What makes you not give up on Humanity?

“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.”

These are the words of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, a civil rights leader, humanitarian and freedom fighter, who brought India to its independence in the 1940s. Gandhi faced many hardships in his life, from being thrown off a train because of the color of his skin to being beaten up and humiliated just for standing up for his rights as a human. But he never gave up on humanity even when all that he received in return was pain and suffering. After having preached the lesson of peace and non-violence his entire life, he was shot three times in the chest by a Hindu nationalist who didn’t agree with his views.

Some would argue that Mahatma Gandhi saw the world many decades ago and things have changed a lot since. Well, perhaps that is true. What do you think? Is there any shred of humanity left in us or have we become indifferent beings, who are immune to guilt and regret? Let us understand this together, but before getting to the bottom of the question, let’s ponder what exactly humanity means.

Humanity is not one person and his deeds, or the actions of people of one race, religion or region; it entails all of us and how humane every single one of us is. Everyone knows that we are living in a world where terror is the way for people to prove their strength, people are killing their own blood for wealth, and genocide is just news that we see in the newspaper and say to ourselves that the world is going to hell and humanity is in the gutter.

(Image Courtesy: Beyond Philosophy)

If you think of it, humanity is not dead. There are still people in the world who care about others just like they do about their loved ones. If there are people who are ready to kill just for the women to remain uneducated, then there are also people who are ready to take a bullet but won’t stop working for their empowerment. Yes, we are talking about Malala Yousafzai who kept voicing her thoughts against terrorist groups of the region despite continuous threats. At the age of 15, she was shot by a Taliban gunman.

(Image Courtesy: Mayanmar Daily News)

It’s not only that, but there are billionaires in the world who, instead of leaving their wealth for their loved ones and family, have pledged more than half of it for humanitarian causes like refugee aid, poverty alleviation, medical research, criminal justice, and art and culture. The list includes some of the richest people in the world, including Bill Gates and more.

If humanity is dead, then we are the ones who killed it since the burden to keeping it alive is on our shoulders. We are the ones who see people on the street in trouble and choose to keep driving on our way because we do not want to be late. What matters to us is not if somebody loses his or her life on the street, but that our car should not get dirty. Does it not make us hypocrites that while we are ready to question everyone else about how insensitive they have become towards others, we fail to question ourselves about what we are doing in this regard?

There is both good and bad in the world and we suggest that you don’t give up on humanity only because you have witnessed more of the latter so far. Want to spark the hope of humanity in your life? Here’s how you do it.

#1. Try To See The Good In People

Open your eyes to the positive and you will find infinite moments of love and compassion. There are still people giving up their wealth for those who need it more, risk their life to save an animal, taxi drivers who can barely make ends meet returning the wallets of their passengers who forgot them and beggars sharing a part of their meal with a dog. Good is happening all around us, if only we would open our eyes.

(Image Courtesy: Metro)

#2. Give People The Chance To Redeem Themselves

Nobody in the world is entirely good and nobody in the world is entirely bad; it somewhat depends on you how you look at things. You may hate the boss who screams and yells at you all time, but he might also be that person who would do anything for his people. Your teacher may be indifferent to your struggles as a student but she may be somebody who is sacrificing just to teach you. Everyone has redeeming qualities and it’s up to us if we allow them to be overshadowed by their bad moments.

(Image Courtesy: Tes)

#3. Do Not Let The Bad Overshadow The Good

Nobody is denying that there is greed, selfishness, hypocrisy and jealousy in the world. But it is also true that there is love, compassion, kindness and honesty. The sad thing is that the bad news spreads like a wildfire, while the good one seldom reaches the masses. This way, all the good in the world is overshadowed by the bad deeds of the few. Do not let what others tell you build your perception of the world. There are many things that you haven’t heard of yet and even more that you haven’t seen, so take time, explore the world and give humanity a chance.

(Image Courtesy: Kindness) 

#4. Reach Out To Others

One simple thing you can do is reach out to others; friends, family, colleagues or whoever and ask them to share their experiences with human goodness. You will be surprised to know how many of them have amazing stories to tell. If you ever feel losing hope on humanity, then you can also scout the internet to check out genuine stories of good people doing their best to help others.

(Image Courtesy: YouTube)

#5. Inspire the Change You Want To See

In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, be the change you wish to see in the world. If a person cannot change overnight, how can the world be expected to. It takes time to learn and grow but what matters even more is a chance. We affect the people around us more than we realize we do. If a person sees you offering your seat in subway to someone who needs it more, there are high chances that they will be inspired by your actions and offer their seat to a needy person when required. Be good and you will find people being good because of you.

(Image Courtesy: Daily Mail)

Thus, it is upon us how we perceive things. There’s both good and bad, not just in the world, but within us as well which comes out time and again; nobody in the world is pure evil and no one is perfect.

What do you think about the article? Did you like it? Tell us through your comments below. Also, share with us your opinions on whether we have lost humanity. We would love to hear what you have to say on the topic. Share your experiences when you witnessed the humanity or kindness in people. We are waiting for your response.

(Featured Image Courtesy: Medella Health Care)