Own Your Humanity

.... just imagine for one second ....

you know 

it’s funny

well actually it is not funny 

at all 

in our world 

we are taught 

toughness is a virtue 

if you lack strength 

you will not succeed 

to succeed is paramount

you know 

survival of the fittest 

and all that ….

but tell me 

how is it we define success?

is it turning a blind eye 

to innocents caught up in an age old war?

is it looking the other way 

when we see the young sex workers of Asia?

is it turning away boats filled with 

people only seeking their little piece of paradise?

is it the refusal to give 

when we can clearly see others are in need?

is it being so opinionated 

we forget to stop and understand the real life consequences 

of opinions of the blind masses?

it it serving ourselves

to get ahead?

is it getting obese in civilisation 

caught up in eating our troubles away 

whilst munching on a burger viewing

stories of those close to starvation

on our hundred inch television screens?

is it observing with inward questioning 

as sentient beings are slaughtered, killed and dissected 

to appease our ever growing hunger?

is it having enough money to laugh at the world 

and not give a rat’s a*s the world cannot laugh 

with you?

and of course the list goes on 

no………no……..no!

it cannot be 

surely we have all been lead astray 

for none of that can mean success 

and on the exhale 

imagine if you will

just for a second 

if instead of being taught by 

society 

to measure ourselves on success 

imagine 

if only for a moment 

we were taught to 

OWN OUR HUMANITY 

each of us 

individually 

so all of us collectively 

can enjoy the gift

of existence 

right here 

right now 

tell me how do you see the world 

if it was 

that we all were taught to

own our humanity ?

‘the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do’ 

Steve Jobs

Author's Note

happy world population day ...

Reviews

[Ladysue]

Oh my friend you speak so poignantly. Your words echo my sentiments wholeheartedly. I love the 2nd to last verse and title OWN OUR HUMANITY. I love that phrase because it gets to the core of our existence..to love and have compassion..not necessarily to find heaven on earth, but for each of us to release heaven while we are on earth..You write with such wisdom and your writing has a beauty to it that it moves the reader.

[KWP]

you know it all seems so easy - but I guess some people do not listen with their souls - Thank you beautiful one for your lovely thoughts - restore faith you do X

[Ladysue]

It does seem so easy yet it is so difficult to undo a lot of societies conditioning. I truly enjoyed this poem. :)

[Ladysue]

Yes I agree some people don't listen with their souls..

[daninstockholm]

ahhhh,, I like this Kay!! I like it lots and lots!! This is a subject that i blog on, equality and the need for social balance and equity, on my blog a lot, it's very close to my heart. I think You and i might have much in common, my dear.. Well done!! xxx

[KWP]

it's a bit long-winded - needs a revamp i think :) thanks all the same and good to know we flow in tthe same river XX

[daninstockholm]

nahhhh,, not really long-winded,, sometimes we don't write poetry for art, we write it because,, and that's enough, isn't it?...at any rate, if you do revamp it, let me know, I'd be curious,, and yeah,, it's very nice to meet someone in my own stream, xxxxxx

[Autumn Lyric]

Thank you for having the courage to address this topic. Very interesting read...

[KWP]

hey there LaShaye and lovely to meet you :) thank you for reading I have just re-red this and grimaced at the layout - I must get back and fix that :) hope your day is fabulous X

[Autumn Lyric]

Hope your day is going well... perhaps a little patching up here or there but, It speaks volumes in the manner in which it was written. It has a stream -of-consciousness feel to it and a lot of what's really in the heart flows from such verses.

[KWP]

hey yeah - I guess you are right about 'the stream of consciousness' thanks for you honesty in regards to the 'patching up' ... much appreciated X

[Ben Noah Suri]

The world is an illusion and everything is not what it appears to be... True success is actually failure while true failure is the real success. Failing materially is winning spiritually... All that Man needs is humanity. Not Success or failure..... Lovely write....

[B]

Strength truly is weakness

The strong feel so much
Cry so much
give too much
Can't get tough


Toughness is weakness
I love this poem

So much humanity in your work

[Christopher Robin]

In answer to the first half of your...prose. Yes, that is how any cynic would define success, because that is 'how things are'. As to the second half, I would hazard a guess that over 90% of the people able to read this have been taught to own their humanity, yet here we sit, and read, and write, and age, and the world does not look saved to me.
It's a poignant topic, I don't think enough people are educated as to how real a threat overpopulation is, I hope that changes soon. As with many works of yours, if you wrote horizontally rather than vertically, and added commas, this would be a paragraph, your formatting does make it look awfully like a poem. Another fascinating diary entry.

[KWP]

ha and there you have it - your last comment pretty much summed it up :) as wth the format - well yeah you know I make these things up as I go - rules they say ? whaaaa ? I really should get some formal knowledge on this stuff I know ... I like the horizontal because it is how I would say it ...

anyway you are up early - thanks for stopping by - nice to see you bud X

[Einstein Noodle]

this is why i went from watching and reading news for about 3hrs total a day to about 15 minutes ..whew!! this is why i am saddened/frightened for the future of my grandchildren ..well the reason you suggest as well as a whole lot more ... "Owning Your Humanity" ... assuming its is something positive right?! .. your inhale section reminded me of something that Jesus Christ said to the young rich man that observed all the laws of religion .. Jesus told him there was one more thing for him to do ..sell all his riches, give to the poor and follow Me ..of course he liked his riches too much and walked away saddened with himself .. i often wonder what happened to him ...

so do we celebrate our population or do we celebrate trying to control it?? i hitch hiked all over the USA waaaaaaaaaaay back when .. i happened to be in San Francisco during the Chinese New Year (what a time) and ran into a man, much older than me, (about 25:) dancing in the street .. he wore a suite, white shirt, top few buttons undone and no tie. He told me the minuscules would take over the earth .. i had no idea what minuscules were but as he continued his preaching i got the hint ... then he pulled five dollars out of his wallet and gave it to me (i must have looked needy) actually we never had much$ at all on the road so was very grateful to have enough to by breakfast the next day ... never will forget that guy ..wonder what happened to him too ;)) love your writting .. always truth ridden and challenging for me to do a bit better if i can
E.

[KWP]

Hey E ... yay ... i get to wake up to you today ... that made me smile ... I think the earth will become overpopulated ... I think we will all die out ... its years away and I am not being negative ,,, but that's just the natural way of things ... the universe will try and rid itself of any disease ... or collapse on itself ... we will be a part of that just like all else ... but of course we shall flow on so really theres nothing to worry about ...

LOVE YA XX

[Einstein Noodle]

love you too!

[J Schwenk]

This is really good! Lately, I feel there are too many people in this world and don't know how people will support themselves as the years go by. There are poor people in the USA who eat more than the poor in other countries. Gas is a non renewable resource and cars run on it. How will cars run in the future when gas runs out? There are too many people in this world and it's difficult to support each one of us. I read on an article that if we stop supporting the troops in war for 8 days, we have enough to fund the children around the world education for 12 years. I feel the world has way too many people than we can count and sex is only making the population increase in size.

[Rudi J.P. Lejaeghere]

You're so right, of course, KWP. We have become indifferent to all the injustice in the world. Thank you for sharing this inspiring poem. :) Rudi

[emmajoy]

'If f only for a moment - we were taught to - OWN OUR HUMANITY - each of us - individually - so all of us collectively - can enjoy the gift- of existence - right here - right now .. '

The words above are a call from such a gentle heart.

There are always phrases in your work that hit home, both forcibly and gently. In this you've expressed your pain and discomfort without sermonising but made such valid points.

Your poem is from both heart and headlines. Your awareness is sensitive though logical.. not easy to write with a foot in both thought processes. Seems like me and many others, you're fully aware that too many people know the price of everything and the value of nothing or very little.

Surely a striving for success is born in fear..Once upon a time, people shared what there was and so many of today's communities think of that as 'beneath them, shows a lack of pride, etc. The sharing of the loaves and little fishes is thought of as myth .. when it means people holding hands not holding out their hands.

Sorry, am going on about my thoughts, opinions. See, how you've opened the flood.gates!

Your writing is superb both in its 'penmanship' and its idealism.. and there is absolutely nothing wrong with the latter.. long live the need for just being happy with what there is rather than climbing on other people's shoulders and hearts to have that bit more..

I see the world and often cry, but then see a kindness from the strangest place or person and realise - things aren't over... yet.

Brilliant in every way!

[KWP]

Love you thoughts - love your words - they serve to inspire - so thank you for that - they give me clarity - they remind me to never let go fo hope because yes there are kindred spirits all around - LOVE TO YOU BEAUTIFUL X