Being a Survivor (Co-written by Debby-S)

If there is one thing we as humanity have in common, it would be this: we have all survived at least one thing in our lives. And that something is the same for each and every one of us. We have all survived living on this earth up until this moment. And surviving and staying alive is not always the easiest thing to do. From the moment we wake up in the morning, until the moment we lay ourselves to bed at night, we each face many challenges.

And even though we know that everyone faces many challenges, we only tend to focus on our own problems. In doing so, we forget that everyone around us is fighting some kind of battle with every step they take. We tend to get some kind of “tunnel vision”, when it comes to the problems of others. Sometimes we even hear about the same problem we have in someone else’s life, but we still tend to see ours as bigger or more urgent. In doing so we often treat each other in such a way that we unknowingly might put more pressure on the lives of others around us.

What we need to learn as a people is to not forget our humanity, our compassion. So no matter how bad your day is, know that someone else’s day could be even worse. The challenges you face every day, the things you struggle with, would be like a vacation to someone else. Since no one can determine what is hard for you or that your problem is small or big, you cannot do that for another either. Nobody knows the struggle unless they have lived it themselves.

That one girl, who you always see being happy and always smiling, could be screaming for help inside, but nobody hears her cries. Maybe she gets teased by her peers for being a prude, because she is always wearing long sleeved shirts. But she could be facing depression and is cutting her wrist and is ashamed of her scars.

The guy at your office who is always ready to help with whatever you are doing, might need your help too once in awhile. He might be going through something sad and just needs someone to talk to. Sometimes all that is needed is that genuine attention, someone that listens or just being acknowledged for the things he does for others.

The young woman you envy because she is living a comfortable life in a big house, that can go out at any time because she doesn’t have the responsibility of children, might be feeling lonely and might be longing to have a child of her own, but through a cruel twist of fate she is barren and cannot conceive. But everyone around her keeps asking her when she is going to have a baby, calling her selfish for being able to party and being free to do whatever she pleases. Accusing her of putting her wants before having kids.

That old guy who wishes you good morning everyday when you walk past him in the streets, who you ignore or wave away, because you think he’s an annoying homeless creep, might not have any family or friends and is just longing for a smile and someone to say good morning back.

And sometimes our problems are not problems at all, but desires and the need to have more and better. While you complain about having a bad internet connection, or your favorite juice being sold out at your local Chinese store or how you desperately need a new iPhone, there are people out there who don’t even know where their next meal comes from or don’t know that there is a possibility of clean water coming out of a faucet.

Like I said before, each and every one of us faces so many challenges on a daily basis, challenges we don’t even know are possible to have. We are so easy to point out how hard our life is, but forget the good we are blessed to have.

I am not here to point fingers, but I am simply trying to awake awareness and promote understanding. I am trying to show a better way, a more positive light to shine on your life and those of others.

In these trying times, where life is not always as easy as we want it to be, we fight and we survive and we work ourselves through difficult times. And even though our lives are not yet where we want it to be, we should not forget how blessed we truly are.

And especially now that the holidays are upon us, whether you celebrate them or not, it is not hard to spread hope and love and kindness to the people around us. You do not have to go out to buy a big or expensive gift. But being nice to another, giving a smile to the people we pass every day, listening to one another, that is a gift too. For you don’t know what difficulties they might face. You do not know if their struggles are not unlike your own and all they want is to survive too.

We cannot always help everyone, but giving a small, kind gesture to another, something as small as a smile, can help someone survive and restore their faith in mankind even if it’s just for another day. And sometimes, all that you need, is just one more day, one more step, one more smile.