Everything is everything

What is meant to be, will be

After winter, must come spring

Change, it comes eventually

Everything is everything

What is meant to be, will be

After winter, must come spring

Change, it comes eventually

Ms Lauryn Hill, Everything is Everything

Some things in life are black and white. Some things in life can’t be directly changed by us as unique individuals. Some things change naturally like seasons through shifts in technology and society. Some things, however, can be changed by us directly.

Have you ever felt frustrated with the environment around you? Have you ever felt frustrated with how the situation was in your local community? Have you ever felt frustrated with the state of your people or your nation? Have you ever felt frustrated because no matter what you did, nothing changed?

There are two sides to this story. There’s the side that can’t be helped and the side that can be helped. As individuals, we are powerless alone when it comes to the collective. As individuals, we are powerful beyond measure when it comes to ourselves.

But how does that work?

We are all born into a family we didn’t choose. A community we didn’t choose. A nation we didn’t choose. A society we didn’t choose. An environment we didn’t choose. As we grow and learn more about the world, we begin to understand that there are very few things we can control. And the only thing we have some sort of control over is ourselves.

Everything is everything. Our families are our families. Our community is our community. Our country is our country. And we are who we are because of the experiences we live through – mostly affected by the aforementioned factors we did not choose. We cannot change those, but with time, everything comes to pass. Everything changes.

The world naturally works in a way where everything is part of a cycle. The Earth orbits the Sun. The Earth rotates giving us the cycle of day and night. Seasons change. After the deathly cold of winter comes the blossoming of spring. Empires rise and fall. Leaders come and go. Populations transition from oppression to liberation.

Understanding that situations will get better will only help us move forward. Understanding that the world is getting better will also help us move forward. This doesn’t mean that certain situations aren’t terrible, something can be bad and better, but it will always eventually get better.

So why don’t we focus on what truly matters? Why don’t we focus on ourselves? If we become the best versions of ourselves, won’t that positive change naturally create a positive effect on the environment around us? If not all of us – but some of us – work on our characters individually, can we begin to comprehend the natural change that will unfold as a result?

Furthermore, for the difficult times we face, they will all come to pass. It’s easily said but difficult to understand. Similar to how trees blossom in the spring, we will inevitably blossom after bearing the winter.

It all starts and ends from within.

I ask The Almighty to ease our winters and enrich our springs.

#HoodIntellectuals