Haters & HUMANity

No one is born hating another person because of the color of their skin, or their background, or their religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.   ― Nelson Mandela

Humanity is defined as human BEINGS collectively. In no dictionary will you see it defined as humans, but only those of certain religion, gender or race. We are a collective and the truth is - no one is any better than anyone else. To believe so is a matter of ego. We all have feelings and emotions, we all bleed when cut and mourn when we lose a loved one. We desire love, freedom and opportunities. To survive, we all must have our basic needs met - food, water, shelter, knowledge... We all have the capacity to feel sadness, fear, joy and excitement.

We aren't born disliking someone due to the color of their skin or if they're male or female, Christian or non-Christian. You only have to watch young children interact to know this is true. It's easy to learn to dislike, look down upon or even hate other humans who have specific traits. This learning comes from our family, our community, our culture. I've seen the experience over and over again where people meet, interact and get along incredibly well until they find out the other person is from an opposing religion or from an opposing country. It is then, you would hope, that they open their eyes and heart to the truth that the 'other' person is just like them, a human being.

Humanity is also defined as the quality of being humane; benevolence. Every single human being has the capacity and capability for immense compassion as well as horrific destruction. Overall, we seem to lean toward our compassionate side, benevolence and BEING humane. Otherwise, the homo sapien would have eradicated itself long ago. If you feel an animosity towards someone due to their race, beliefs, gender, sexuality or what have you - ask yourself why? Where did this animosity come from? Is the belief I'm holding 100% true? - Can all (insert group here) be evil or are lesser people? Why do I think this way? Do I truly believe this? Remember, there are loving compassionate people as well as violent destructive people. Can we really label an entire group based on a few experiences or based on no experiences or interactions with them at all?

The following video contributes to the point I'm trying to make. It actually just goes to the 1:45 mark.

Destruction, hate, violence and the non-valuing of human life takes place across the globe. Look to any part of the world and you will find examples of this. What's important to remember and act upon is we always have a choice. Below is the story of Zak Ebrahim - son of one of the terrorists involved in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend you watch it. He is a living, beautiful example of choice - choosing not to hate, choosing not to be "like father, like son."

"I'm tired of hating people." In that instant I realized how much negative energy it takes to hold that hatred inside of you. - Zak Ebrahim

I'll leave you with this...

Love, Adrienne :)