It is Love that propels us forward... / A.J. Hendry

It's easy to be overcome by the way things are, by the injustice, the apathy, the pain and suffering that exists in our world. When we are near giving up, we must remember... Love propels us forward.

Photo by Michael Fenton on Unsplash

Kia ora whānau,

When I first started to write this piece I had planned for it to be something different from what it turned out to be. I always dream of writing that piece, you know the one, that magic set of words that is so compelling, so powerful, that all of a sudden the world changes, we change, awakened from our collective apathy, we choose to chart a different path. One where Justice reigns, and the value of our people and planet is placed above our individual interests or politics.

I dream. And I fail.

The world stays the same, and my words are but a poor reflection of our lived reality.

And yet, we continue to fight, advocate, dream, because where there is Love, there is Hope.

That Hope can be hard to hold on to at times, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say that at times I become exhausted, worn down by the weight of it all.

In the midst of that exhaustion, writing this piece reminded me of what drives me forward. I hope it can do the same for you.

A.J. Hendry

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It is easy to be overcome by the way things are.

Reality is, it's rough out here.

I struggle some times to articulate the horror of poverty and extreme inequality that exists within our communities.

How can I articulate for you the stories, how can I capture the pain, put it into words, lay it out so you can see it, feel it, taste it, be moved by it.

But, perhaps I don't need to.

Perhaps the struggle is something we share.

Perhaps, you have seen the children, those with no where safe to go, digging for food out of trash cans, looking for sustenance in the day old scrap, trash, that another so carelessly discarded.

Perhaps, you've sat there to. There in work and income, where a box must be ticked, where a few words written with the pen of the powerful, get to define your worth. Here, where your humanity is weighed up and down as every eye tries to define what sort of poor you are...

are they the deserving kind

or...?

... perhaps, you've sat at the table, watching as a young mamā is forced to wrestle with impossible decisions. Like, should I buy kai for my whānau, or should I pay rent? Should we warm the house, or pay the bills?

Perhaps, you've felt the desperation, the hopelessness, perhaps you've advocated, battled, fought, stood for Justice, believed that change is possible, been crushed by the weight of our collective apathy.

Perhaps, you feel that rage!

WHY WONT WE CHANGE!!!!

Perhaps, all you feel is sorrow

Perhaps you see, and and you're exhausted, because seeing is exhausting, and fighting is exhausting, and caring is exhausting, and living is exhausting, when even living has a cost that we must pay.

The cost of living.

The language we've been given to name our oppression.

A reminder that we are no more than consumers, cogs within the capitalist machine, workers whose value is measured by our contribution to production and growth.

But, that's not true is it?

We're more than that.

We are human.

We are beings.

We are more than what we produce.

We are not defined by our productivity.

We are human.

We are beings.

Human beings. People. Our worth tied intrinsically to our humanity.

It is easy to be overcome. To forget who we are. What we are.

Each of us matters.

Work does not define our value.

We are no mere consumers, or producers, our humanity is not rooted in productivity.

It is intrinsic to our very existence.

Do not forget.

This is not all that is.

In the midst of this, there is Love.

There is the world we are building.

That world where Justice reigns, where those who have, give, where those who need, receive, where we stop and recognizing how crazy it is that some would starve while others hoard more than they could ever need. That world where we decide to do something different. Where we put people first. Our children first. Where we say

Enough

It's time we stopped accepting the unacceptable

And poverty is unacceptable

Homelessness is unacceptable

An economic system that devalues our people and planets, disintegrating our very humanity

This unacceptable.

That world is coming

So do not be overcome

Remember

It is Love, not hate, which propels us forward

it is Hope, Joy, a vision of a world made new

Do not lose yourself to the fight

Do not become what you resist

Remember

Love is the Way

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