“A choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your door, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love, instead, see all of us as one.”  — Bill Hicks

In light of what is happening in our world today, this quote from comedian Bill Hicks keeps coming to mind.  There are certain groups of people that provoke our fears.  We clutch our purses a little tighter, we look down and give them a wide berth when crossing paths on the sidewalk, and we choose not to engage (if we can help it) with people that we have been taught will cause us harm. 

These responses are fear-based, and our fear of others is often based on biased assumptions and societal stigmas rather than truth and understanding.  For example, I was taught that all convicted felons are violent and dangerous.  I was taught that the man asking for money on the corner is a desperate drunk who shouldn’t be trusted. I was taught that I should be on guard when we are confronted with society’s outcasts because they are outcasts for a reason:  they are unsafe and unscrupulous. They are like snakes in the garden, both venomous and clandestine.  When I cast such judgments upon others, however, I am allowing my fear to obscure my perceptions of them.  This is a response that enfeebles my shared humanity and, as a result, my willingness to help those in need.

As I navigate my internship at Emmanuel with women who are in prison and women and men who do not have places to live or who are marginally housed, I must remind myself to act with openness and understanding instead of fear and mistrust.  We are all part of a shared human experience full of both momentous highs and dark lows, and it is this poignancy that connects us all as one. The eyes of love see this reality, and they allow empathy instead of fear to dictate our actions.  I hope to always act with love in this internship.

-Briana Heller