strength in numbers

We are human. We are imperfect.

These two qualities connect us more than any other, but they are also the very lines that pulls us apart. Our inability to understand the imperfections and human tendencies of others is what creates conflict and strife.

We seek for understanding – we yearn for someone who will tell us that what we feel, what we think, and what we do is not abnormal; that we are not strange. We seek for empathy, not sympathy; reception not acceptance. We seek for love.

And yet…when we come across someone who has felt what we’ve felt in some way, or done what we have done, we cast them away. We view them as mockeries to our pain, or even an aching reminder of the brutalities of life.

We build walls around our pain, our suffering, our mistakes…We hide behind stones of concealment, because we are sure we alone know; We alone understand what it feels like – what it means to be us.

This is the hard truth of it all:

There is only one who knows. Only one who understands. Only one who can even comprehend the logic and reason behind each action – each choice we make.

And it is not us.

How often do we fail to recognize our own behavioral instincts, until it is too late? It is one of the very reasons we slip up. It is the core to our imperfections.

We rely too much on ourselves.

It is not wrong to place faith in our own ability to choose right from wrong. Agency is the greatest gift ever given to man, and our free will is what makes life on earth possible. We have strength and power beyond anything we could ever imagine, but even those of us who recognize this are scared. Afraid to act, afraid to reach that potential…afraid of success. We are more scared of our ability to do good than our ability to do evil – because it is the harder option. More opposition, more strength, more desire… Our human nature is to take the easier path, so most of us do.

And when we do, we begin to look down upon ourselves, because we know we can do better. Deep inside of us we know there is the ability to stand on our own two feet. We know because we’ve done it before.

We have all chosen the harder path. It was a decision made long ago, when we chose life on Earth, when we rejected Satan’s plan…We set ourselves apart from the rest. We chose a mortal life – an opportunity to learn and to grow. An opportunity to feel, sorrow and pain – yes, but also joy, happiness, relief…love. We chose this!

And we can chose it again.

But not alone.

Never alone.

                I’m pretty sure I’m just rambling now, but I do believe firmly in the power of companionship. The power of friends and family – the power of just being together, as a team. When we work alone, no matter how strong we think we are, or how strong we really are, we will always be more prone to pain, hurt, anger…sin. All of Satan’s tactics work stronger on the separated – the individuals.

As painful as it may be to seek a confidant, find someone to rely on – it is the only road that leads to perfection.

Separate, we are human. Separate we are imperfect.

But together – together we are children of God.