And just because I carry it well
ELATRASI – Heavy
Doesn’t mean it’s not heavy
And just because you wouldn’t tell
Doesn’t mean I’m not already
Man, let’s talk about something important. Something we speak about quite often but much of which seems superficial. I mean, talking about anything difficult, or heavy, or a struggle or mental challenges are just fashion these days for some, and not taken seriously when spoken of by the genuine.
We live in a world of comparisons where everyone’s feelings and circumstances are compared to someone or something else. It’s a competition – a competition of who has it worse, or who doesn’t “deserve” something because they have it better.
“Why aren’t you speaking about Palestine?”
“Why don’t you post about BLM?”
“Why don’t you mention anything about the Uyghurs?”
“Why aren’t you talking about Kashmir anymore?”
Bruh, the list can go on. The fact is this: just because a person or a people are suffering or going through trials and tribulations somewhere, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t everywhere. Difficulties are relative. Yes, some are worse off by what is apparent, the weight some carry is heavier, i.e. their physical wellbeing or wealth, but we can never see the inner workings of any individual’s soul or mind.
It gets really complicated because even those who express their feelings may not be expressing them as they are – or worse yet – may be unable to express them entirely. There have been many times when I have been unable to explain why I felt down, and it makes the situation even worse because you run simulations in your mind and try to examine every possible option as to why, going around in circles, slowly eating away at your own sanity.
Here I stand a deathly silence
ELATRASI – Heavy
If pain could speak well mine would scream sirens
You don’t know but I’ve trained well to fight this
For it takes only a master to hide it
There does come a point in life, for some, when they have gone through this cycle numerous times that they develop the ability to hide their emotions and feelings from the outside world. It doesn’t mean that their lives become easier or that it doesn’t hurt anymore, but rather the burden becomes familiar, giving them the ability to repress more of it. Think of it as a form of working out. The more time you spend lifting weights, the more you can increase the weight you lift or your endurance on lighter weights. The same principle applies here.
These people are masters of hiding their burdens. Whether you and I are one of them is left for us to decide. But years of practice enables them to be quiet and bear their heavy loads in silence.
It’s tiring seeing all the judgement, all the opinionated self-righteousness, and social media policing. Everyone is automatically cancelled for the smallest thing, and this makes me wary of my presence on social media. I don’t care what anyone thinks but being misunderstood is something I can’t tolerate, and I do not owe anyone an explanation or an apology (nor does anyone else) as long as no physical, mental, or emotional harm is being done.
It’s as if we aren’t allowed to be ourselves anymore and our burdens aren’t a part of who we are. They say not to bring baggage to the table, but what if that baggage is essentially part of ourselves? What if that baggage isn’t something we can just leave behind? Sometimes, even though a burden is heavy on our shoulders, we can’t just let it go. Yeah, it sounds kind of messed up, but how many of us only carry burdens that belong to us?
This post can go on and on, but I just wanted to offer some perspective on the subject and leave you with this final point.
We need to give each other a break. Who cares if so-and-so did such-and-such or said this and that? If it doesn’t concern us or cause harm to us… just let it go.
Who knows what others are going through?
Who knows what their circumstances are?
Who knows how they feel?
Who knows the condition of their mental state?
Instead of adding to the weight of one another’s burdens, let’s work on taking some off.
Thank you Elatrasi for such a beautiful work of art that has inspired this post.
Heavy.
#HoodIntellectuals
