Daisies, Disinformation, and What It Means to Be Human(e)
on sharing
“But there’s only one cookie left,” bird explained to bear. “If I eat it, there’ll be nothing left for you. Can we share it?”
…
📷: Daisy
…
Do you like thrifting? I do.
Ever since I was a teen, I’ve bought many of my clothes at second-hand shops.
There’s something about clothes that have already led other lives that appeals to me; a wisdom, perhaps, woven into the fabric, stitched into the seams.
“Where have you been?” I ask.
“What have you seen?” I wonder.
Here in Portland, we have a fabulous Goodwill on SE 6th.
When you walk in, you’re met with this rainbow of colors, a thousand stories hanging side by side down every aisle.
Awkward first dates. Holiday dinners. Job interviews. Celebrations and loss. Bygone eras.
“How did you live?” I pry.
“Were you happy?” “Were you sad?”
“Did you love?” “Did you lose?”
“Did you try your best?”
Thumbing through the racks, I have practical questions as well: “Who has legs so long, so short, so thick, so thin?” “Who could pull off this color or those stripes?”
I always return, however, to the realization that – although our shapes and tastes may vary – we are most of us all clothed in the same fundamental desires, a common thread uniting us.
Each of us want:
- To be seen, to feel loved.
- To feel secure, to be safe.
- To find happiness, and connection.
- To trust and be trusted.
I think this is one of the reasons why I have such a hard time reconciling this election, trying to understand how so many in our country were willing to say they deserved these things, while others did not; that it was okay to strip these things away from women, minorities, migrants, and folks within the LGBTQIA+ community if it’d lower the price of my eggs; that turning a blind eye to lies, hate, and bigotry was just fine if it meant I could get a cheaper gallon of gas.
To move forward, we’ll need to deal with an under- and dis-informed electorate, yes; but we’ll also need to remember what it means to be human, to act humanely, to treat one another as we would want to be treated. And hold one another and our politicians up to this standard.
What else do you think we all deserve as humans?