Nuanced In Nature

I understand that I'm writing this from a place of privilege. I am a fairly affluent, white woman who has been afforded the opportunity to travel. And the revelation I'm going to share is a direct result of this privilege - something I've realized while traveling.

Honestly, it took me 22 years to truly understand that everyone's life is just as nuanced, significant, and beautifully flawed as my own. Obviously I grew up surrounded by unique lives - those of my parents, friends, strangers. But to me, my parent's didn’t have their own identity. They were my parents. MY parents. My friends complemented my story; they were a supporting role in my one-woman show. And strangers were such a fleeting presence that obviously their significance was hardly noteworthy. I'm not proud of this mentality, but it's one I had.

It took plane rides, chance encounters and strangers becoming friends to finally, finally begin to lift the veil on my selfishness. For me to realize that, believe it or not, parents, friends, and strangers operate under the same human experience as myself. Feeling the same love, loss and everything in between. My mom, the old man my eyes graze over on the bus, and the woman sitting on the street with a sign asking for money.  Their lives are just as complicated, laden with turmoil, moral dilemmas, deep-rooted sadness and unanswered questions. Unexplained joy, moments of bliss, and simple pleasures. 

I have not, do not, and never will have a monopoly on the human experience. And because of that, my value, my worth is not bolstered or diminished because I continue to plod along in this journey called life. This realization is both empowering and overwhelming; its implications not only impacting the way I look at myself, but the way I look at the Mother Earth and her inhabitants.

Clearly I don’t have all the answers, but I’m inexpressibly grateful for this lesson. For being made aware of my intrinsic self-centered nature (but I don’t even pretend to think I’ve conquered this disposition). I’m thankful for the compassion and understanding this realization has facilitated. For forcing me to stare judgment in the eye and question its logic. For the most humbling message of humanity.