Men who live in fear.
It is amazing how much we rescind to fear regarding our lives, instead of taking action that empowers and gives us a voice.
As my husband and I sit in Barnes & Noble, which is sort of a weekly ritual for us that involves overpriced coffee and oversized chairs, we realize it’s an enjoyable activity we do together. Today, we find a man of “lighter pigmentation” who seems to have lost his courage. Anyone who comes up the escalator or sits near him with a “darker pigmentation” is a victim to his long stares and subtle gestures. He shifts back and forth in his chair as if to say, "if you don’t leave, I will."
The past couple of months have been strained in America, as it relates to race relations. Dallas has seen its share of the unthinkable when five officers were killed in the line of duty at a rally. But, should we live with fear and trepidation now?
I think not.
We should not be fearful of each other because it is through community, communication, and the sharing of ideas we become each others’ salvation. An example of that would be, a man seeks out a recovery community to address his addictions. There, he finds like-minded individuals that reveal to him he is not alone and that there is grace on the other side of his dependence. In my case, community with compatible people provided me with a mirror to the issues that I could neither see, nor address on my own. Community provided me with accountability and a place to lay my burdens down.
There is no fault in needing someone. It is the ego that plays a vicious mind game on us. The ego challenges us to take on the world alone under the pretense that no one understands and no one cares. But not even Jesus himself subscribed to such an ideology. He had twelve disciples who walked with him and who provided him with companionship, conversation, and support.
Who are we in the light of this revelation? Do we not need each other? Do we have to live in fear of tomorrow or can we place ourselves in the center of our community, plant our feet and find purpose and healing?
@earlinagreen
