This one is a tough one, y’all. It has been a hot minute since the last post mainly because shit has gone down. Sorry mom and dad, but- in this case- it is absolutely the right word to use. In one week, we had a shooting in a school, a shooting at a hospital, and at least two deaths of women by gun violence by an intimate partner. Those shootings were just in Birmingham, Alabama. Those shootings are just the ones of which I know.

As I prepared to join the local March for Our Lives this past weekend- especially after what our community had experienced this month- I walked outside to see all of my neighbors belongings on her front lawn. In my head, I knew what happened; however, I was in such denial. Maybe she chose to throw out all of her belongings to clean the house. Maybe she chose to leave her house for someone else to take care of her stuff. Maybe she passed away and that’s what happens to your stuff. I texted another neighbor about it and did not receive a response, so I chose to ignore it in that moment.

The march in Birmingham was beautiful. Students organized the event and did an amazing job. We saw gun owners with signs and shirts supporting sensible gun regulations. We saw survivors of the recent shootings marching for change. We saw students, teachers, and concerned citizens all gathered to raise their voices in support. There were tears, hugs, meaningful conversations, and plans for what comes next.

As I returned home, inspired and hopeful, I returned to seeing that yard full of stuff. I texted the neighbor again saying I would be out there tomorrow to clean if she wanted to join me. Sunday we met at our neighbor’s house with a few folks from a church on our street and we began to pick up pieces from this woman’s life. A woman who bought her home in the 1980s and it was almost paid off, but she became ill and was in the hospital and no one paid the mortgage. Her house which was now foreclosed. Her home was destroyed. Whomever the bank paid to “empty” her house also took her wedding dress and anything of value. They threw the contents of her fridge- raw chicken, fish, strawberries, tomatoes- onto the lawn. They threw the contents of her life out- love letters from her husband that passed, check books, photos, bills, clothing, décor. I cried as we placed the letters and photos in a box to take to her in the hospital. The rest ended up on the side of the road in black trash bags, that people have felt compelled to stop and pick through.

The word that continues to enter my brain is “ethical”. From the lack of response on sensible gun regulation to throwing a person’s life on the lawn, what is okay about any of this?

So this post isn’t about where to buy ethical things. Hell, the blog really isn’t supposed to be about that at all. This post…blog…life… is about being mindful of the people in the world around us, even if you don’t know them. Yes- this applies to the clothes we wear and the food we eat, but it also is for the stranger, or neighbor, who is trying to make their way through this world.

I know what I am going to do- give a damn. Smile a little more. Talk to my neighbors. Take action to make change. I hope you do, too.

 

“When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?”

Eleanor Roosevelt