It’s overwhelming to feel anguish and despair in knowing that while I’m just seeing some rain through the window, on the other side of the city there are people losing all their belongings due to high floods. During the month of November, Colombia went through some tough climatic conditions due to the IOTA Tropical Storm. It was heartbreaking to watch the news and listen to all the hard situations some people suffered. I was hearing about all these difficulties but I didn’t feel any of this myself. The personal experience I had was just a strong rain through the window. And although it was an experience unknown to me, it awakened a feeling of distress. I kept on wondering about this innate instinct to protect and help others when they are in need: what keeps us moving even though it is something not harming us personally?
Following this series of questions I made to myself, I figured out that the perfect name for this feeling is solidarity. Solidarity is the recognition of someone else’s human dignity. If I acknowledge this inherent value of every person, I cannot look away when someone is in need. It is a natural feeling, even among animals, we can sense a similar instinct for cooperation and union. The difference with us human beings is that we can consciously decide to make or not to make use of it. Because although solidarity is a natural feeling, it doesn’t mean we can’t forget about it.
There are so many injustices and inequalities in the world, that it is evident how not everyone uses their ability to be in solidarity. Take for example the fact that the wealthiest part of the population could end world hunger. But this is not a reality. There are so many people in the world that do not have the essential needs for living, while others have possessions in excess. This demonstrates that we still do not have a global sense of cooperation.
And why is it important to be globally responsible and take actions in solidarity? We are all sharing the same planet so it is a necessity to have peace and harmony between us. On an interpersonal, local, and even global scale, we depend on one another and we can feel the consequences of someone else’s actions. Environmentally, economically, or socially, our actions affect others. So, are we being in solidarity enough? Are we taking advantage of our talents and capacities in a way that we can help others?
Last month’s events took me on a journey of reflection and self-exploration that made me realize the importance of being in solidarity. But not only traumatic events should awaken this sense of community, I’m sure if we want to make a conscious positive impact on the world, we can start by implementing this way of thinking in our daily activities. As a conclusion, I believe the correct way of taking decisions in our lives is in always taking into account other people’s well-being and not only our own interests, and maybe someday we will achieve a world with peace, harmony, and equality.
Published: December 9, 2020
Written by Diana Sofia Angulo, a current HQ Marketing Intern from Latin America. She is an Audiovisual & Multimedia Communication student from the University of La Sabana in Colombia.
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