It's the summer holiday and I'm abroad so I was thinking of taking a break for a little while from posting regularly over the holiday. I thought this was going to be the 20th post and as soon as this was published I can commence my break, but didn't realise that my last post was the 20th post. Considering that I couldn't find an idea for this update, taking a break may have been a good idea, however, there was something that I noticed recently.
I'm currently writing to you from Tetuán, Morocco, rather than London, England, for once and the two cities couldn't be more different. Tetouan's weather is very different to London's weather; Tetouan's streets are very different to London's streets: Tetouan has barriers between the road and pavement that have a traditional pattern on them whilst London had plain bars; even the trees are cut differently because in Tetouan, the trees are cut in a way that the top leafy part is a cube/cuboid whilst in London the trees are left to be.
Even the people of both cities are different: Londoners are a mixed, diverse range of people with differing backgrounds, yet Tetouanians are mainly Moroccans despite their range in skin tones.
The only thing that I can say both cities definitely have in common is that they are both historical cities that have ppaces that are even protected by UNESCO. Tetouan's old city is recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage site and so are London's Wesminster Abbey and Tower of London.
There is a similarity between both their inhabitants though: they're human. In them, every day, people are born, some experience joys and some experience sorrows, people grow up, people get married, people create families, people lead lives, people work, people live, and eventually people die. Everyone's story is so different, yet everyone's story is the same... so why is it that people get treated differently? Just because of their class. Just because of their race. Just because of the way they were born - factors outside of their control. Humanity still judges and applies stereotypes to certain people because of the way they are.
All this started when I was walking in Tetouan and noticed how different it was to London. It was later brought back to me when I was by a graveside. It was next to a mosque and unfortunately the women's section was closed, so as I waited for my turn to pray, I watched the graves and reflected on them a little. They were all different sizes, some large, some long, some small, some old and cracked, some new and fresh. The small ones were just big enough for a child, some were even smaller for babies.
Many people say that you get a sense of time and the importance of life when you go to a graveyard, so you could imagine my surprise when I felt detached, as if death won't be my fate and as if that couldn't happen to me tomorrow. I know that's a problem on my part, but it did get me thinking about the lives of all the people who were buried there. They all had people who cared for them, loved them, at some point in their lives, even if some of them may have been estranged. They all may be forgotten, I definitely didn't know them and some of the graves didn't have names, so there was no way of knowing there and then what kind of person they were or how they even looked. Yet how many of them had to go through difficulties in their lives? Especially for things outside of their control? That I wouldn't know.
It's because of this lack of knowledge, that I want to remind you all to treat everyone fairly, with respect and manners, no matter who they are. Everyone is a human, like everyone else, so it's not right that we start preferring people and putting others down for things that aren't in their control. At least this way, if you die, even if you aren't remembered forever, you are remembered for good things and people would remember you fondly.
That brings me to the end of this post, I'm going to have to run now because I've got plans other than work now that it's the holiday. I may not be as consistent as usual as I may need a break from time to time, especially since too much work isn't good for anyone, so you should take breaks too. However, I've enjoyed this reflection and I might do a few more if things bring my attention to similar matters...
That's it from me today. I'll see you in my next post. Go spread some love! ;)
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