Believing in the Basics
Believing in the basics. Treat your neighbor as yourself, be the friend you’d like to have, turn the other cheek — we are taught simple lessons as children that we stray so far away from as adults. In time, we cloud the clarity of childhood with justifications, claiming the world has outgrown its simplest lessons.
We turn on the news to see vile atrocities, scroll through a feed of misinformation just to witness division spread faster than the wildfires which burn beside it
We chase excuses before chasing possibility, cast blame before we begin to move.
We lose our grip on the world when we lose our faith in one another. Division breeds disorder, and the blame blinds us to belonging.
If only the world operated based on childhood truths; loving our neighbor, telling the truth, and taking the high road.
The world feels lost, because when enough minds believe it is, it becomes so. The humanity which mends us together is slowly being stripped, rewritten and altered, history erased, and our reality warped.
The masses, dulled by noise, fed lies meant for the trusting. In the haze, right and wrong begin to blur. We can't fault ourselves for being fooled, but we can choose to see clearly – moving with purpose, action, and power.
Just for a moment, give an alternative world a thought. A world, this world, our world, with the same circumstances, but different outlook. If the collective thought from a space of forgiveness, empathy, and understanding – the way we were taught to live as children.
Before reaching for the reasons why it can’t be, give this world a moment to live in your mind. What does it look like? How does it move, breathe, and feel?
If we focused on spreading kindness to our neighbor and forgiving our transgressors; if we committed to honesty, a life without lying, cheating, or stealing, how would this world be?
If the collective were to function at a higher level of being – a greater tier of witnessing, we may bear a fighting chance at mending the wounds within and beyond our borders.
The precise rules we use to govern our individual lives may differ from that of our neighbor, but finding a door before a wall, a step forward before a blaming finger, and a bridge before a barrier could spark a new flame; one of goodness.
Before rolling an eye and tucking this away, give these harmless thoughts the space to exist; give the time of day to a world greater than what we know. We aren’t limited by what’s in front of us now, we aren’t handcuffed by circumstance, and we are not powerless– especially when operating together.
We can thank the road history has brought us by, and equally choose a new route. We’re not bound by the past; we simply haven’t fully realized our potential to move beyond it – yet.
Praia do Rosa, Brazil | 2025
Thank you for reading.
-Reina