I want anyone who sees this to go outside today. To talk a walk. Or just sit on your porch or sidewalk. To look at the people in the cars and see the people passing by on the street. Look at them. Not just their clothes or shoes. Their hair or make up. The color of their skin or their gender. I want you to look at their faces. Their eyes. The way they move and how they carry themselves and the weight on their shoulders. Do they walk like a leaf floating steadily on a pond? Do they step with the airy and bounciness of a cloud? Do they leap like a playful fox? Do they bound like a bloodhound on a trail? Or do they slump with heavy steps like they’re carrying a boulder? I want you to look and see the person, not just their shell. Do you see how the father walks with his little girl, no older than six? He’s happier than any man because he’s proud of what she’ll become but he’s terrified because he knows the world she’ll have to find a way to thrive in is going to try and belittle her to furthest possible extent. Do you see how the old lady walks by herself but doesn’t feel like she’s alone? She’s wise and has had plenty of time. Her partner’s there but you can’t see them. Do you see how the mailman carries the packages to your neighbors door while barely holding himself up? He’s tired but still has bills to pay. Do you see how the teenage girl and her friends talk as they walk past? She looks like she’s having fun but she’s scared on the inside with a pepper spray in her pocket that she grips tighter when a man passes by just a little too close. Do you see how the poor man passes the rich and glares at their fancy clothes and houses? He wants to be rich because money would solve a lot of problems but you can’t be pure in a world run by corrupt people and be able to have what they do. When you’re walking down the street you don’t notice. Everyone is in their own world so it’s up to the few of us who can, to step outside our world and just see. So I beg you, go take a walk or sit on your porch or the sidewalk and watch people pass by. No one looks past the outside anymore.
