What Makes Us Great
Reviving what was nearly lost
On January 20th, 2017 — a day that many found to be inauspicious — I listened to President Trump’s inaugural address. Those words, critical and accusatory, hollow and uninspiring, were particularly placating. I was overwhelmed with a sense that we’ve lost touch with what truly makes us a part of something great; it’s not a country, it’s not your leaders, and it’s not laws, politics, riches, fame, or power.
What makes us part of something great is our inclination to innovate and develop fantastic inventions; our innate need to evolve and become better adaptations of ourselves. Our greatness is in our ability to appreciate beauty and create astonishing masterpieces; it is our remarkable capacity to love, nurture, and enrich. That which allows us to feel empathy and compassion towards other living beings — our humanity — is our greatness.
It is that connection with each other that we somehow seemed to have lost, evanesced like abandoned images, pictures fading in the sun.
We need to be inspired and elevate our consciousness in order to realize that we, in ourselves, already embody that greatness, that when embraced and applied constructively, we can uplift each other to our full potential.
These words were written by myself four years ago, nearly forgotten, until recovered through a review of my journaled events; they are as relevant now as they were back then, perhaps even more so.
Five days ago, President Biden spoke words of optimism and resilience and the work we have to do. He reflected on the challenges that our country now faces, calling for unity as the only way to forge a path forward.
How do we unite when we’ve been fractured? Separated like rifts between tectonic plates, pulled away from each other, compelled by forces deep within the recesses of our darkened souls.
How do we look inward and awaken that which has been forgotten, like a dream from a long-past slumber?
I don’t know the answers about how we begin to heal the mortal wounds inflicted upon us, like a blow, executed with the intent to cause irrevocable harm. However, if we can find that which seems to have been lost within ourselves, perhaps then we can summon all that greatness that humanity embodies.
And only then can we unite and come together to recover, remediate mistakes made, and rebuild that which was razed to become the transcendent version of ourselves and the nation that was intended to be, and the finest that ever was.
