Life Is One Hell of a Roller-Coaster

Says the Man Before He Dies

“Sure I eat my feelings, but I save the emotional roller coaster for dessert” ― Josh Stern, And That’s Why I’m Single: What Good Is Having A Lucky Horseshoe Up Your Butt When The Horse Is Still Attached?

We are amid a pandemic and I cannot get over how selfish people have become. In times of fear, people are more likely to use every resource they have on themselves before they think about another person. I am not like that. I might ensure that I can sustain for the next month or two before opening my wallet but there are other ways that we can ensure ourselves the complexity of realizing the world is not about us, but about each other.

I once wrote on my own blog about a Humanitarian Challenge. This challenge was taken up by the lead singer of Coldplay. (I was surprised he even read my work at the time.) But he did. My challenge was a thirty-day challenge which can be adapted to a weekly or monthly challenge. Every great idea comes at a cost. At the time, I had overloaded my blog with too many ADDS, and it clogged. I lost all my articles relating to this challenge. Tears and anguish did not begin to describe how I felt that day.

The anguish does not begin to describe the loss I felt that day. I did learn that I may want another place to record my articles and maybe dig deeper into trying to remember what I was leading into the challenge.

What I know is that I remember bits and pieces of the challenge. A challenge like this one made me realize the importance of being alive and being appreciative of everything you have earned and have. I was once told by an old man on a bus that “Life Is One Hell of a Roller-coaster, but you can either fight against the current or become like everyone else. What you pick is based on the people you surround yourself with, the activities you take up, and the habits you develop. But learning will always be key to rising above the average.”

He was riding a local transportation bus with a suit on. Everyone has their stereotypes about local transportation. Only the ones who cannot afford a car ride on a bus. Or it is meant for old people. This man changed my perspective. He was a lawyer who enjoyed being around people and helping people. He taught me status does not always need to shine so brightly. All that money can go to better things than a new Benz.

“It’s through your wounds that your light pours out into the world.” ― Abhijit Naskar, Servitude is Sanctitude

Humanitarian

I believe a humanitarian is a mix between a peacemaker and a determined person who wants to make the world a better place. Often, we find humanitarianism falls under Doctors, firefighters, police officers, EMTs, teachers, philanthropists, and Animal shelters. But I have always had this idea that people do not want to only help themselves. Just think about the millionaires who have committed suicide because of loneliness. Think about Justin Beiber’s song Lonely. Sometimes, humanitarianism is not just about doing and being proactive but by thinking about what you can do for each other by adding to our own world.

Every habit thought, and transaction adds to our world. We are the habits, people, and jobs we consume. I think about what I do daily because time is not reversible. I think about ways I could make money playing video games and then realize the competition in that steamrolled area is as wide as blogging. But it made me realize how precious our time is. What we do with it can change the world around us.

Originally, this challenge was meant to inspire and uplift everyone through hard times but also remind the world that if we have extra time, money, or ability we should use it to help others as well as ourselves. When we uplift another person…there is a chance they will respond back in kind. But even if they do not…you will at least feel better because of it.

After hearing the words of the man on the bus, I thought about a challenge such as that to bring humanity back to a sense of being a giving community. Even though historically humanity has always fought over power and money.

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

What does this challenge mean to Me?

I grew up in a disadvantaged home. I don’t mean this by decree of never having money. I mean even when my father did make money, I was still struggling because by disadvantaged there were always issues of some sort in my home. But the one thing my parents proved to me is that even if they had issues with each other, they both had a tender heart to desire to help others. Even if they could not turn that heart for one another.

The concept of helping another person who has been pushed down or put between a rock and a hard spot and forced to deal with unforeseen circumstances is always rewarding. But not in a money kind of way. I try not to think about money even if it is the devil’s way of survival. When I help someone, it is from the bottom of my heart. It is not for any other reason than because if I was in their position, I would want some kindness from a stranger.

In our day and age, people are becoming far more obsessed with this concept of having more or needing more in general. Cheating has become a norm and desiring early retirement has become the new fad. But what is the point in that? You chase something for instant gratification and there is nothing more than emptiness after.

I desire a more complicated and fierce kind of love. One that results in us trying to help our fellow human beings be stronger, honest, and more forward about what they want in life. A stronger meaning with complex checks and balances is what should hold us grounded on Earth and make us thankful for the air in our lungs.

I think a challenge such as the one I made up is about bringing people together and learning the art of being grateful for what they have. Too many people are searching for more, settling for less, arguing over simple solutions, and taking too much time wasting it. I do not believe I founded the idea of the challenge but my own personal challenge with tweaks.

“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.” ― Charles Dickens

Reality Like The Rails

During a pandemic, it is hard for nearly everyone. People lose jobs, get evicted, and start seeing many quarrelsome issues that wouldn’t usually strike their venomous heads up, unless we were struggling. People are turning to escapism like alcohol, drugs, and sex as a way to cope with the reality of having to be as far away from the people we love as we can be.

I decided to try to dig up my challenge my google docs ( Thank god, I tend to be a horde of all of my writing). There is no better time than during a time of stress, and panic to do a challenge that will make us think, appreciate, and respect one another.

Our world is swift when it comes to hitting us with some brakes to force us to see through our own selfishness or inconsiderate for one another’s health. I mean when did not wear a mask become so cool that we refuse to do so and put more people at risk of dying? Why is it that groups of people gather for shopping without a mask day? I get it. But did you know doctors wear masks nearly daily regardless of the pandemic? You don’t see them complaining? The rails of life are surely pulling at the seams of the American people and what they desire.

Without further ado, I bring you my challenge;

“I hope you remember that if you encounter an obstacle on the road, don’t think of it as an obstacle at all… think of it as a challenge to find a new path on the road less traveled.” ― Hyeonseo Lee, The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story

The Challenge -Spread The Love

1. Put your cell phone away for a whole day. Twenty-Four hours from the time you wake up to the time you fall asleep. You can write about anything you witness without your electronic device in your hand. This means no social media for one full day. ( I know I’m starting rough but it’s my first day. Gotta show your dedication. Or you can try it for a whole week if you truly want to grasp the world.)
2. I want you to write about another person who did a humanistic act. You could even take a picture, or write a poem.
3. Describe what humanism means to you.
4. I want you to pay for one item for someone other than yourself, and describe why you did this because understanding is the key to starting this movement.
5. I want you to write about what it would be like to be a pet.
6. Go to your local food bank and donate food. Describe the experience, talk with the people, and write about it.
7. Walk. Go for a walk and describe anything that stands out to you, or write about what didn’t stand out to you. If you see a family focus on their conversation or so forth.
8. Pick up trash on the ground and throw it away. Describe what the Earth means to you.
9. This is a reflection day. You are free to choose to do any of the above again.
10. Buy someone’s coffee.
11. Surprise someone with something special that is handcrafted.
12. Pick a song that has a good message on the top forty and explain why it is giving a good message to children and people all over the world. ( We need to look at what is being taught on the radio.)
13. Pick a horrible song on the top forty list that gives the wrong impression to society.
14. Request a good message song on the radio
15. Write about the reason you are undertaking this challenge
16. Go to a museum, or a zoo and do not take pictures but describe the life of the passer-byes that you see. (You can always go to a park and get a similar reaction.)
17. Talk to a stranger. Yes. Walk up to a stranger and have a conversation with them. You can do this with a few strangers.
18. Pretend to be a Trump supporter and see how angry people get at you. (Jk Jk.) I really want you to watch a television show that you feel has a good meaning behind it.
19. Be adventurous. Do something that is not something you typically do.
20. Pick something from the last ten, and repeat it.
21. Feed your neighbor’s pet.
22. You can bring food to your work for everyone just to do it.
23. Do something nice for someone else.
24. Buy a toy for a child.
25. Buy a stranger dinner.
26. Go get flowers and lay them out on the graveyard for the dead.
27. Go to your local store and buy 20 dollars worth of stuff to show local support.
28. Take time to clean your house for everyone.
29. Pick a world event and discuss why it bothers you.
30. TAKE THIS CHALLENGE AND SPREAD IT AROUND. THANK YOU.

Why Do I Bring This Challenge To Illumination?

We are a place of love, inspiration, dedication, and hard work. We want to challenge, inspire, and love one another. I think this challenge is a wonderful way to show our appreciation for the world. ( You can even modify if you want to.)

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