Perhaps it's time for a change.

Been a hard morning. Last night I was with friends, discussing the meaning of the Zimmerman trial with heavy hearts and rage before a Saturday night out. I tried to stay level headed and keep my friends the same. "You can't be surprised. This is just the status quo. Don't generalize. You can't live your life harboring anger," I said.

But this morning...

After reading the status updates on facebook, it was hard to hold back the tears. My bhuddist-influenced, carefree attitude left and gave way to a grave sadness that deepened as I read and continued, for hours, to barrage my soul with reminders of how messed up a country we live in. If any of you reading think justice was served here, that race was not an influence in this trial or the event being tried, that we live in a post-racial society; man, just sit down and shut the hell up.

Listen.

One lesson that we are forced to learn as we grow up is that we are always wrong. No matter how right we might think we are, we are always wrong when someone challenges us on our ideals. Truth is relative, and until you attempt to see the world by stepping into someone else's shoes, you will forever remain ignorant.

It is hard to have faith in others when prejudices cloud your judgment. But one thing remains true, and must be true if we are to believe that progress awaits us on this earth: we all come from the same stock. We are all human, and we have made it this far on the evolutionary ladder because we have the same needs. We need to challenge ourselves to believe in one another. And in order to do that, we need to challenge and believe in ourselves.

It became glaringly obvious to me last night that, as much as we might try to ignore, deny, or conceal them; there exists severe, ugly prejudices in every single one of us. And they will remain there, continually influencing our psyche and our decisions, until we confront and destroy them. 

Perhaps instead of trying to find blame in others and find external solutions, we can all decide to make ourselves the solution. If the world were just filled with better people.. I mean, just imagine that. It may sound idealistic, but how truly simple is it to recognize that the greatest responsibility you have is to yourself? EVERYone can do that.

Stop reacting. Stop basing your actions and opinions on others. Be the action. Make the conscious effort to make yourself better. Run away from yourself, and we all suffer.