Coming from a small country, island and community is mostly a blessing. One of the benefits of growing up in Bermuda was that we so often looked out for one another. Family, friends, neighbors and beyond. We cherished community and understood that being part of one meant caring about the people around us.
Somewhere along the way, though, it feels like things shifted. Today, many of us do this thing called “minding our own business,” but sometimes only when it’s convenient. When someone in our community needs help, we still see people come together and find ways to support them. That’s one of the things I continue to love about Bermuda. But there’s another side of community that we have to acknowledge as well. The gossip, tearing people down and the need to know and share information that sometimes isn’t ours to share.
Every morning when I wake up, I’m reminded that whatever we discuss on The Daily Hour, it should hopefully be helpful. It shouldn’t be draining, distasteful or disrespectful. To be honest, it wasn’t always this way. We can discuss difficult topics, disagree with one another and hold people accountable without forgetting that we’re dealing with human beings.
Over the last week or so, quite a few people I know have fallen ill in some respect. Things like this once seemed to bring about empathy and concern. Instead, today, it sometimes feels like people want to be the first to share information. People become comfortable forwarding unofficial statements, text messages and information about other people’s circumstances without considering whether it’s their place to do so or how the people directly impacted may feel.
Some will say Bermuda has always been this way and that the only difference today is that everyone has access to the internet, social media and WhatsApp. Maybe there’s some truth to that. Technology certainly allows information to travel much faster than it did when I was growing up. But whatever the case, we still have control over what we choose to do with the information that comes our way.
There are people in our community right now who need prayer. They need love. They need genuine support. Some need privacy. Some need space. Some may just need to know that people are thinking about them without having their personal circumstances become the topic of another WhatsApp conversation.
Right now is a very somber time for Bermuda. Maybe this is one of those moments when we’re forced to reflect on how we respond to what’s happening within our community. Inside all of us who are emotionally and mentally capable is a conscience that understands right from wrong. Inside all of us is a heart capable of helping someone else. Inside all of us, I firmly believe, is a love for our community that can be greater than our desire to gossip, speculate or be the first person to share something.
With all of our shared experiences, we have an opportunity to come together and set an example for a new generation of Bermudians about what community actually looks like. Maybe that means engaging with empathy and love before anything else. Maybe it means understanding that just because we know something doesn’t mean we need to share it. Or, maybe it means remembering that one day it could be us or someone we love who needs the same grace we’re being asked to give someone else today. That’s the responsibility that falls on each and every one of us.
So if you see someone today who doesn’t seem to be up for it, give them grace. We don’t always know what someone is dealing with, who they’re worried about or what they’re trying to process. Tragedy hurts. Illness hurts. It can all be incredibly traumatic. But my hope is that during a difficult time like this, it can also bring out the very best in us and allow us to express the kind of Bermudian love that I know still exists within this community.
The Bermuda I grew up in looked out for one another. I don’t believe that Bermuda is gone. Maybe sometimes we just need to be reminded that we’re still responsible for keeping it alive.
