I love people, all people. I do my best writing when I describe one of the beautiful souls that I have been lucky enough to know and cherish. I have an ability to see deeply into the hearts of the people whom I encounter. That talent helped me to be more than just a purveyor of information with my students. I ultimately became known as “Mama B” because I felt a deep connection both with the young people whom I shepherded and the teachers whom I mentored. I read the faces of the people around me. 

My skill at understanding when people need consoling is both a gift and a kind of curse. I feel the suffering of others so deeply that I cannot simply look the other way. There are times when I am almost overwhelmed by the heartbreaking difficulties that I encounter. When I become obsessed with comforting those in need I am unrelenting.  My intensity is sometimes mistaken for overreaction. It can be off putting for some who insist that it is not my role to constantly be measuring the pulse of the people around me. I suppose that much like a doctor I have trained myself to watch for symptoms of distress. I have an ability to diagnose unseen traumas of the heart before they become visible to others. 

More often than not the pain that I find in the people around me comes from deeply rooted societal ills. I see that I must study the issues and become an advocate for everyone who is suffering from diseases caused by poverty, abuse, injustice. I never met George Floyd, but I understood him because I have known many whose lives were like his. I embraced the protests that resulted from his death because I had learned over and over again how inequities all too often sap the life out of individuals born under the condemnation of prejudice. While I did not condone the violence that sometimes flared in the name of injustice, I also understood the prejudices and unfairness that so many people of color experience through no fault of their own. 

I have advocated for those with mental illnesses because I watched my dear beautiful mother become defined by the symptoms of her bipolar disorder in the eyes of so many people. They were unable to see the kindness and courage that she maintained in spite of the suffering caused by the illness that she did not choose. I knew that under the cloak of sadness and mania that often returned to plague her was one of the most extraordinary souls to ever live on this earth. So it is with so many people living with mental disorders and so I also advocate for them. 

I have talked one on one with young people whose parents brought them illegally into the United States when they were toddlers. They have received a reprieve for a time by being known as dreamers but they live in constant fear that they will one day be deported and sent back to places that they have never known. They worry that their parents will be forced to leave them behind. The pressures of uncertainty color every aspect of their lives. They fear traveling beyond the borders of where they now live. They long to know relatives from the places where they were born whom they never met. It’s difficult to imagine being afraid all the time, but this is their legacy. I fight for them as well. 

There is far too much misunderstanding and unwillingness to really get to know each person as an individual in our world today. Too often we do not see beyond our own prejudices when we judge others around us. We carry fears of entire groups of people as we navigate through our lives. We have accepted stereotypes about people rather than getting to know them personally. I know that in my own journey I have evolved from the ignorance of isolation with only like minded people. My work introduced me to a whole new world of individuals who helped me to understand that when all is said and done we all bleed the same. We all laugh and cry. We all love and feel the same kind of emotions. Nonetheless some groups have been artificially deemed to be less than others. Perhaps this is what grieves me more than anything else. 

I’m having a very difficult struggle right now because I see people fomenting fear and hate on a grander scale than is usual. I see individuals dividing us into good and evil, religious and Satanic, legal and illegal, superior and inferior. They prey on our sense of security and encourage us to arm ourselves both literally and figuratively lest others take from us what we treasure. I advocate for those who see the big picture and offer solace in a big tent with room for everyone regardless of differences. 

The world around us can feel quite overwhelming these days. So many people are asking us to hear them, see them, feel them. It would be wrong to ignore them but all of us, including me, have to understand how much emotional lifting we can handle and still be effective. We might start by insisting that those with the power to make the changes that would help be held accountable for working together. In this election year I will be looking for leaders who are willing to work on the issues that matter, not for only for those who support them but for all people around the globe. it’s time for all of us to see the masses as individuals, to listen to their cries for help and to feel the pain that they carry. It’s time to break out of the ignorance of our bubbles