So I want to preface this that while I may reference certain ideas I will not rant or get into politics here. I simply have seen some recent examples.

With that being said…When asked who do you fight for or what empowers the causes you fight for what will you say? The cancer-filled doctor who found there’s a point where quality of life outweighs the need for prolonging life, the non-profit that was started by the man that was once homeless, women coalations, soup kitchens, Alcoholics Anonymous, Rehabilitation programs. As a just riddle what may seem like garbled words, one would say is all the combined efforts of people who wanted to help and protect “the next us”.

We’re stronger for others than we are ourselves something that if you’ve received advice from me you’ve probably heard. While I still have my own obstacles and shortcomings, it’s something I say to ground myself. It is because I have found in my life that sometimes the best way to solve your own problems is to help someone else (I give all credit of that to TLOK). When we look at the problems in the world one may easily become overwhelmed but I’ve found in my current profession there’s a few ways to look at problems. One way is to focus on solving all of the problems as they arise or helping everyone which can be a daunting task for the greatest of heroes (which is why we find so many different heroes in our lives) teachers, doctors, nurses, mentors, and many others. The other way I’ve found is to pay it forward. That means putting aside indifference and seeing yourself in someone else and aiding person. This is probably the more difficult of the two for many. That is because pride must be placed aside for one to wholly admit that you suffered and the past did hurt you. However, after this step is completed you are able to use foresight and the inner strength you gained to make a change and open paths for “the next you” that you never got to experience.

While we find ourselves in the middle of Covid-19 whatever stage you find your immediate community in, think about all the people pushing to protect the next us. Medical personnel working hours in and out, placing themselves in harms way to treat the ill, Small businesses that have seen hard days to do their part to halt the progression of this crisis, education personnel taking rocks and somehow making lemonade (you are correct, you read that just as I intended). These people are all looking out for “the next us”. It is in some of our darkest times that we find the good in humanity, think about it. Perhaps you’ve seen celebrities donate relief funds, put on concerts, or just divert their focus to a cause they’re passionate about. Perhaps you’ve seen your community have record breaking food pantry donations, schools open solely for the purpose of making sure their students eat, or have heard of the lengths people have gone to in order to check on someone usually in their care to some degree. That my dear readers is taking care of “the next us”.

We race for cures, we protest to prevent extinction, we donate to make sure things are still around, and we look for nothing in return but to leave something for “the next us”. Therefore while it is hard to be cope in current times and stress seems to be at an all time high, remember our efforts will not go in vain as long as we keep fighting to make changes for the greater good. Personally, I find that it really doesn’t take much for me these days, it just begins with a phrase I adopted from New Amsterdam a show I’ve grown to love for the values and issues it speaks to. “How can I help?”