
Where’s the fire?
We cannot achieve things without working collectively. And as I’ve grown, I’ve become inclined to seek people who help nurture embers into roaring fires, finding people that help refine my own flame while I help refine theirs.
You cannot teach someone to have fire if they don’t give a damn. Given the opportunity, this is each human’s super power, the potential for internal fire in their bellies to make a difference, to do something outside of benefiting their immediate selves. I’m talking about the fire that itches in the face of all the shit going on in the world, the drive and passion — great and small — to develop one’s self, to move the needle in some way. Especially for those given the access to resources and opportunities to do so.
If you look around the world and cannot be moved to impact it in some way — outside of your own gains, your own capital, your own well-being — then I don’t and won’t have the energy or space to help take you there. You can talk to me if you’d like, but if it starts venturing into looking for absolution or some level of emotional assuagement, I won’t be there. Expending continuous emotional labor on individuals who cannot motivate themselves to care enough, to understand the stark things going on in this world isn’t worth it to me. There are better ways for me to use my energy.
That is not to say I don’t believe in working together, or working with individuals who truly want to stretch and flex, to learn and grow together. I do believe in that. I believe in establishing relationships and dynamics where people fuel each other, derive meaning from one another and our collective experiences. To learn, to grow, and to help one another overcome gaps in our own understanding.
I do believe in that. But we need to start from the same vantage point of wanting to do something with our privilege and move forward from there. If you don’t care yourself, you cannot expect me to care enough to make you care.
