It was a glamorous trip! A week in the most glorious ocean on a catamaran. It was pinch-yourself-boujee:
- Endless food.
- Intentional hosts.
- Quality time with my man.
- New friends who were there for adventure and connection.
It was magical. But like most fairy tales, there was unavoidable turmoil under the veil of perfection. Half of the people on our boat were soon green with seasickness. The first couple of days were the worst. They had sea sickness patches behind their ears and meds that knocked them out. They came prepared with an arsenal of prevention and preparation. But the thing that actually worked was when the captain said, "Come help me drive." His years of sailing experience taught him that instead of obsessing over the problem and planning a thousand ways to avoid it, it was better to shift their focus. Once they got in the wind and focused on a goal, their sickness quickly became manageable at worst and disappeared at best.
The main warning was to ensure you were not in your cabin when we were sailing to avoid feeling the worst. Fortunately, I don't get seasick, so I ran into my cabin one afternoon to grab something. Looking out the window, the water so close to my eye level, I sat mesmerized. The longer I stayed, the more I started to feel the queasiness.
As with many of my ponderings, I'm not sure where the thought came from. Out of nowhere, I was overwhelmed with what it must have been like for Africans who found themselves forced into the bottom of a slave ship. I tried to imagine how a human feels when seasickness hits for the first time and you're trapped. Were they cold? Hot? I picture the terror and confusion, loneliness, heartbreak….the list goes on….It wrecked me.
Watching how kind, gentle, and proactive people were on our catamaran when people were sick makes it hard to imagine you could knowingly leave someone to suffer when it's within your power to help. When I picture slave traders heartless enough to be on the same ship and knowingly leave people trapped in agony....Most of us would never be that cruel...
However, when there is distance between us and the mistreated, it's worth considering: Am I capable of being just as calloused and complacent?
I always want to be honest….I put this pondering on a shelf in my mind. I felt cringy even going there when, in this story, I am yet again the one in luxury and privilege.
Then my calendar nudged me: "Human Rights Day." I felt the flood of emotions from that day in my fancy room, feeling queasy and grief-stricken looking out a window at the water pondering the fate of others.
The temptation as a white girl who has had a pretty lovely life is to avoid this topic like the plague. But I am cautiously sharing this moment because maybe someone else needs a prompt to consider people whose fundamental human rights have been and are being desolated. Let your heart consider the enslaved person--it's still happening today--every time my hand reaches for fast fashion, I feel a check in my spirit. Every time I consider kids who have unthinkable trauma forcefully woven into their stories, I feel sick. Yesterday, when I saw a young man ride a bike into the woods and then emerge with his cardboard sign, the reality of his situation hit me like a ton of bricks. I'll think about the girl I met when serving at a food bank once. As we chatted, I was struck with a shocking understanding that our lives were very similar until one choice shifted her on a trajectory to homelessness.
I never want to take the luxury God offers me for granted, nor do I want to feel guilty for His blessings. I DO want to steward those blessings with wisdom. I want to use whatever platform He invites me to stand on to its full capacity. I will encourage anyone who reads my words or hears me speak to care more and consider His creation valuable and worth defending.
Today, we are surrounded by twinkling lights, looking forward to the celebration of the birth of God in baby form, who intentionally stepped away from luxury for a moment to impact the world forever. It's worth pondering how our lives could follow His lead. How can I rearrange my abundance to offer others a more comfortable life? How can I manage my wants and 'rights' to make the world a brighter place?
We wouldn't need the next Mother Teresa if we each offered her intentional, generous, sacrificial spirit to our neighbor.
On Human Rights Day, make one difference. Who can you SEE today? Who can you encourage or help? How can your influence be used for impact instead of spotlight? Be mindful of the tendency for self-focus this season especially. It's a beautiful world full of people worth meeting. Today, chat with someone in line and smile at someone who looks lonely. Maybe you can't obsess over each purchase, but when you have a strong suspicion, when the price is too good to be true, you can choose not to support companies who sell cheap goods off the hardship of others. You can reach out to the person who seems vulnerable and offer a safe place. You can pack a bag of non-perishables to hand to the guy with the sign who lives in the woods. You can volunteer, you can serve, you can give, you can pray. You can live it out in front of your children and dream with them about a world where people don't suffer.
Life will always have hardship even in the most enviable situation. When you feel the pang of discomfort, let that be a catalyst to think of others with a renewed sense of compassion and empathy. Then use that momentum to make the world a little brighter, easier, and more hopeful for others.