temporaldecay:

As I slowly work my way through catching up with news of the world for the past few weeks, I can’t help but think the greatest tragedy of our time is our own resilience.

The state of the world is frankly intolerable and unacceptable in many ways, but it is in our nature to stand tall and survive it.

The US government shut down, but the key word here is again. This has happened before. It was terrible before. But we survived it. We dealt with it. We moved on.

I’m not telling you not to take pride on all you have survived, all you have conquered, all that seemed deadly and that you still stood up against and remained.

But please remember that just because it didn’t kill you, it doesn’t mean it’s okay that it happened. Personally. Professionally. Politically. You are human and humans are notoriously hard to destroy. We’re by nature creatures that endure. We lick our wounds and learn from our mistakes and come out if not stronger, better prepared to brace ourselves and face adversity again.

But just because it doesn’t kill you, it doesn’t mean it’s okay or right or just the way things are.

Take pride in your resilience, but do not let the world take it for granted. Do not let the world make it a standard or a benchmark you’re expected to reach.

The goal is not survival, the goal is actually living, fully and healthy and comfortable, with all the dignity you are owed, purely because you’re a human being. That’s what we’re fighting for, in the long run. Survival is important, immediate, but do not trust anyone who wants to convince you it should be the end goal. Who says it’s “not that bad”, because it left you bleeding but still breathing.

You deserve more.