"I" and "We" Spectrum - A Spring 2021 Update

I'm here. 

I wrote almost nothing for this blog last year. My energy and my sense of hope has been empty. 

It's hard to write a blog post on a blog that largely follows how I work on my goals in a year that crushed my goals. This past year - the events that arose from the decisions people made - crushed many of our goals. 

Throughout last year I had many privileges - a job and income, a loving wife, a new pup - that so many lacked. Yet, how people acted and how people continue to act left me with a profound sense of hopelessness. It's important to not simply blame a "year" for misfortune when too many with agency acted irresponsibly. 

This has been a difficult winter for me. My great uncle died of COVID, too many of my friends suffered from COVID, and my mom and my sister had a terrible bout of COVID. Unrelated to COVID and still difficult was the unexpected house repairs that exhausted our honeymoon fund. Most difficult was putting my dog, Rory, to sleep after nearly 14 years. Currently difficult is seeing my wife's (and, now, my) dog Odie suffer from lymphoma and deal with chemotherapy. 

But, Spring is here. My friends have received vaccine doses. My sister and my father received vaccine doses. 

Let us hope that good things will return this Spring. My larger hope after all we experienced is that we think of this experience in terms of we - that we think of our decisions in terms of others. 

A long time ago, philosophers recognized that "I" is important and that our society should empower that I. But this year should teach us that "I" and "we" are on a spectrum. Our "I" feelings and desires connect with consideration of others. Our responsibility to our own self connects with our responsibility to others. 

That is my larger hope. I hope we walk away with a value of everyone, with a sense that everyone matters and our self-interest only matters if it empowers others.