ThrOugH yOUr EyEs

Margaret Wolfe Hungerford coined the phrase, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

William Shakespeare once said, "The eyes are the windows to the soul."

It's all in the eyes. What do you see when you look at me? What do you see when you look at you? What do you see when you look at others around you? What do you see when you look at the world?

I am not content with closing my eyes while I listen to the screams of nations crying out for aid.

I am not cool with closing my eyes while underprivileged families go four and half years without clean water.

I am not comfortable with labeling little children terrorists or refugees. At the end of the day, they are just children. At the end of the day, are we screw-ups simply because our parents were?

I am not thrilled about a systemic, structural, and social condition that allows the face of racism to morph into one less overt but still just as evil.

It's nearly impossible for me, in my old age, to buy that silence, particularly on important issues, does not equal consent, or at the very least, a weak endorsement.

I can't honestly say I am the greatest champion of world causes but if you pillage villages, forcibly unseat kings and emperors, rape their women and children, enslave their people, hunt endangered species into extinction, and steal every valuable natural resource you can find, you don't get to mock the condition of the said country. That's the truth, the *hole truth and nothing but the truth.

I am hopeful that my grandson's classmates have been allowed to play with "brown children" now at his elementary school. He's been pretty lonely at recess.

I am not willing to accept that charitable giving can still somehow make the rich richer and keeps the poor and less fortunate very much poor and less fortunate.

I can love watching old mysteries like "Perry Mason" and "Peter Gunn" and still clearly see what that era's view of beauty looks like. It's still a struggle to understand in 2018.

I am still incredulous that my favorite sport (which I try to quit but I can't let go) is still often run like a dictatorship at times. (I used 'dictatorship' for lack of a more suitable, more PC word.)

I don't believe we can be found blameless when we restrict or forbid ourselves from using our voice and our resources to help others. (Pick a social issue. They all probably apply.)

I live in a place where often southern hospitality is reserved for those who talk like, have similar back stories with, or have a physical resemblance with the ones being "hospitable". Your top ten lists are a sham!

I am not able to resign myself to see an impressionable African American boy with a "Coolest Monkey in the Jungle" T-shirt on as being cute or acceptable.

I am not okay with friends only offering "thoughts and prayers" when a helping hand is required and available. And that's from someone who firmly and adamantly believes "prayer changes things."

I am very guarded against "reacting to the headlines" but "ignoring the content". That is an ever present danger for all of us.

I am gravely concerned how easy it is for so many to callously attach themselves to a legitimate movement that is decades overdue. If one's not careful, we could forget what this is supposed to be about.

Is there a proposed date on the calendar when we will start thinking generationally and not just about the fleeting moment we're in? Just asking for a friend...

So what does your world look like? Do you see hope? Can you see humanity beneath a hue or a tint? How do things look through your eyes? Sometimes even the simplest of things can become pretty blurry.

Thank you so much for reading, sharing, and subscribing to "Mirror Time With Mistayu". Hope this was worth your time.