So far, the year 2016 has not been a stellar year for humanity. I could write a separate article for each and every bad thing that’s happened this year and why it saddens me, but I don’t think that would do much good for anybody. You’re all well aware of how hard times have been lately - I don’t think I need to remind you.

Instead, however, I thought it might be prudent to remind you all how adorable and good humans are capable of being, despite the evil some of them do. We derive this power to do good from the Lord who possesses all goodness because we, as humans, are tenderly and sincerely adored by Him. Thus, we should be thankful we have the capability to be the adorable creatures that we are (because we really are quite cute).

Here is a poem I wrote about the beauty of being human. Falling out of love with the world hurts, so I hope this poem reminds you of why God created humans and the goodness we should continue to hope for. I realize it’s an awfully broad subject to be talked about in just one, small poem. But what I have for you here is only a smidgen of all the beauty people offer.

Please don’t give up on humanity.

Beings

It is a beautiful, confusing privilege

To be one of these reckless creatures

Which we call human beings;

We roam about the bright, green earth,

Plucking the berries and flowers yielded to us,

And are able to turn steps into dances,

Dig our heels deeper in the ground with each movement,

And allow each sweep through the air to be its own sort of tune.

We find blissful joy in putting others' lips between our own

So we might speak through our lips in more than one way.

We place wheels under our feet and wings at our sides

Just to better understand the true serenity

That birds must feel while in flight.

And we gaze with eager eyes at the stars above,

Pouring the galaxies into our pupils,

Just so we can dream about worlds beyond our own.

We keep an amicable agreement with the year's solstice

To dance and sing at its alternating seasons

And we honor its transition of time and weather,

Welcoming new celebrations and adornments,

Rather than grumble at its sudden changes.

We have an inner drive to make whatever beauty we can,

So we tune our ears to hear plucked strings,

Our eyes to witness color splashed on canvas,

Our tongues to absorb warm, rich flavors,

Our fingers to caress a beloved's skin,

Our noses to fill with nostalgic aromas.

Humans are simply the most adorable, mysterious, and terrifying creatures,

And I see no reason at all

Why anyone should want to be anything different

Than a species that squeezes the muscles in its belly out of glee

Or that is universally in love with a substance called chocolate.