By Team ClatsopNews
Early Wednesday morning a man lost everything he owned in the Oregon Coast Surf.
Everything. He. Owned.
It doesn’t matter why he was there. It doesn’t matter where he was coming from or where he was going. It doesn’t matter what his occupation is, if he even has an occupation or if his occupation is worthy of being recognized in the eyes of some. It doesn’t matter how old he is. It doesn’t matter how healthy or unhealthy he is. It doesn’t matter what he looks like. It doesn’t matter if he has wealth or very little to his name.
None of this matters or should matter in order for a community of people to be kind. Where there is a lack of kindness, there is usually a lack of empathy and where there is a lack of empathy there is a lack of connection; of community.
Our days are spent scrolling our news feeds instead of looking at what’s in front of us, posting moments instead of living them, finding fuel in likes, shares and reposts rather than in nature, conversation and true connection. We take to our keyboards to roast one another or say words that, when meeting face-to-face in the grocery store, we would never have the guts to utter.
The greatest lesson you can learn in life is one that can be learned right in the pages of Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ – no matter where you are in the world.
The lesson is this:
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”
Early Wednesday morning a man lost everything he owned in the Oregon Coast Surf. Take a minute to consider things from his point of view; take a minute to climb into his skin and walk around in it.
This man has a name just like you and I. This man is somebody’s child – just like you and I. This man is a parent to children of his own, like many of us. This man is a human being, just like you and I, who happened to get his vehicle trapped in the surf of the Oregon Coast. It could’ve happened to any of us – the circumstances don’t make a difference. There isn’t a single person in our community or this world who are above mistakes and unfortunate happenings.
Above all, this man has a need to love and be loved, just like you and I.
Every single human on this planet no matter where they go to sleep at night and wake up in the morning, no matter the tongue they speak, no matter the color of their skin, no matter how rich or poor they have two wants and needs: to love and to be loved.
Chaos ensues in this world because there is a lack of either or both of these in the life of any single individual. A lack of love either given or received should not be met with a lack of love. It does not cancel out, it metastasizes. It can metastasize with a single comment on Facebook on a news article. It can metastasize around our dinner tables, in the grocery store – in the words we speak to ourselves. As it metastasizes, it causes a ripple effect that spills into our circles, our communities, our cities, our states, and our country.
But do you know what else metastasizes? Love. At the end of the day, it’s up to you whether you choose to love with your thoughts, words and actions. But remember, just because you live in a small rural community on the Oregon Coast does not mean that the ripple effect of your lack of love is not felt in the larger community made up by the human family.
Early Wednesday morning a man lost everything he owned in the Oregon Coast Surf. Take a moment to consider things from his point of view – take a moment to climb into his skin and walk around in it. Would you appreciate someone making the comment you just posted?
At the end of the day, it could’ve been any of us. Be kind.
A GoFundMe has been created to assist in recuperating the losses Rick Langel experienced due to this tragic accident. Consider donating by clicking here.
