Flash fiction by author, writer and speaker, Jordannah Elizabeth.

Photo Credit: Devin Allen

When I was preparing to leave San Francisco to go to Baltimore after the uprising, I was in contact with my mother, my father and my brother. There was one moment when my father in his car talking to me and I heard him say ¨Jesus, they have guns pointing at me!¨ then the phone hung up…..

This morning, I was watching VICE report on Flint, Michigan. I watched the journalism clip trying to connect with how the yellow, chemical latent water was responsible for killing people and making children sick from lead poisoning (Baltimore has a huge youth lead poisoning issue as well). I tried to understand the outrage and fear that was going on in a community less than 1,000 miles away.

So, when I heard about the homophobic mass shooting in Orlando an hour ago, I began to think about ego, micro aggression and micro power struggles that distract us from connecting with and overlooking some serious issues in our culture and maybe even right down to our own behaviors.

Personally, I am very aware that there are a couple of people who hate me- I want to put a ¨lol¨ next to that sentence, but it actually isn’t funny. Outside of ego-driven social stuff I have been dealing with a manager in my professional life that has driven me out of a teaching job I really loved.

Friday was my last day.

It was my last day because there was this yin and yang, sweet and sour tone to the end of my cycle at this job:

My manager had crossed my boundaries on several levels for a number of days prior to Friday and had continued to try to humiliate me and convince my colleagues (who I completely got along with) that I was not trained and fit to do my job –

But that day, there were a number of parents who let me know they were completely touched by my work with their children. One dad said, ¨Thank you for all you’ve done for my children.¨

That’s all I needed. I felt I had done what I set out to do.

So, as soon as I got some time off this weekend, I started thinking about myself, only to be humbled by the mass killing of 50 gay men in Orlando. The men were just dancing.

I was reminded that any micro power struggle, micro aggression, haterade, bullying or ego expanding situations in my simple little personal life doesn’t compare to my opportunity to love people while they are still here.

Love people while they’re here.