The Price of Eggs & Other Things

Humaning

Photo by Amr Serag on Unsplash

The price of eggs and other things continue to skyrocket. Soon, it may no longer be affordable to make a light scramble let alone maintain a sense of dignity. Patience has become a limited resource. Energy must be rationed and budgeted against a surplus of blind rage, normalized dehumanization, and rationalized violence in lieu of communication. The cost burden of building bridges across ever-expanding chasms seems ineffective but is more necessary than ever.

Is this what it takes for us to make a better future? Where is the limit for what we endure to trigger a turning point to stop pointing fingers? The cost is life. The cost is love. When we trade these in everything loses value. It doesn’t mean there aren’t hard lines. It doesn’t mean we take what we can get if what we get is abuse, disrespect, and violations meant to induce confusion and abject terror. Instead, we take what we can get on small kindnesses, a hard-won consensus, shared values, and the knowledge and skills to use those building blocks for rebuilding a stronger foundation.

You don’t make peace with your friends. That is why peace is such a big deal. Not the drum circles and sing-a-longs. It is the recognition that cooperation is a chance for a new beginning. An agreement, like a spider web — fragile, complicated, and tenacious — to begin to build and earn…