirit of generosity.
Life is hard, so let's all be in it together. Let's offer more compassion, empathy, mercy, grace, kindness, and HOPE to those we encounter. I don't know about you, but I want to leave a legacy of having touched someone's life for the better because they met me. I want to radiate the love of Christ to others that is unmistakable and life transforming.
Either way, at the end of the day, I return to my cushy life with a house and family, friends, an excess of food, a car, and dresser drawers plump with clothes that I picked out and purchased. I've grown up in an upper-middle class family in a city known for its wealth. I've never questioned where I would sleep that night, if I would eat a meal that day, or if I would be safe walking on my street. My parents have a wonderful marriage and have provided for my brother and I physically and emotionally. It's the American Dream with the picture perfect American family.
While I have been to some desolate places and met some defeated people I have no idea what it is actually like to face desperate circumstances. I only get a glimpse. It's hard sometimes to go back and forth between two extremes as guilt will settle in for the life I have always known and will return to.
I just graduated with my bachelors degree and began my first professional post-grad job. As I've been contemplating my career and what life after college looks like, I've been thinking about what the theme is of what I am passionate about; what is the common thread of what I am dedicating my life to?
Going into, not just my career but, my calling, my purpose… I have identified a mantra: I will not accept that the circumstances in which one is born should dictate what is available for them in the future. In addition maybe even, I will not accept that the choices one has made should dictate what is available for them in the future. Instead, I will bring hope and healing, through Jesus.
I often think about how easily I could have been born into the life at the Guatemala City dump, or into the gang-ridden slum of La Limonada, or a dark skinned family in Colombia where caste systems would deem me "untouchable," or into poverty with parents who grew up in poverty after their own parents grew up in poverty… I could have just as easily been born into these circumstances that I have seen which limit those who do live in them as to what they can achieve or attain. I am not any better than anyone who has experienced these things, but I was born into a white, upper-middle class family, in the United States and these things alone had already given me an advantage from the moment I was born.
And that sucks.
Parents in poverty wish their children had access to better education. Those living in bad neighborhoods dream of one day moving somewhere new. An ex-convict struggles to find employment, as their past decisions hinder marketability despite positive growth and change. When asked the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" a child in the Guatemala City Dump responds with, "a garbage truck driver," because that is the most prestigious job someone in his community can obtain. Refugee and immigrant children living in the United States are said to be "doomed" by the schools because they do not know enough english to achieve good grades or take the SAT or ACT.
These cases are all real and none of them are acceptable. My mantra addresses this, which has given me purpose, and the things I am passionate about, which is breaking down barriers and empowering others to be the best version of themselves; bringing hope to the lives of others.
Like I have said, I am privileged and have everything I need and could hope for at the tip of my fingers. That doesn't mean I should feel the guilt I sometimes feel or that I will stay in my status group and ignore injustice that exists. Instead, I have viewed my privilege as a platform to reach out to those who are looking for, not a hand out but, a hand up. In the process I want to show others in my status group that they also have the means to join and help others. It's not just about empowering others to have a brighter future, but empowering others to help fellow human beings.
All I know is that once I was exposed to these things I haven't been able to ignore them. They're not just sad stories in the media or in movies or TV shows but realities for many. Especially when you get to know these people and develop relationships with them these injustices become more personal as you have faces of friends to put to them.
When Jesus was crucified his blood and resurrection put us all on even playing field. He made access to the God, who made us and chooses all of us, available to anyone. Not only does that put us all on equal playing field but we are also coheirs with Christ, the Son of God, to the Kingdom of God. All of us. Anyone that surrenders to Jesus. That homeless man you walk past on your way to work, the child covered in dirt on the UNICEF commercial, and even the men on the news on trial for killing a pastor's pregnant wife all have access to God's Kingdom and have the potential to be a co-heir of Christ with you because of Jesus. So do not accept a mindset that these people are doomed in this life, because God loves them dearly and you should too.
So as I head into my career, bringing in experiences from humanitarian work in Latin America and addressing urban poverty in the U.S., I've come to realize that I cannot accept that the circumstances in which people are born into or the choices they have made should have the power to dictate what is available to them for the future. This has already been a common thread woven into what I have been involved in and needs to be carried through as I continue forward.
What about you? How might you include more of this in your life? Instead of accepting the injustice that occurs in the world, how might you take a stand? How might you reach out a hand to help someone up. I think anyone that has helped someone breathe a little easier, even for just five minutes, has contributed to something great. The more I think about this mantra the more I understand that it is not unique to me, but it is expected from all of us. The beauty of it is you really don't even have to have great material wealth. Some of the most beautiful acts of kindness I've seen have been from someone who has seemingly nothing offering everything to someone else. It's like in Mark 12 when Jesus tells the disciples that the poor widow who gave only a few coins gave more than the wealthy who gave large portions of money; the rich gave out of wealth and excess but the widow gave everything. That is a true spirit of generosity.
Life is hard, so let's all be in it together. Let's offer more compassion, empathy, mercy, grace, kindness, and HOPE to those we encounter. I don't know about you, but I want to leave a legacy of having touched someone's life for the better because they met me. I want to radiate the love of Christ to others that is unmistakable and life transforming.
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