noun. human beings collectively; the quality of being humane; benevolence.
Humanity comes from the Latin humanitas for “human nature, kindness.”
Humanity. Human nature. Human kind.
What have we learned about ourselves as humans in the last few months?
2020 is the year we will not forget in a hurry.
The year the world stopped. The year the earth paused. The year time was suspended.
The year humanity looked up. The year humanity listened. The year humanity focused.
I have said many a time to friends and family over the last few months that I feel like I am on the Truman Show and one of these days I will find the ladder, the exit and the sky will be peeled back to reveal life has been going on without me.
If everything we experience is a lesson, and everything is an opportunity to learn and grow, what has this situation taught us?
Prior to the global pandemic, prior to the lockdown, what state was our humanity in?
How has, and how will, our humanity change as a result of this collective experience?
How has our lens changed and how will we see things differently moving forwards?
Humanity is the entire human race, every being who exists on Earth.
Humanity is the feelings humans often have for each other.
Humanity is the characteristics that belong uniquely to human beings, such as kindness, mercy and sympathy.
Humanity means caring for and helping others whenever and wherever possible.
Humanity means helping others at times when they need that help the most.
Humanity means forgetting our selfish interests at times when others need our help.
Humanity means extending unconditional love to each and every living being on Earth.
Humanity is a virtue associated with the ethics of altruism derived from the human condition.
Humanity is about helping others, understanding others and empathising with others.
Humanity is symbolised through human love and compassion towards each other.
Humanity is the strength of individual commitment and the force of collective action.
Humanity relieves suffering, ensures respect for human dignity and creates a more humane society.
Humanity can be shown in many different ways – by helping, by supporting, by sharing.
Humanity is underpinned by Empathy… Compassion… Gratitude… Kindness… Respect… Humility…
Humanity is a virtue.
We are human beings, not human doings. We sometimes need to remind ourselves of that. For me lockdown has reminded me to give myself time and permission to just be. It has given me a lot of time to reflect. The thinking and the writing space has helped me to explore some of life’s big questions:
Who am I? What do I do? Why do I do it? What is my purpose? What impact do I have? What will my legacy be? What kind of human being do I want to be? How do I want to be remembered?
Who we are… What we do… How we show up… What we share… Everything is a choice.
We need to have faith.
“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean is dirty; the ocean does not become dirty”.Mahatma Gandhi
We need to serve others.
“The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity”.Leo Tolstoy
We need to be compassionate.
“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries.Without them humanity cannot survive”.Dalai Lama
Thank you to everyone who has written, read, reflected, discussed & championed our growing series of blogs for the #DailyWritingChallenge. It has been a privilege & a pleasure to initiate and curate. I have loved reading all of your posts and amplifying so many new voices. You all have a very special place in my heart for how we have supported each other through the last few months. The writing process has been self-care for me and a cathartic process, I know it has helped a lot of you manage the emotional rollercoaster too. The love from the community has brought me so much joy.
Ethical_Leader 
Wonderful post and what an achievement-100 days of blogging. Awesome.
The tone of this blog reminds me of Diana Osagie’s key note speech at this year’s DiversityEd conference ( in Jan when we could all still meet face to face). It was about the why we are here, that when you die there should be nothing but bones- no unspent ambition, all love given.
Great writing, Hannah. Thank you.
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