Different, Yet Humans
What if the things that separate us most strongly are also hiding what we have in common? (A Poem)
I’ve noticed that we spend so much time looking at our differences that we often forget the simplest truth of all:
We are all human.
The poor sometimes believe the rich could never understand their struggles, and the rich often think the same in return.
The unattractive may believe that beauty comes without loneliness, without difficulty in connecting with others. And the beautiful may believe that those considered unattractive never have to question whether affection is genuine.
I have always tried to look at both sides of things. We all carry our differences.
And yet, the real question in my mind has always been:
Can we accept how different we are… without forgetting what still makes us human?
Different, Yet Humans
It’s true that
our eyes are not drawn toward the same horizons.
And still,
each of us keeps moving forward,
guided by an invisible vision.
✨
Though
we are told we share the same rights.
Nevertheless,
that does not change the fact
that we are not all born equal.
Some enter the world healthy,
others inherit pain
or disability from the very beginning.
Some are born with strength,
others with battles already carved into their flesh.
Some open their eyes in abundance,
others in survival.
✨
It’s true that
we do not face the same threats.
And yet,
we are all threatened by something.
Some enter life
threatened by hunger or sickness,
others by silence,
loneliness,
or a heart slowly losing its light.
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No doubt
we do not fight the same wars.
And yet,
everyone is fighting a battle
others cannot always see.
Some fight the world.
Others fight their own minds.
✨
It’s true that
we have not suffered the same wounds.
We do not all know the same pain.
Our blood is not spilled for the same reasons.
Nevertheless,
we all carry scars…
some perhaps still open.
✨
It’s true that
we do not share the same flaws,
nor the same vices.
And our demons do not wear the same faces.
Still,
we all carry a darker side within us.
And tell me…
when light becomes too violent,
too blinding for the eyes,
how different is it really
from the deepest darkness?
✨
We are all both sides of the coin:
ignorant and wise,
humble and arrogant,
kind and contemptuous,
as capable of good as of harm…
We live through the eyes of others.
And yet,
we are kings within our own worlds,
and sometimes prisoners
of what others make of us in theirs.
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It is true that
our lives do not carry the same energy.
We do not all draw our strength
from the same wells.
And yet,
no source flows forever.
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Of course our hearts
do not beat to the same rhythm.
We do not move through
the same emotions.
And still,
no life truly escapes friction.
And despite all this…
we all know kindness.
We all give love,
though not always gently,
not always wisely.
For even the driest lands
can still welcome
rebellious flowers,
wild flowers.
✨
It’s true that
our lives do not hold
the same value in the eyes of the world.
And yet,
every life is precious.
Every life carries its own worth.
Useless here,
indispensable somewhere else.
✨
It’s true that we walk upon the same earth.
We all navigate the troubled waters of life.
And yet…
we do not follow the same paths.
We are not moving in the same direction.
For we do not share the same destiny…
even if the same ending awaits us all.
Mirror Question:
Have you ever looked at someone’s life and assumed they had it easier…
without seeing the battle they were quietly carrying?
Author’s Note
These lines came to me during my night shifts at work. It was a reflection that had been lingering in my mind for a long time already. But being in an environment where I could observe different people, with different strengths and different weaknesses, I could not help but quietly whisper these simple words to myself.
There is something I was told a long time ago: no struggle is ever truly small. Each person faces life according to their own measure. What may seem simple to me could feel like hell for someone else, and the opposite can be true as well.
For at the end of the day, we are all human. We may carry different problems and different joys, but they are still problems and joys nonetheless, often leaving behind similar emotions in different forms.
A special thank you to anna and Sattie R for encouraging me to finish this piece as well.
I hope you enjoyed it.
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With clarity,
The Mirror Room
Odel A.
I can admit that I have in the past done that. Looking back now I see how foolish it was of me to do so. I sat down and thought back on everything I saw and realized that I was only looking at the surface. I did not look beyond it until I sat to think about everything I saw and experienced then.
We do not all know the same pain… Nevertheless, we all carry scars” is such a powerful line. Its a reality of life different lives, different wounds, same human heart.