⬥ Level of Understanding
A fictionalized attempt to capture a collective burden of pain. That sensation that everything is wrong and the powerlessness that comes with that feeling. Take this piece as an emotional snapshot. Its value lies from the momentary perspective of the individual.
A piercing pain hit my lungs, like a spear violently splitting apart a block of wood. A red-hot, thick fluid spreads out slowly. It burns and flows, reaching the inner workings of my heart.
It was the pain of the world. It had to be. Such agony could not originate within one single human being, it was the bundled pain of all that suffer and hurt so that I can live this fairy tale. I am the benefactor of the suffering of countless others.
No one should be forced to do any labor they don’t want to do. That is not freedom. And yet, my freedom is stolen from those who are hidden away at the edges of western hypercapitalism, knitting a thousand sweaters only to fulfill their most basic human needs.
This is no one’s fault, really. The greatest human weakness has been exploited, and the weakest are always devoured first. There is no one to blame but yourself.
But my desire to change fades as soon as my heart returns to normal. I am in love with my own life, so much so that I am unable to act beyond buying fair-trade, donating to my favorite charity and buying organic meat. There is no anger, only disappointment.
