Removing the Filter

The strength of human compassion exceeds that of greed, ignorance, and hatred.
When it all comes crashing down, when the end is here,
The compassion of human beings will come to the surface.
When what separates us from others is gone,
We will all be the same.
When our material possessions vanish,
So will our egos, so will our biases.
We will no longer see color,
We will no longer see differences.
Because, in that moment, we will be as one.
Our hearts will swell and our sleeves will roll up our arms.
We will become the "have nots"; we will become human once again.
Our job titles and social standing,
Will lose their meaning, lose their importance.
For in this moment, we are all fighting to stay alive.
For the first time in our lives, our goals are the same.
It feels like July 5th, 1776,
September 12, 2001.
The Vietnam vet begging for change,
Once again becomes visible.
The filter that I used to wear every single day,
Is no more.
I no longer see statuses,
I no longer see advantages or disadvantages.
I am no longer myopic,
I no longer have tunnel-vision.
My uncalloused hands,
Become tools of hope; become the hands of compassion.
I now see the world through the eyes of the people that I've ignored,
The people that I've neglected,
Through the eyes of the people that the rest of the world ignored.
I now see children crying; scared, just as much as I.
My hands dig, my hands carry, and my hands comfort.
The hands that once held a diploma,
Now hold a crying girl, looking for her mother and father.
The hands that once held an iPod,
Now carry sandbags, stroke the head of an innocent child.
In times like these, we just want to be comforted.
These are the moments that pull us from our comfort zone,
Bring those that are "high up", crashing to the ground.
Are we capable of creating these moments now?
Can we create a state where the only thing that we know,
Is that we are all human?
That we all breathe the same air?
Can we roll up our sleeves and comfort someone in need?
Can we remove the filter from our eyes,
And see the world for what it really is?
We all live and we all die.
Nobody should have to go through life alone,
Nobody should have to feel inferior to someone else.
I have awoken,
I have removed the filter from my eyes.
I suggest that you do the same.